What they say:The DUFF is hitting UK cinemas on 6th April 2015, starring Bella Thorne and Mae Whitman!
Due to simultaneous publishing in the US and Canada, please note, we will not be able to approve requests from members in those regions.
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of a man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff - the designated ugly fat friend - of her crew.
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 secret enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly wrong. 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.
With a wry and tell-it-like-it-is voice, New York Times Bestselling novel The DUFF is a witty and poignant story of a teenager struggling with the rules of high school attraction, along with the breaking down of her relationships with family and friends. It is a novel about what it means to be sexy, in a world where we feel we have to be perfect!
I received a copy from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review!
What I say: I'm not sure how I hadn't already read The DUFF (a massive oversight on my part) but when the opportunity to read the book in time for the UK movie release arose I jumped at the chance.
The DUFF provides a realistic look into the scary and hilarious life of modern teenagers. I wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did and I really appreciated how Kody Keplinger didn't shy away from the grittier side of being a teen - so yes there's sex, insecurities, jealousy and troubling issues.
Bianca aka the Duff (flattering term I know) has a dysfunctional home life and is brilliantly clinical in her analysis of other teens. She has some great one-liners and her inner snark had me in hysterics. I appreciated the pragmatic approach Bianca takes to her situation and how she embraces being the Duff.
Wesley is an interesting character because he's full of delightful contradictions. When he unleashes the Duff bombshell I seriously wanted to hit him, yet I also felt really sorry for him - he always comes across as being extremely lonely.
My favourite scenes were whenever Bianca and Wes would start their banter-fest or their interesting take on romance. I wasn't entirely sure of the age range because there are several mentions of sex and adult content (but no graphic detail). So I'd probably label The DUFF as mature YA.
The secondary characters are well formed and make a great edition to the series. Bianca's besties Casey and Jessica go a long way to proving how loyal a group of girls can be. Even Toby made me smile and I felt he served a purpose, without ever feeling contrived.
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