September 19, 2013

Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger


The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Published: 2010, Poppy
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Format: ebook
Source: Personal collection
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I was the Duff. And that was a good thing. Because anyone who didn't feel like the Duff must not have friends. Every girl feels unattractive sometimes. Why had it taken me so long to figure that out? Why had I been stressing over that dumb word for so long when it was so simple? I should be proud to be the Duff. Proud to have great friends who, in their minds, were my Duffs. 


Cynical Bianca Piper is more than ready to graduate from high school and leave her small hometown far behind. Besides her two best friends, Bianca doesn't have much she'd miss. Certainly not the freshman year pseudo-relationship that broke her heart and hardened her against any future romance. Nor the household that has increasingly become inhabited only by her father and herself, as her mother continues to book motivational speech tours across the country.

And to top it all off, one evening at the local teen nightclub, Bianca runs into Wesley Rush, the most sought-after womanizer at her high school. Although she wants nothing to do with him, Wesley asks if she can at least pretend to speak to him, because it's well-proven that guys who interact with the Duffs in any group have a better chance of hooking up with her friends. Duff stands for "designated ugly fat friend," according to Wesley, and Bianca fills that position in her group of friends. Bianca adamantly refuses to be privy to his scheme and even throws a glass of Cherry Coke in his face upon learning of his nickname for her. 

But life in the final semester of her senior year has gotten more complicated than she can handle, and Bianca seeks some way to escape from the challenges she faces in every direction.

Within this slim book, Kody Keplinger tackles many issues relevant to teens today: teen sex, pregnancy scares, alcohol abuse, friendships on rocky straits, love vs. like vs. lust, family problems, and, most importantly, self-confidence. The issues could have easily overwhelmed the novel, turning it into more of a guide on what (not) to do, but fortunately that wasn't the case. Keplinger adroitly handles the topics mentioned and more, melding them together into a story that is ultimately about the role that self-confidence can play in the lives of teens. Bianca certainly isn't representative of all teens, but through her struggles and those of her friends, I'm sure that many readers can find someone relatable. 

Bianca makes a lot of stupid decisions, especially in light of the fact that she's a star student. When life becomes too hard for her to handle, she enters into a questionable sexual relationship with Wesley. She starts to ignore her friends and their offers of help. She pretends that everything is fine between her parents, even as the evidence to the contrary continues to pile up. Avoidance is her go-to solution; except, of course, when it comes to Wesley. Normally the combination of these behaviors would bother me, yet I found Bianca's character to be written in such a way that I could not help but emphasize with her situation.

The main reason that I never became fully frustrated with Bianca's decision-making had to do with how her relationship with Wesley is portrayed. Wesley is little more than an escape from Bianca's normal life. When they start hooking up, she acts as spiteful and disgusted towards him as usual. While relationships between people who "hate" each other is not an unusual trope, Keplinger employs it in a fresh new way. Bianca really doesn't have any good reasons to actually like Wesley, and she doesn't. He's still the same cocky, rude womanizer as before. He refers to her as "Duffy." And Bianca cannot cease wondering whether she really deserves to be seen as a Duff. Their relationship is not romanticized in the slightest, and the novel makes it pretty clear that a relationship cannot happen until Wesley begins to grow up, and until Bianca starts facing her issues.

Before reading this book, the concept of a Duff was completely unfamiliar to me. As it is unfamiliar to Bianca until Wesley tells her that she is, in fact, one. With this horribly derogative term forming the basis of her novel, Keplinger examines just how people conceptualize their self-worth. Each person has quality that makes him or her feel inferior. Whether it's physical appearance, mental acuity, background, interests, there's always something that makes us feel as though we cannot measure up to others. It's just part of life. Where The DUFF could have turned dark and forbidding, however, Keplinger opted instead to focus on hope. Just as we all have our insecurities, so, too, do we all have our strengths. It may take Bianca a long time to come to that conclusion, but she does eventually and her new found confidence is a pleasure to behold.

Kody Keplinger, I salute you. Not only have you written about subject matters I wasn't sure would have any appeal to me, but you wrote about them engagingly and realistically. Bianca is an unconventional heroine, and her story itself is far from conventional, but there is a lot within its pages for readers to relate to. This fresh young adult contemporary has left me clamoring for me from this author.

Rating: 4 stars
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Amanda

Amanda loves few things better than sitting down with a cup of tea and a book. She frequently stays up far too late, telling herself she just needs to finish one more page. When she's not wrapped up in the stories of others, Amanda works as a children's librarian in a public library.

15 comments:

  1. I'm glad to hear that there is a focus on hope. I started this a few weeks ago but couldn't totally get into it, but I think I might give it another try when I can. The concept of a duff was completely unfamiliar to me too, though it sounds like Keplinger addresses a lot of important issues in this book and does it well. Lovely review, Amanda!

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    1. I could totally see this being a mood read. Like if I was fed up with snarkiness, I would not have been able to read this one when I did. I do hope you're able to return to this when the mood/inspiration hits you, though! It really is worth it. :)

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  2. Isn't it great? I was completely sucked in and impressed. And you're right, it's Bianca's confidence that shines in the end.

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    1. Yes, it is. So glad I gave this one a chance! :)

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  3. I thought you'd like this book, Amanda. It's pretty different from the mountains of other contemp YA out there. I love Bianca as heroine--I love the authenticity of her situation w/ Wesley. It's not fairy tale romance, it is what it is. Unconventional protagonists, love interests, and romance ALWAYS win favor with me:) Fantastic review:)

    If you are curious about her other books, I've never read Shut Out but I did read last year's A Midsummer's Nightmare and I liked it quite a bit as well:)

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    1. I think I'm coming to realize that it's not the YA contemp genre as a whole that I dislike, but rather some ridiculously overused tropes. And luckily this contains none of that. Thanks, Heather!
      And I do want to read Keplinger's others books. I like the fact that Shut Out is a retelling of Lysistrata, although it does sound a bit farfetched. Maybe I will read A Midsummer's Nighmare as my next book by her. :)

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  4. Yeah, what Heather said. I read this when it came out and I was really impressed with the voice and the fact that Kody Keplinger wasn't afraid to take some risks. I really enjoyed this one!

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    1. I'm glad I can count myself among the ranks of those who've read and loved this book!

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  5. Wow it sounds like this author did a really good job at tackling tough subject matter, which I think it's hard to find an author that handles that really well. I haven't read this yet but I have seen it around. I'll have to add it to my TBR pile.

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    1. She did. Really. I was quite impressed. And yay! I hope you are able to read it soon! And that you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

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  6. I'm glad that you really enjoyed The Duff Amanda, I have had this book on my shelf for sometime now, but the way you've described Keplinger's ability to deal with so many real life tough issues well I find really appealing. I think I will have to bump this book up my tbr pile a lot sooner! Great review!

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    1. Thanks, Jasprit! Me too. I hope you do bump it up on your list - it's worth it.

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  7. Oooh, this review is fantastic. Basically, it says everything I would like to think my review from three years ago says, but my reviews were short and not very helpful back then, so I doubt it. I was so surprised by how much I loved this book, but Keplinger's emotional honesty saved what could have been a horrible offensive plot.

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    1. Thank you, Christina! haha I'm sure your review is still pretty good on this, even if it was written a few years ago. It speaks volumes to Keplinger's talent that she was able to make skeptical readers become awestruck by this book.

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  8. This is one of those books that I keep seeing great reviews for, but it scares me a little. I'm worried that I won't be able to connect to Bianca or sympathize with her behavior, because I know that her choices would never have been my own. However, I love that you've illustrated how this author takes a character like that and makes her read true and believable, and that you too were able to connect with that. I like that this story deals with self-worth. Great review!

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