The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

“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.”

The DUFF has been on my wishlist for a long time now, so when I got an email about reviewing it I accepted quickly. It amazes me that Keplinger wrote this book when she was so young. Plus she’s from KY, major bonus points from me!

This book is an amazing contemporary gem. It’s funny and realistic and it’s the sort of book that easily hooked me from page one. I love the characters, the sense of humor, and the pop-culture references made me unbelievably happy.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect out of Bianca, because of the title of the book. Bianca is a real girl, she’s not perfect, but she’s not fat or ugly either. Despite her insistance of hating Wesley, the attraction is there and gradually you can see how she’d easily fall for him. I felt for Bianca when it came to her home situation, but really disliked how she pushed her friends away. At the same time though, that is realistic, so I can’t really complain. She has a fantastic attitude, I love her sarcastic tone.

Wesley is a jerk, but at the same time I’m drawn to guys who are a bit cocky. What a conundrum, seriously. I love the character of Wesley, he has some depth and, despite his bad-side, you can tell he really does have concern for the people around him (or at least Bianca).

If you haven’t read The DUFF, you definitely need to. It’s brilliantly written and I am now eager to read more from Keplinger!

Caution: There are a lot sex scenes.