The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger 5/5

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend 

by Kody Keplinger 

5 out of 5 stars

A solid 4.5/5 (clicked 5 stars though). Lots of feels like I've not felt in a really long time... since I've stopped reading fanfic.

I'm a fanfic girl. Always & forever. Those who don't read fan fiction may not understand the appeal. But I do and once you do, you will never be the same. This book brought me back to the good old days of reading and writing fanfic. That's why this book will forever be close to my heart.

THIS IS NOT THE MOVIE IN PRINT. Very far from it. While the movie is light-hearted and filled with comic antics, the book is darker and emotion-driven. Apart from the feels, this book tackles very important issues on Self-Image and Dealing with the Present (instead of immersing in fantasy). 

SYNOPSIS
Like the movie, we have a girl named Bianca who learns (within the first few pages) that she's the DUFF to her hotter friends. There are many memorable side-characters here, but the story rightfully revolves around our main couple: Bianca, the Duff, and Wesley Rush, the hottest guy in town who told Bianca that she's the Duff). Bianca laments on the being the DUFF through many pages, which you can totally skip, because it only really gets interesting when she hooks up with Wesley. They were made to do a paper on The Scarlet Letter: A Romance together so they decide to spend an afternoon writing the assignment. It was a pretty bad day for Bianca who had just found out that her mom had filed for divorce and dad wanted to have time to digest this. Because of Bianca's confused state she jumps on the ever willing "man-whore", Wesley. Of course, one tryst wouldn't be enough distraction so the two characters continue it with, of course, no strings attached. Bianca fancies herself attracted to a secondary character whose main job is to lay in wait for a love-triangle story arc to happen and is, therefore, not significant enough to be mentioned again. Bianca's problems escalate when her dad dives for liquid courage. Surprisingly, she refuses to open up to her two best friends since talking about it makes it real, and whenit's real = it hurts. Being a smart girl, she continues to distract herself with Wesley until shit hits the fan. 

OH WESLEY!
He's hot. He's an athlete. He drives a sports car. He's actually well-spoken and well-mannered. I love him to bits. Need I mention how good he is in bed? Nope, but I will. The reader can extrapolate his skills in the fade-to-black sex scenes (which are written well - like that type of fanfic). Anyhow, Wesley remains a mystery until past 50% of the book, when Bianca starts to explore their relationship outside of the sheets (not that they ever used sheets, because who does that?). Wes' life is not perfect. His parents are mostly absent, his grandmother hates him and his sister believes her grandma. Wesley fills his life with women (to fill ohmystars! I couldn't resist.) to combat the loneliness. Like Bianca, Wesley is also expert at escaping reality. They are a reflection of each other, which makes me wonder if you should be with someone who shares the same faults. Good thing that this book solves their issues painlessly to make them an ideal match afterall.

ISSUES
+ SELF-IMAGE - The book does a fantastic job of reminding kids that name-calling or labeling is BAD. If you're no longer a young-adult, you should already know this. If not, please absorb the lessons from this book. No good will come of name-calling. Although I agree with most of the statures discussed by Wes on name-calling, I do not agree that people call others names to simply put them down. Sadly, there are times when people call each other bad names because of utter malice (in part, due to ignorance and fear). We should also not let it pass, as Bianca had advised a secondary character. As Terry Pratchett has repeatedly advocated, words have power.
+ DISTRACTIONS - This is a recurring theme of this book that occurs until 75% in. It's ok to distract yourself from reality. Unlike Bianca and Wesley's problems, which magically solves itself, there are things in the world you cannot change. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, it's okay to take a break. Of course, in that time, you should also allow for self-exploration and being-one-with-the-world. Remember that procrastination is a sin. Just like me reading 3 books this week to avoid writing my application letters. It's no different from Bianca's antics. Have the courage to deal with your problems. When it's over, you can go on vacay.
+ LOYALTY - There's also a little bit of discussion about being loyal to your friends. You see, the currency of a lot of friendship is time. When you start spending less time with your friends without explanation, there's a problem. If they are your true friends, they would not mind as long as you inform them.

This book manages to discuss pressing and, also, timeless issues. Then, it tries to cram it into this story. It's not even really that subtle. The narrative and plot is simple. The world is small, I mean, it's high school. The last 25% of the book is extremely flat, and that's coming RIGHT AFTER the best part of the book - it's really amazing how the mood and my interest dived to hell from one page to the next. There's also a lot of praise for Bianca's sarcasm. I like satire, which is subtle but heavy. In comparison, I find sarcasm is a bit vulgar. I am a prude. But I appreciated Bianca's lines on how ridiculous the conversations are, e.g. It's like a soap opera. This is immediately followed the other person continuing the conversation as if Bianca didn't say anything. I thought that was funny.

I say: Read it for the first 75%. 

That part is awesome, especially just past the 50% mark. 

I also say: Do not expect too much from this going into it. It's really good. But it's fan fiction good. It's not going to blow your mind. The writing is sloppy. The plot is thin. The lines are cliche. The issues are relevant but teen-oriented. Nothing bad happens in this world because, just like BiancaxWesley, this is a form of distraction . You're supposed to FEEL, not THINK. Also, in the end, everything will be OK.

Originally published in GoodReads here.