iamliterate's review against another edition
2.0
This book could have been so very fun, but it wasn't. Bianca was such a negative nancy and basically had no redeeming qualities. I was excited for the movie after the trailers I've seen, but I hope it's far better than it's book.
pn_hinton's review against another edition
5.0
One thing to note is that this is *completely* different from the movie. That said, both are an enjoyable enough way to pass the time. I was more invested in this book than I thought I would be and ended up finishing it rather quickly. Good quick feel good YA book with a romantic element.
ana_a_b08's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The book is nothing like the movie.
readermeetsbook's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not quite sure what to make of The DUFF. On one hand, it is an amazingly authentic YA book. On the other hand, I spent most of the story annoyed at Bianca and frustrated by the plot.
Bianca comes off as jaded, sarcastic, cynical. She judgmental of the world and self-absorbed. I couldn't stand the negativity. Right at the start of the book, Bianca is at a teen club watching from the sidelines and she jumps right in to judging people who were enjoying themselves dancing. Even her actions toward Wesley seem sort of extreme. When she kisses him in the beginning, she stopped herself and proceed to yell at and hit him. Violent much? Even her treatment of her friends, who were amazingly loyal and awesome, grated on my nerves. And her decision to sleep with Welsey… argh, I wanted to shake her. How was this empowering to women - sleeping with the guy that called you the ugly friend. It's a horrible lesson on self-esteem.
But, I was ranting to my friend about this character and she pointed out that the character is acting like a teenager. And she was right - Bianca portrays a typical teenager that many people can relate to. As a teenager, when haven't we made stupid decisions or fallen for the bad boy. Okay, so maybe I can't relate to the bad boy thing, but I made plenty of dumb decisions as a teen. Nothing as serious as sleeping with a boy, but still dumb choices. And I think that what's appealing about this book is that Bianca is not a flawless heroine and that she is easily relatable. When haven't we compared ourselves to our friends and felt inadequate. I know that sometimes I still feel like the DUFF when I'm with my friends. But as this novel points out, everyone feels like the DUFF sometimes.
I had some problems with the plotting. There were some issues, like Bianca's father battle with alcohol, that I felt she took shortcuts with. But overall, I didn't regret reading this book. I enjoyed the character development and Bianca improved in the end.
Bianca comes off as jaded, sarcastic, cynical. She judgmental of the world and self-absorbed. I couldn't stand the negativity. Right at the start of the book, Bianca is at a teen club watching from the sidelines and she jumps right in to judging people who were enjoying themselves dancing. Even her actions toward Wesley seem sort of extreme. When she kisses him in the beginning, she stopped herself and proceed to yell at and hit him. Violent much? Even her treatment of her friends, who were amazingly loyal and awesome, grated on my nerves. And her decision to sleep with Welsey… argh, I wanted to shake her. How was this empowering to women - sleeping with the guy that called you the ugly friend. It's a horrible lesson on self-esteem.
But, I was ranting to my friend about this character and she pointed out that the character is acting like a teenager. And she was right - Bianca portrays a typical teenager that many people can relate to. As a teenager, when haven't we made stupid decisions or fallen for the bad boy. Okay, so maybe I can't relate to the bad boy thing, but I made plenty of dumb decisions as a teen. Nothing as serious as sleeping with a boy, but still dumb choices. And I think that what's appealing about this book is that Bianca is not a flawless heroine and that she is easily relatable. When haven't we compared ourselves to our friends and felt inadequate. I know that sometimes I still feel like the DUFF when I'm with my friends. But as this novel points out, everyone feels like the DUFF sometimes.
I had some problems with the plotting. There were some issues, like Bianca's father battle with alcohol, that I felt she took shortcuts with. But overall, I didn't regret reading this book. I enjoyed the character development and Bianca improved in the end.
mdrenen's review against another edition
2.0
The story of this book was OK, but After finishing it I realized that the author seemed to be a teenager. Kody Keplinger was indeed 19 when this was published, so she was clearly unaware that the following three themes are mythe which in my estimation are somewhat dangerous to young women:
1. If you sleep with a guy, he will love you. (yeah, right)
2. If a guy starts out as a cad he will turn into Prince Charming for the love of the "right girl" (see #1)
3. Addiction is a viable way to cope with things that are upsetting. There are no consequences, and addictions are easily broken.
This third myth is the most dangerous of all. The author does not seem to realize that substance abuse can permanently alter the workings of the brain. Some people never recover.
For the above listed reasons reasons, I rate this book 1.5 stars
1. If you sleep with a guy, he will love you. (yeah, right)
2. If a guy starts out as a cad he will turn into Prince Charming for the love of the "right girl" (see #1)
3. Addiction is a viable way to cope with things that are upsetting. There are no consequences, and addictions are easily broken.
This third myth is the most dangerous of all. The author does not seem to realize that substance abuse can permanently alter the workings of the brain. Some people never recover.
For the above listed reasons reasons, I rate this book 1.5 stars
colloquialism's review against another edition
4.0
I'll start off by saying that the book is extremely engaging and you won't want to put it down. The main character is a realistic cynical teenage girl who learns about herself and how to open up to people and of course it's a love story (:
The movie is completely different and the only thing in common with it is the name duff but I liked it and continue to think the best movies are ones based on books ( even though they are usually wildly inaccurate)
jeannamarie's review against another edition
2.0
Teen angst is just too much sometimes. Also the movie and book are not even the same story.
meubanks's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5