The DUFF | Kody Keplinger

Wow! A realistic teen contemporary with a realistic heroine with realistic friends and a somewhat realistic family/life. For once I'm actually mind blown! 

After searching and searching for this goddamn book I caved and ordered it online. Once it came in the mail and read it in less than a day, probably four hours to be exact. It's such a fast pace book and a great page turner! You just can't get enough and you have to know what happens next. When I say 'fast pace' I don't mean filled with action, rather 'too good to not finish.' 

I highly, highly recommend this as a 'pick me up' if you need a good book to fan over after reading something like Clockwork Princess or Noughts and Crosses. 

Bianca Piper despises Wesley Rush, the school man-whore who sleep with everyone and everything. One night when she's forced by her friends to go to a party Wesley in return, insults and hurts her by calling her the DUFF. The designated ugly, fat friend. Although Bianca's home life isn't getting any better and when her parents are on the verge of divorce and everything in her world seems to be falling apart she finds an escape. Sex with Wesley Rush. 

This is a young adult, contemporary/humour. It's very funny. I actually laughed/cried.

Oh also just to put this out there, this book has hella sexy times and when I said that it was very realistic I didn't mean that the majority of teenagers go around boning each other and thats why it's realistic. I meant that everything besides the sex in this book was also worth mentioning (again not saying that every family is like the main character in this book) and the way Kody Keplinger chose to handle family issues and being 'The Designated Ugly Fat Friend' and juggling school was very much relatable to many people. I also do know that some teenagers look to sex as a distraction from their everyday lives which is a big part of the premiss of this book.

Don't want to bore anyone but:
Only 16% of teens have had sex by the age of fifteen,
48% of those aged seventeen,
61% of eighteen year olds and 71% of nineteen year olds.
Although teens are waiting longer to have sex than they did in the recent past years. 

There is nothing wrong with not have had any of this at any age! Everyone has experiences at different ages and stages of their lives, everyone develops differently. There is nothing wrong with never have had your first kiss whether your 11 or 27! 

Also don't feel like because everyone else is doing it you have to do it as well (sounds cliche but seriously!) It's better to wait for someone worth it. 

Now to the actual topic of the sex in this book, I read one of Kody Keplinger's blog posts where she remarked that most people bashed the book because of the sex scenes. Before I confuse anyone, I'm gonna put it out there now that I didn't mind the sex scenes at all (it's not at all anything like fanfic!), they weren't graphic to the point where you're shielding you're eyes. I'm not gonna lie here and say to you that teenagers don't have sex because there is no denying that they do. I'm also not too sure why sex in literature is taboo for some people when its part of human nature. 

As a feminist I'm proud that Kody Keplinger didn't write Bianca as some sappy school girl who can't stick up for herself and her morals. There are times in this book where Bianca stops thing from going to far when she doesn't want them to or when she doesn't let others bring her down because she's bigger than that. I understand when insults are thrown at you they hurt and the majority of writers would write a character as Bianca Piper as a wimp. Thankfully, Keplinger chooses to reinforce that you don't EVER have to make yourself look good or fix yourself for a guy or anyone for that matter! and that truthfully we are all 'the DUFF'. 

I believe as women we should be able to stick together; stand up for each other and what not a better way to reinforce this to the younger generation then through young adult literature as books are apart of so many lives. There are teenagers who read to escape from everything else in their lives. Sorry to go on a tangent but did you all see Emma Watson's he-for-she speech at the UN? ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Here is the link. Worth checking out if you haven't already! 

I know this isn't much of a proper review but more of a rant/me-going-off-on a tangent but another thing I love about this book are the refreshing characters. One of the main parts of this book that didn't make it one of those stories where the girl has no friends or they all bully her; making it super cliche (and no I do not endorse bullying what-so ever!). 

In this book Bianca's friends (Casey and Jessica) are my favourite characters because they are so great and what f.r.i.e.n.d.s should really be. They pick her up instead of pushing her to the side and not giving a damn. Bonus, they are drop dead hilarious.