Release Date: September 7, 2010Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 288
Review Source: Library
Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
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 "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.
But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that 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.
My Thoughts:
*This review contains spoilers; mainly alluding to events, but I wanted to be sure and warn everyone*
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I had heard it described as racy, sexy, important, and a whole lot more. I knew that practically everyone loved it, and in some ways I can see why. Bianca is the perfect teenage voice: she’s snarky, cynical, and intelligent. I actually expected her to be a lot more cynical than what she was, based off reading people’s reviews. I found the side characters to be interesting and, for the most part, well thought out. Even the message of the book was a good one, although I would have liked it spelled out in more obvious terms while still lessening references to being “the Duff”: no matter how you try to own that term, it’s horribly degrading.
I’m a cheesy romantic, so I have to say that I was satisfied by the Happily Ever After ending, though I do think it might set a dangerous precedent. Bianca and Wesley’s relationship worried me, because as much as I enjoyed their banter, I don’t think the ending was very realistic. I’m glad Bianca was able to learn things about herself, but I think she did it in a very irresponsible and dangerous way. I would have liked more discussion about possible consequences, besides just having the pregnancy scare passed off onto Vikki. And let’s face it, most “man whore” guys are not going to turn into a loving boyfriend. Maybe I’m just getting too old or something, but it seemed like it sent the wrong message. I also don’t normally read books that have a lot of sexual content or swearing, so for me personally those are downsides, though I read it knowing what the book was about, so I tried not to let it bother me too much. Overall, I think most people would enjoy this book, or at least relate to Bianca’s voice or the theme in some way, which is what makes it a great, quick read, but it definitely wasn't my type of book.
Rating:
Find The DUFF by Kody Keplinger on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.ca
I still need to read this! I've heard good things. It is nice to see a review that isn't glowing though! I hate when I build up a book because of all 5 star reviews and then it was a disappointing! Thanks for an honest review!
ReplyDelete- Jamie at The Broke and the Bookish
I went into this book a little (actually, a lot) concerned over the subject matter. It was something that could easily be done in very poor taste, but I thought Keplinger kept it pretty classy, while still fairly realistic. It seems like that sort of thing happens way too often in teenage society nowadays, so it was really nice to see someone address the issue in a non-judgmental way, while still pointing out that it was NOT a good idea. I definitely agree though - passing the pregnancy scare off to someone else was a bit of a cop out. The resolution came pretty quickly too, once the whole realization set in. I would have liked to see more development there as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely comment! =) I definitely think there were some good aspects to it, but some parts of it also definitely worried me... I think I wanted to point them out especially since most every review I read was totally glowing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see I'm not the only one who found this one disappointing. I seem to be in the minority! Even if Bianca's voice is realistic, I found her completely irritating. Maybe I'm just too old, but I really couldn't stand this book!
ReplyDelete