Book Review: The DUFF

When I first saw the title of The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, I laughed. I think every girl has felt like the Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) at one point or the other. That alone was enough to intrigue me. And then the book's blurb reassured me that this was a book worth reading:

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.

I admit, I have a softness for hate-turning-to-love relationships, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. But now, uh, I don't know. In fact, I feel like I have a love-hate relationship with this book.

I loved the situation the MC is in. Every girl can relate to being a Duff, or at least feeling like one. Every girl knows that sleazy man-whore whom she is attracted to despite herself (even if she won't admit it) and every girl has issues at home. The set-up felt pretty dang real to me. Even the way Bianca deals felt real to me (if something I could never see myself or anyone I know doing).

Bianca as a character was interesting and dynamic. I liked her little oddities (like finding folding clothes relaxing) and liked that she also had the tendency to keep her emotions bottled up (something I can relate to). But, for all that, I'm not sure if I really liked HER. In some books, that's okay, but in this book I should have been on the MC's side, and I was for the most part, but there were so many things she did that I disagreed with that at times I just wanted to smack her and say, "Really?"

Wesley, at the end, made me smile. I liked how he grew and we got to see the true guy underneath all his BS. It gives me hope for all a-holes out there.

BUT, the author almost lost me when Wesley tells Bianca, to her face, that she is the DUFF. It just seemed so unrealistic to me. The whole reason why he's talking to her is to come off as the nice, sensitive guy so he can sleep with her friends (he says so) so WHY would he admit that? That's just stupid. Creeps are creeps and ones with his reputation would be a little smoother than that. Now, if it had ended up just being a play for Bianca, i.e., to get her attention even if it was negative attention, I could see why he would say it. But that's never suggested. Which left me disappointed and feeling like it was all contrived. Bleh.

And I think that's what REALLY bothered me about this book. For all the difficult situations and obstacles Bianca faces, everything resolves a bit too nicely. Everyone is a bit too honest, a bit too willing to change and make everything right. And the story ends so neatly. Wrapped in a pink, shiny bow. Cherry Coke all around!

And that, to me, felt contrived.

I'm not saying that the book was completely unreadable. There were moments when I was so wrapped up in the story that I didn't care how easy the resolutions seemed. I was just happy that the characters were happy. So, all-in-all, I had the exact same attitude toward this book as Bianca does towards Wesley. I'm pretty sure I don't like it, yet I can't bring myself to say I hate it because of all its redeeming qualities.

Recommended: Partly yes, for an easy, semi-emotional read. Partly no for its "too-neat" ending.

Rating (out of five stars): 3