Title: The Duff Author: Kody Keplinger
Page Count: 277
Rating: B+
Keywords: High School, Beauty, Relationships, Senior Year, Acceptance
Genre: YA
Younger Readers: DO NOT BASE READABILITY ON MOVIE, this book does have an abundance of teen sex including scenes with oral, domestic violence and alcoholism also present, may not be appropriate for preteens
Movie Synopsis from IMDb:
A high school senior instigates a social pecking order revolution after finding out that she has been labeled the DUFF - Designated Ugly Fat Friend - by her prettier, more popular counterparts.
Book Synopsis from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, 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.
Review of Movie:
I wanted to start off by talking about the movie. It was amazing! I have absolutely no clue why this movie was not more popular when it came out. It was funny, cute, and even ended with a moral (don't judge people because bad things can happen to anyone and you don't always know their circumstances). Anyone that has ever felt like a misfit can relate to Bianca and her struggles to function in the high school setting as well as accept herself for who she really is. I think that this is a really important lesson for everyone. I was lucky to have the kind of parents that encouraged this my entire life but I also have known people that did not learn this until much later, or not at all. It is okay to be who you are. Don't pretend to be someone you're not to fit into what others expect. You'll just make yourself miserable. I'm a clumsy nerd who gets really excited about bookstores and is an introvert who can be selectively outgoing if necessary. Some people think that's weird and others think it's really cool. Guess who I hang out with? Find the people that you can be yourself around and keep them. Don't waste your time on people who won't accept the real you.
The love story was adorable. Girl realizes that her super cute guitar playing crush is not as perfect as she thought he was (hasn't everyone been there at some point?) and notices that she has developed serious feelings for her best guy friend. Pretty much the ideal cute situation for a hopeless romantic like me.
I watched this with my mother and a friend. All agreed that it was fantastic and hilarious! It was not exactly like a an 80s movie but it certainly had a similar feeling to a classic John Hughes film for me. Like Breakfast Club. It wasn't exactly storyline but a feeling it gave. Check it out!
Review of Book:
I just wanted to start by saying that I did enjoy this book in the end and I would recommend it overall. If you do choose to read it just know that it is not like the movie. There is the same overall message in the end and the same cast of characters (in name only) but the storyline is very different as well as the actions of the characters.
This was certainly not what I was expecting after watching the cute movie. Before page 100 Bianca and Wesley have had a one night stand. Not just making out. Nope. It was a sex scene. And then she continues to use him as a "distraction" in this way for much of the rest of the book. There is even a much more detailed oral sex scene than I was expecting. Especially since this was written by a girl in high school and is classified as a YA novel. This is why I would not recommend it for the younger readers of YA.
The book is much more serious and explicit than the movie was but I did not hate it. Certainly I did not enjoy the first quarter of the book because I was longing for the cuteness of the movie and was getting a story about a girl with a seriously messed up life and a casual hookup relationship. Bianca is looser than most YA main characters and for some this will be refreshing. For others it could be a total turn off for the whole story.
Family violence is addressed briefly in this novel and it is not sugarcoated. I enjoyed this aspect because it is such an important topic to be exposed to. Often times people avoid family violence, also known as domestic violence, because it is an uncomfortable topic but addressing it in the world of fiction is certainly a good starting point to addressing it and learning about the complexities of such a topic.
I recommend it because in the end it was a good book with a good moral. Everyone is unique and it is best not to judge because you never know what someone is going through. That is great to teach young people. However, I just want the reader to be aware that the content is not as light as the movie and may be inappropriate for much younger readers. It also depends on the reader's morals and comfort level with certain content. Some people are okay with crude language and casual sex. Some people are not. It really depends on the individual. If these things don't bother you and you're interested, check it out! It is short and will fly by.
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