The Duff Review

Author: Kody Keplinger
Release date: September 7, 2010
Pages: 280
Publisher: Poppy
How I got it: Stole from mom 

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.  

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. 

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

"This," I thought as I started The Duff and read about Wesley for the first time, "is not going to work. He is far too much of a jerk too EVER give me the swoonz."

Wrong.

But NOT ONLY did The Duff give me the swoonz, it also came with a really important message that I think everything can take something away from.

Immediately I liked Bianca. Her sarcastic and pessimistic view on high school had me smiling straight from the get-go. Her friends seemed like the kind of girls that make me want to pound my head against a wall, but hey, at least I liked Bianca. And, much to my surprise, I liked Wesley, too...well, after a while.

And their chemistry was something REAL. It was definitely some of the more er, detailed, sex and make out scenes I've read, but not overly detailed.

The cover and description makes The Duff seem like a light-hearted book, and while at times it is, it also deals with some heavier issues. I very much appreciated this. It's very rare that I find a book with that kind of balance, but I found it in The Duff. It's safe to say I'll be reading more from Keplinger.

So yeah, in a nutshell, The Duff rocked. It has nearly everything I look for in a contemporary novel, and I highly recommend it to fellow contemporary lovers.

Plot: Predictable but I liked it.

Characters: Loved Bianca and Wesley, but I kinda wished there had been more awesome side characters.

Writing: Really nice.

Ending: Loved it.

Mature content: Language, drinking, and sex.

Overall:

I would for sure roll my eyes if anyone tried to stop me from reading.

I'm glad I had a solid chunk of spare time, because this is not a book I'd want to stop reading for long. If you haven't picked this one up already, remedy that ASAP.