Bookanista Review: THE DUFF

I know, I know. I’m so late to the party. But I finally had the chance to read Kody Keplinger’s THE DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Read below to see what I thought.

Here’s the official blurb from the publisher:

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.

I’m not adverse to sex in YA, but I’m not a big fan of sex for the sake of peaking reader interest or to create the shock factor. If it’s essential to the story and the growth of the characters, then it belongs. If you’re just doing it shock people, it’s not my cup of tea.

This is the filter or frame of mind I had when I read THE DUFF. I’m not out to lecture teens, but I worried about the message Kody might be sending when her character, Bianca, enters into a purely sexual relationship with “man-slut” Wesley. I hated the idea of reading a light comedy where a girl lets herself be used. What I discovered was that this wasn’t a comedy or even a story about romance; it’s about a girl’s journey to find out about herself.

Bianca uses Wesley to mask problems she has at home, but she learns that it’s difficult to be intimate with someone without giving them a piece of yourself. I thought maybe Bianca would be this weak character that kissed Wesley’s feet, but she’s not that at all. She’s strong, but she’s also flawed and hides herself away from others. I loved seeing her try to reconcile those two sides of herself with her friends and her family.

Part of me did wish that Bianca stuck up for herself more and told Wesley off. That may be because we saw Bianca’s transformation on the page, while Wesley’s occurs more offstage. I’m not sure I really believed they would end up together once the book ended.

I think the strongest aspect of THE DUFF is the voice. Kody just nails a voice that sounds authentic, easy-to-read, and 100% relatable.  I ate this book up, and even with the minor things I wish I’d seen more of, I thought it was a fantastic read.

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