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. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.
This book was a bit of a surprise for me. I initially picked it up due to the movie trailer looking delightfully fun, safe to say the plot is completely different to the movie adaptation. The DUFF follows Bianca, an interesting and refreshing teenager who begins having casual sex with the most popular boy in school.
It was a lot darker than I thought it would be. The story lines about divorce and sexually abusive relationships and alcoholism was really stunning to read about. I felt very well represented. I was a teenager once (I can't believe I just said that) and it took me right back to how it felt, and how you just do things without thinking. It was so realistic and really truthful, shockingly so. You can tell Keplinger wrote this during her senior year, it reeks of real life experience. It isn't an author remembering or pretending, it is pure, unadulterated adolescence and that's really refreshing.
I loved all the characters, I loved Bianca's friends though I did get them mixed up. I loved the random little tid bits and the ease of the reconciliation between Bianca and Wesley. It wasn't a ridiculous romantic gesture or even a self-conscious 'it's been a week so he's over me' kind of scenario, it was grown up and it was real.
The style flowed and was so easy to read. I engulfed it within one day. I meant to read a chapter or two and before I knew it, I had devoured 300 pages. I just had to know what was coming next. Every chapter ended on the perfect moment to make me start the next chapter. It was so easy to digest.
I don't know what else I can say. Do not get your hopes for an honest adaptation but read the book. Even when I didn't agree with what the characters were doing, I was still dying to know how it all ended. A stunner, I can't believe I waited this long to read it.
Happy Reading
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