Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Release Date: September 7th 2010
Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
Format: Paperback, 288
Series: No

Goodreads | Book Depository

My Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: "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."

I know, I know, I'm seeing a pattern here. So far all of my reviews have been 4 or 5 stars. That's just because I haven't read any books recently that I haven't enjoyed thoroughly! But the moment I do, I will be sure to let you all know!

I was tossing up whether to give this book 4.5 or 5 stars. I decided on 5 stars because I just couldn't put this book down and on more than one occasion I caught myself with a big goofy smile while reading!

Bianca has a lot going on in her life right now, her mum is barely home and because of that her parents are constantly fighting. Her Dad receives unexpected divorce papers in the mail and gets thrown through a loop, relapsing into alcoholism. Bianca has heard her parents talk about his alcoholic ways in the past, though he had overcome this before she was born so she had never seen it first hand. With all this going on she needs a distraction, and in walks Wesley.

I have to say that I really didn't like Wesley calling Bianca 'the DUFF.' No one wants to be called that. Wesley does grow on me through out the book, when he reveals more about himself and he spends more time with Bianca. Though Bianca can't see it straight away, it's obvious that Wesley cares about her, he listens to her problems and notices when she doesn't seem right. Bianca realises that she is falling for this guy that she once hated with a passion, and tries to cut ties with him. Wesley, however, isn't going to let this happen, as he has already fallen for her.

I really did love this book, I couldn't get enough! When I finished it, I kind of wanted to pick it up and re-read it... This teen story full of family and friend drama and confusion in love, was excellently written and I will be sure to pick up Kody Keplinger's new book Shut Out as soon as possible!

Happy Reading!
- Amy