Book Review: The Duff - Kody Keplinger

Title: The Duff
Author: Kody Keplinger
Pub Date: September 7th, 2010
Publisher: Little Brown
Page Count: 280

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.

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Sometimes, we find a book with a plot that fits our every expectation and interest. I'm so lucky to have found mine. - Nova @ Out of Time

The Duff first came to my attention because of its movie. After watching the trailer, I was a mix of unimpressed and burning with curiosity. However, it wasn't enough to get me to go spend money to watch the movie. So I did what I usually do, take it to twitter. There, I was told that the book is unlike the movie and spectacular. Because of the high praise, I ended up getting a copy and reading it instantly!

The Duff's plot is everything I want in a book. No lie. It had the "enemies into lovers" trope that can never get tiring for me. Seriously, if there's only one relationship idea I can read endlessly, it's this one. And The Duff is one of the books that takes the idea and does it so well.
It also had some serious issues that were thrust upon the characters. I really enjoyed the way these realistic issues were handled and how elegantly Keplinger wrote them.

I think this is mainly because of Bianca. First off, Bianca is a character who is not for everyone. This is a girl who has slut shamed, been childish and swears more than anyone I'll ever know. However, if I met her in real life, I'd probably smile [considering I'd be looking in a mirror.] In terms of general personality, I am Bianca [minus the slut shaming because ew.] I understood her stress and her jealousy. I even understood her childishness and couldn't really it against her. Keplinger created a girl with so many flaws and gradually changed her into a character who was more tolerable and in touch with her morals.

However, while I adored Bianca, there were certain things about Wesley that I didn't like as much. He was an overall nice guy, which is why I didn't really understand the incessant hate towards him from Bianca at the start. And then, he started calling her Duffy, which in essence, is calling her ugly and fat. Because of this, I was like, "why are you with him?" to Bianca. But just like Bianca, Wesley also showed some pretty decent development, which made it all alright.

This book gave me all the feels. There were so many moments where I was ready to flip out and squeal. There were also moments that gave me serious chills. This was mainly because of the messages.
In a book, I enjoy reading about kick butt heroines with hot guys to stand beside her. What I like even more? A book with a strong message that hits me right where it hurts. The Duff had just that. The idea of being body positive and how everyone feels like a Duff at least once in their life really affected me. The main character started off slut shaming a bunch of skinny and pretty girls and went through a revelation by the end. Just because someone is skinny and pretty doesn't mean they feel that way and if we want to be body positive about ourselves, we can't be tearing others down in our spare time.

Overall, this book really impressed me and I'll definitely be on the lookout for Kody's other books.

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Kody Keplinger was born and raised in small town western Kentucky, where she began her writing career after penning the New York Times and USA Today bestseller, The DUFF, at age seventeen. The DUFF, now a major motion picture, was chosen as an YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers and a Romantic Times Top Pick. Kody has since written other books for both young adult and middle grade readers. When she isn't writing, Kody is posting about fashion and body positivity on her Instagram, chatting about her favorite TV shows on Twitter, or making videos for her YouTube account. Kody is also the co-founder of Disability in KidLit and a teacher at the Gotham Writers Workshops in NYC.