I have some mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the first part of the book, I thought I'd give it five stars - but I quite hated the second part. I didn't like almost any of the characters. Finally I decided to give this book four stars, because I think that generally it was a fun read, but I'm not sure if I'll try reading any other book by this author in the future.

It's a story of a 17-year-old Bianca, who has some serious issues - her parents are getting divorced, her father has a drinking problem and her friends are much prettier and more popular that she is. She feels the ugly duckling of the group and being called the DUFF - the designated ugly fat friend - by the most popular boy at school doesn't help. To stop thinking about all of this Bianca gets into a strictly sexual relationship with Wesley and, obviously, fells in love with him.

Bianca's parents are horrible. Her mother is a joke - always absent, she just sends her husband divorce papers one day. She never calls to Bianca, not once through the entire book. Her father is either boring when sober or a raging monster when drunk.

Bianca is also a terrible person, to tell you the truth. She breaks up with her friends, doesn't want to spend time with them, doesn't talk to them - and then she's surprised, because they feel hurt. She escapes from Wesley and ignores him, though it's obvious he wants to talk to her and he didn't do anything wrong. She keeps calling him a pig and a womaniser, but it's her who jumps from one person's bed to the other's, not him. Bianca is horrible.

I quite liked Wesley, but I had a feeling that we don't know him too well. I think Jessica was cute and I really liked her. "Perfect" Toby was so boring and lacking in passion, that I wanted to roll my eyes.

Aa I said, I'm not going to read this book in the future ever again and I doubt I'll try any other book by this author, but it was an interesting book and I'm glad I read it.

From my blog: https://dominikasreadingchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-duff-by-kody-keplinge... ( )

I’ve been listening to a lot of Taylor swift so I wanted a teenage romance novel. I saw this at the library and since I’d seen the movie of this book I figured it would be a good fit.

The book is, as my two star rating says, Just OK. I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it. I’m guessing there are better things out there if I had looked a little harder. ( )

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. Initially, I picked it up because I love reading books that are turned into movie adaptations. After reading it, I’m not sure if I’ll watch the movie. With the way the few clips I’ve seen show, it’s not much like the book at all. And some of the things I really loved about the book seem to be missing from the film… but back to the book! The Duff is a laugh out loud, sweet, sexy, and at times serious read. It’s a book about friendship, loyalty, and even love.

Bianca is the type of heroine I love reading about. The kind that's snarky, outspoken, is who she is and doesn’t change for anyone. She is also relatable. She’s a good friend and a good daughter. And she is the ‘Duff’ of her group, according to Wesley Rush. Wesley is one of the best looking guys at school. A duff isn’t someone who is fat or ugly necessarily, all it means is that out of your group of friends, you may be the least attractive, etc. It’s not a term of endearment, even though Wesley makes it seem that way.

So this Wesley guy… he seems like a total tool, right? Rich, popular, thinks he’s the all that. Well, there is more to Wesley than meets the eye. Wesley’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems. And really, by the end of the book, I completely loved him. Wesley and Bianca’s not so much friends with benefit’s relationship was something that developed over time. At first, it was just physical. A way to escape what they were both going through, but with time, feelings developed. Both characters realized they cared and Bianca realizes that she’s doing the unthinkable. She is falling for Wesley Rush.

If you’re looking for a good enemies-to-lovers story, a story about friendships, finding yourself and coping with the hard stuff in life, this would be a great pick. I loved both of the main characters, and Bianca’s friends were great too! It’s one of the better YA books I’ve read lately, and honestly, for YA it was a little on the steamy side, which is just another plus. I listened to the audio version of this book and I loved the narrator. I thought she captured Bianca perfectly. ( )

This book was surprisingly good. ( )

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I'll be honest, I only picked this up because I saw the movie trailer and thought it looked funny. I know, not very bookwormy (shhh, this is totally a word!) of me... I still haven't seen the movie, but I have been very pleasantly surprised by this book! There was a lot more to this story than I initially thought, and I was amazed at how deeply some passages resonated with me even though I am (only slightly) older than the intended audience.

At the beginning, I didn't really like Bianca, the main character. I found her annoying and slightly arrogant, so fairly close to what teenagers are actually like. But I loved seeing her change and grow throughout the book! She started out thinking she was more mature than her friends and schoolmates, but ended up realising she was just like them, though in her own way. In other words, she ended up really maturing. Bianca felt very real to me, as she struggled with plenty of issues with her family and her friends and also with having to learn to accept herself for who she is, and not only for how others may see her. For me, this is a very powerful message to convey, particularly to all those teenage girls who may struggle with the same issues: love yourself for who you are and don't bother with what others may think of you. Those who truly love you will always stand by your side, no matter how pretty, or thin, or popular you are.

Overall, this was a very pleasant read. The writing flowed nicely, and the story kept going at a very good pace, with very few slow passages. The development of the main character was definitely the best thing about this book, even though some of the other characters suffered a bit from underdevelopment. I really liked how the author weaved in some discussion on serious issues affecting teenage girls everywhere, such as self-confidence and self-acceptance, teenage love, perception of your own body image, and the so-called "slut-shaming". They were all dealt with incredibly well, even for someone (like me) who has happily left her high-school days behind. Definitely recommended if you're looking for a teenage novel slightly different from the rest. ( )