The Movie Was Better: The DUFF

I read The DUFF a few years ago and I thought it was OK - I think the hype around it meant my expectations were high and sadly not met. But when I heard they were making a movie based on the book, I was intrigued by exactly how they'd pull off the story of a pair of teenage fuck buddies on the big screen. When the first trailers came out I realised they weren't actually trying to do that, and had instead turned it into yet another hot-guy-makes-over-schlumpy-but-actually-really-hot-girl movie.

I was kinda mad about it because, despite not LOVING the book, the honest portrayal of Bianca's sexuality was one of the things I found refreshing and appealing about it. And, like, been there, done She's All That. The more trailers and snippets I saw, the more I thought that, frankly, the movie was going to be terrible.

So, unlike the book, I had low expectations going in to the movie. And I am glad to say they were NOT met - because I was pleasantly surprised. The DUFF was fun and adorable and delightful. The characters were quite endearing, and Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell as leads Bianca and Wesley had great comic timing and pretty hot chemistry. Obviously Mae Whitman is by no means "ugly" or "fat" but they put her in overalls so that automatically signalled she's a beast. J/K - it's actually more about how she sees herself, and how she's got to love herself despite being surrounded by jerks who judge her for not being ~conventionally~ beautiful. The "DUFF" thing could have turned into an offensive trainwreck, and while there are a couple of iffy moments, overall it's pretty well-handled, with a nice message of loving yourself and not caring about what others think

The dialogue itself is cringey at times - particularly whenever technology is mentioned, with a serious reek of trying too hard - but there's also some really funny moments. And it's cheesy, but in a way that makes you pull the heart eyes emoji face IRL.

So yes, I went in expecting to feel bored at best and ragey at worst, but I walked out with a big grin on my face. I'm already keen to watch it again. It's obviously not for everyone and it's by no means perfect, but I'm a sucker for a good teen rom com, and The Duff is definitely one of them.

And I'm just gonna leave this here, for... reasons...

My Book Boyfriend: Wesley Rush

It's my favourite time of the week - My Book Boyfriend day! MBB is hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader, and it's all about fictional boys who we want to do bad things with date. This week my book boyfriend is the smart, hot, flirtatious, seemingly-jerky-but-really-vulnerable Wesley Rush from Kody Keplinger's The DUFF. In the book he's described as tall, with dark curly hair and grey eyes. Somehow in my head that translated to Chace Crawford. Mainly because the boy is so, so pretty.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

 “I think about you much more than any self-respecting man would like to admit, and I'm insanely jealous of Tucker - something I never thought I'd say. Moving on after you is impossible. No other girl can keep me on my toes the way you can. No one else makes me WANT to embarrass myself by writing sappy letters like this one.
Only you.”

"Wesley didn’t say anything. He just sat with me in silence. I didn’t even realize he was holding my hand until after the tears had stopped. Once I’d caught my breath and wiped away the few salty drops from my eyes, he opened his door and walked around to open mine. He helped me out of the car—not that I needed it, but it was still nice—and led me up to the porch with his arm tight around me, like the way he’d guided me out of my house, keeping me close. As if he was afraid I might slip away in the darkness between his car and the front door."

“'Wesley Rush doesn’t chase girls, but I’m chasing you.'”

Review: The DUFF By Kody Keplinger

In a sentence: A fun read that aims to achieve more than it does.

The DUFF tells the story of 17-year-old Bianca Piper, who is opinionated, snarky and super-close to her two gorgeous best friends. She begins to doubt herself when Wesley Rush, the hottest guy in school and resident man-whore, dubs her "the DUFF" (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). She also has issues at home, and when she's assigned to be Wesley's partner on a school project (natch) she turns to him for solace... in the form of sex. Yep, they become friends enemies with benefits, and so begins a complicated relationship with lots of complicated feelings.

I think the book had great potential, but it didn't quite make it there. The message of loving and accepting yourself is an awesome one, but was pushed a bit too hard at times, so we're told rather than shown, making it slightly less meaningful. The writing is solid and the story is unique and interesting, but the pacing felt a little off to me - for instance, it felt like Bianca went from throwing Coke in Wesley's face to jumping in bed with him in a matter of pages (i.e. way too quickly). The characters, too, are interesting and likable overall, but also really got on my nerves a few times. I loved the fact that Bianca is smart and sarcastic, but her snarkiness got a bit grating after a while and could come across as bitter and even nasty. Plus, for someone so cynical and opinionated, it was surprising that she got SO hung up on the Duff thing - and went along with Wesley even when he kept calling her that, without ever mentioning how much it hurt her. As for Wesley - he was totally adorable and swoon-worthy, but again didn't quite live up to how amazing he could have been. I was waiting for him to say or do certain things, and they never happened.

All these things aren't major complaints - it just means that instead of LOVING the book as I thought I would, I only liked it. I think a lot of it comes down to Keplinger's age - she was a teenager herself while writing it, and that's pretty damn amazing, but the book does feel a bit immature and lacking in perspective in places. Having said that, I'm excited to read more of Keplinger's work and see how she develops as a writer. All things considered, The DUFF is a great debut and I had a lot of fun reading it.

Rating: 3/5

Eye Candy
I pictured Kat Dennings as Bianca and Chace Crawford as Wesley.

Source

Source

Fine Print
Genre: Young Adult
Published: 2010
Publisher: Poppy Books
Get It: Book Depository