Publisher: Little Brown/ POPPY (2010)
Format: Hardcover | 288 pages
Format: Hardcover | 288 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult, Romance
Description: "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 "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.
But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that 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"
It all started when Wesley Rush, the school's playboy told her she was "The DUFF" (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) of her group. Since then everything became so much more complicated. Bianca finds herself having a very satisfactory relationship with Wesley (whom she can't stand by the way) as a way of relieving stress for the problems in her life.
"The DUFF" was a quick, satisfying read. It explores the growth of the relationship between two teenagers who wouldn't usually get along, since the female protagonist, Bianca, despises Wesley for sleeping around. What I liked about this book is the fact that Bianca's attitude starts by matching Wesley's (she sleeps with him wanting a "one-night stand" and then continues on, "using" him to escape her life) which in turn leads to a better understanding of Wesley's own behavior (which, as I said before, she despised at the beginning of the book).
I thought the author could have explored Bianca's and Wesley's problems not to mention the development of their relationship better; everything was resolved too quickly in my humble opinion, it almost seems like some "steps" of the process were missing.
Still it was a real page-turner. Oh and I loved Keplinger's portrait of modern teenagers, I think it was spot on. The characters seemed pretty real, not the sanitized version of teens you find in most YA books. Maybe it's because Keplinger isn't that much older than her character, but she did a great job.
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