The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger

                                                 

Book title/ Author: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger
Publisher/ Year: April 5th 2012 Hodder Children's Books
 Genre: YA Contemporary
 Series: No
 Pages: 343
 Rating: 4 stars out of 5

*This review may contain spoilers!*


Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper knows she's not the hottest girl at school, but when school jock and resident moron Wesley casually refers to her as a DUFF- Designated Ugly Fat Friend- the gloves are off!
If there's a thin line between love and hate then Bianca has crossed it.     She just never thought she was capable of breaking someone's heart...

My review

The DUFF is one of the first YA contemporary books I've read and it's a refreshing change from a paranormal or dystopian series.

I see a lot of myself in Bianca- cynical and snarky- so I could easily relate to what she was feeling quite a lot. She is also incredibly loyal to her friends, and from first impressions I didn't expect her friends to be that much, so I was really pleased with Casey and how caring she was throughout the whole book.

I also liked how Bianca clearly wasn't perfect, but she could still have amazing friends and a super sweet (and hot) boyfriend. Bianca and Wesley are the opposite of a typical perfect couple and I loved the fact that Wesley was the one who fell for her more, by doing completely out-of-character things for her, and how Bianca stood her ground until the time was right.

One of my favourite characters from the book was Toby, for just being the perfect guy. He had the courage to ask Bianca out, and when they were he was always completely respectful and polite, and knowing that in the end it wasn't right with him and Bianca, he let her go.

This book shows how labels can define a person's life and let it control you, but also that you shouldn't let it. The first time Bianca hears the word, she thinks of only herself as the DUFF, but later realises that everyone thinks of themselves like that. The DUFF touches a subject that every teenage girl has once thought about herself and tells it how it is, instead of brushing it off.

This is an extremely powerful book and I can't wait to see what else she comes out with.

Izzy

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