The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend (Paperback)
$8.99 - Free shipping worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 48 hours | |Short Description for The Duff Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper suddenly realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the slimy school hottie that she thought she hated. Turns out, he's not a bad listener. Soon, Bianca realizes how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.
Full description- Publisher: Poppy Books
- Published: 06 July 2011
- Format: Paperback 280 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Fiction | Family | Family Issues | Self-Esteem | Relationships
- ISBN 13: 9780316084246 ISBN 10: 0316084247
- Sales rank: 7,399
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Reviews for The Duff
One of the best books I've read in years!
Somehow, I am oddly drawn by books that have female protagonists with a sharp tongue. They're haters, they complain about those around her and bottom line... She doesn't stick around people who are intolerable to her. Though these qualities can be very discouraging in real life. But in a book, the authors always make them not so bad and not so good. A combination that is almost too perfect that one can't help but keep on reading. Bianca Piper is that cynical protagonist I'm raving about.
Bianca Piper is the DUFF amongst her two best friend. The DUFF can be defined as a friend amongst a closed circle of girls who are so pretty that they over shadow this DUFF, or in full form, The Designated Ugly Fat Friend. It's a mean term but it's a term that is actually used in real life. Surprising enough, her friends are not dense air heads who only think about boys, popularity and being beautiful. Her friends Jessica and Casey are the sweetest bunch ever. This is a definite plus for me.
The book started off really quick two to three chapters and you will be hooked. I loved how fast-paced the book was, I loved it even more when it drove me off the railings here and there. Bianca is one impulsive girl and she will drive you nuts in a good way.
I've read a lot of teen books and by far, the realistic romances are my favorites. And The Duff definitely has this. Though Bianca might be using her romance with the schools playboy as a way to escape real life, I can't help but rave about that too.
I am so impressed with the authors writing style, she was 18 when she wrote this book and I adored her concept, characters and everything else that came along with the book. Only thing I would change about the book was how abruptly it ended. Maybe if that part was less predictable and more smooth, the book would have been even more amazing. Everything else about this book was absolutely addicting! I simply couldn't put it down. If I had the time and patience to read a book twice, I would do it starting with The DUFF. by Najla QamberBeautiful for the realistic flaws.
The Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Hands up if you've ever felt like that might be you? I certainly need to raise my own hand in response and I bet a whole bunch of readers just did the same. I can't say how it is for guys, but I think a lot of us ladies often feel like the Duff of the group. Every single one of us will, at some point, have looked at our friends and been absolutely positive that they only invite us along out of some kind of pity. We might look at our pals and feel ugly or fat or frumpy in comparison to their svelte beauty.
I truly liked The Duff. I enjoyed how the characters were flawed. I liked how the subject matter was not dumbed down for the YA audience. I think that most of all, I loved how Keplinger breathed some new life into the now horribly clichéd idea of the love triangle. Bianca was a pain in the ass at times and the narrator's voice exacerbated this as far as I was concerned. Wesley was a womanising git who will remind you of "those" boys in school. You know who I mean? The boys who wore to much boy-scented aftershave, walked with a swagger and never had anything nice to say to any girl who hadn't been on birth control since they were still in footsy-pyjamas!? Then there was Toby. He was so nice that it was almost annoying. I knew that I should want Toby to swoop in and save the day with all of his gentle, unsure geekiness, but I didn't! Wesley and Bianca's banter was hilarious. They both used each other but in doing so, they found equals. They challenged and changed each other.
I liked the friendship between Bianca and her best pals. This friendship was also flawed but sweet. I don't think it was as real as it was, perhaps, a little bit too forgiving and not snarky enough...but then that probably means I just have a lot of snarky pals! Whereas I liked the friends, Bianca's family irritated the crap out of me. Her mother escaped through work; her father escaped through booze... is it any wonder that Bianca searches for her own ways to escape?
With all of the irritations and imperfections, I still loved this book. The language is coarse but the sexual subject matter is not glamorised. Bianca feels dirty and ashamed of herself after her nights with Wesley, but still, this is a book which I doubt many parents would be comfortable with younger teens reading. by Laura Williams
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