The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Jody Keplinger
Published: September 2010 by Little Brown/Poppy
Genres: YA, contemporary, romance
Pages: 280 pages
Format: HardcoverRating: 5/10
Description: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.
I would describe the characters in The DUFF similar to how Toby describes the characters in Wuthering Heights... "atrocious and spoiled and selfish." Not to mention dumb, one-dimensional, and just insufferable. Bianca is an insufferable protagonist. Not only is she overwhelmingly cynical and critical and a grade A hypocrite, but she's a horrible friend! She constantly lies to her friends, contradicts herself, and flat out ignores her father when he is relapsing. I mean, dude, Bianca... call someone! Do something! Don't just tiptoe by! The escapism sex was super unrealistic and just annoying and obviously infuriating.
The mindless and utter objectifying and labeling in this novel really got to me. It was pretty offensive. There's a lot of catty talk with the words "slut" and "whore" getting thrown around. There's a lot of cliques. The only thing that saved this novel and which brought it to a passing rating, was the message of the story, specifically, the ending. And I'm not talking about Wesley realizing that he needs to get his shit together, or Toby getting into touch with his real feelings, or the best friends making up, or Wesley and Bianca getting together... No. The only redeeming thing was the realization that Bianca has whilst talking to Vikki...
“Calling Vikki a slut or a whore was just like calling somebody the Duff. It was insulting and hurtful, and it was one of those titles that just fed off the inner fear every girl must have from time to time. Slut, bitch, prude, tease, ditz. They were all the same. Every girl felt like one of these sexist labels described her at some point.”
Another gem that redeemed this book was Wesley talking to Bianca...
“Bianca, whore is just a cheap word people use to cut each other down," he said. His voice softer. "It makes them feel better about their own mistakes. Using words like that is easier than really looking into the situation. I promise you, you're not a whore."
I looked at him, into his warm gray eyes, and suddenly understood what he was trying to tell me. The message hidden beneath the words.
You're not alone.”
I literally had my hands up in the air. I am so relieved that this book finally started saying something that matters and has a ring of truth in it. Everyone needs to realize this message! Words hurt, labels hurt, and they are useless and stupid.
The romance was okay. The characters were horrible. The story was okay. The message was wonderful. There are some gems and some passages that are really moving. However, Bianca is not a lady protagonist that I would want little girls to look up to.
There were so many things wrong with this book that really bugged me, but the underlying message is so important and that's the only reason that saved this book for me.
“Calling Vikki a slut or a whore was just like calling somebody the Duff. It was insulting and hurtful, and it was one of those titles that just fed off the inner fear every girl must have from time to time. Slut, bitch, prude, tease, ditz. They were all the same. Every girl felt like one of these sexist labels described her at some point.”
Another gem that redeemed this book was Wesley talking to Bianca...
“Bianca, whore is just a cheap word people use to cut each other down," he said. His voice softer. "It makes them feel better about their own mistakes. Using words like that is easier than really looking into the situation. I promise you, you're not a whore."
I looked at him, into his warm gray eyes, and suddenly understood what he was trying to tell me. The message hidden beneath the words.
You're not alone.”
I literally had my hands up in the air. I am so relieved that this book finally started saying something that matters and has a ring of truth in it. Everyone needs to realize this message! Words hurt, labels hurt, and they are useless and stupid.
The romance was okay. The characters were horrible. The story was okay. The message was wonderful. There are some gems and some passages that are really moving. However, Bianca is not a lady protagonist that I would want little girls to look up to.
There were so many things wrong with this book that really bugged me, but the underlying message is so important and that's the only reason that saved this book for me.
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