A review by mxharriet
The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

2.0

*Received from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review*
description

I had previously seen this novel around, with a review popping up every once in a while. Then all-of-a-sudden my Goodreads page exploded, and I knew I had to read it! Overall, it was okay. I cannot think of another word to describe it except it was, 'okay'. I have admitted before, fluffy contemporary romances are not my favourite genre, but I do keep trying because of novels like Anna and the French Kiss, Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys, and Babe in Boyland. However moving onto the cover, I do really like the film covers for this novel; definitely prefer them to the originals.

Bianca has not had it easy, she never sees her mum meaning home life is tough. But to top it off, Wesley Rush names her the DUFF, the designated ugly fat friend. Ouch. And good for Bianca, because she throws her drink in his face. But with everything getting worse at home, when paired with Wesley for a school project, Bianca begins to confide in Wesley, and starts to understand that they may not be that different after all.

I struggled to understand whether I liked Bianca. I cannot pretend to understand why she does what she does, because I do not. Which is where I struggled to connect with her, yes she could be funny and entertaining, and she went through some struggles, but I just did not get it. All I could think about was how irritating and frustrating she was. Then we have Wesley, for some strange reason I sort-of liked him. He did protect Bianca and look out for her, but also had a lovely soft side when it came to his family, or more specifically his sister; making me even more interested to read Lying Out Loud. Although I cannot deny that he definitely was incredibly frustrating and disgusting at times.

"No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually."
The Duff by Kody Keplinger, Paperback


The plot was predictable, specifically with one event adding raw emotion to the novel. However the rest you just sort of float through, it is a coming of age novel, one that yes, needs to be told but there was just that spark missing for me. It was just like any other contemporary, and I felt I could have easily skipped to the end, meaning there was nothing to make it stand-out from the crowd.

Sadly this novel was just not for me, and though our protagonist Bianca could be humorous at times, I constantly found myself becoming frustrated with her.