Review: The Duff

The Duff
by Kody Keplinger
Published September 7th 2010
by Little Brown

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.

Every time I'd go to the library I'd pass this book and every time I'd pick it up, stare at it for a few moments, then set it back down without even reading the summary. It's safe to say that I do judge a book by its cover, but it's also safe to say that this strategy of mine kept me from wasting my time, because The Duff was a read I could have done without.

It wasn't that Kody Keplinger's writing was terrible. Keplinger's style wasn't anything special, but it kept me interested enough to turn Just One More Page when I was about to give up on The Duff. I have yet to decide if this was because Keplinger has skill, or because the train wreck of a storyline was almost too horrible to look away from. You know those horror movies that are vile and frightening and compel you to turn on every light in the house? You can't look away, even though you want to. That describes my relationship with The Duff.

I will, however, give this book the benefit of the doubt, because I started it right after finishing Hold Still (review here) and there was a constant comparison running in the back of my mind while I read The Duff. Particularly, in the case of characters. While Hold Still had 3-D characters with believable back stories and realistic relationships to each other, The Duff featured 2-D characters whose relationships were built on flimsy coincidences. There was not a single character in the book that I could have imagined existing in the real world.

First, we have Bianca, the main character. Sarcastic, naive Bianca. Her friends say she has a 'cynical' view on the world, she calls it 'realistic,' and the only appropriate adjective is actually 'blind.' Bianca is of those main characters who has sexual tension with a 'douche bag' and won't admit it nor acknowledge it until someone else does for her. Of course, by the time anyone mentions this to Bianca, readers have already been to the emergency room and back, for slamming their head on their desks and wondering why on Earth Bianca hasn't realized it yet.

Second, we have Casey, the best friend. It's clear from the way Casey is put up on a pedestal, that we are meant to think she's the best friend a girl could have. Casey stood up for Bianca when they were kids, was there for her after her first heartbreak freshman year, and is constantly asking if Bianca is 'okay.' Keplinger includes multiple instances of 'Girls' Night In' and 'Girls Night Out' and all sorts of planned activities between Casey and Bianca that are supposed to be the foundation of friendship. But the thing is, that's all they are: the foundation. Everything about Casey and Bianca's friendship, as well as their mutual friendship with Jessica, felt forced and superficial. There was never a moment when I believed that Casey truly cared about Bianca, or that they were genuinely excited to spend time together.

Thirdly, Bianca's parents. Bianca's parents are put there strictly as plot mechanisms and come off as caricatures as opposed to characters. Bianca's father is a recovering alcoholic who calls her 'bumblebee' and only questions the boy in her bedroom because he is drunk. Bianca's mother is a tan, 'hot mom,' who is away on business for most of the book and is mostly characterized by the way she dresses (young) and the color of her hair (blonde.) Suffice to say, Bianca's parents are only included to spark up Bianca's claim that she is 'fucked up' and to drive her into the arms of men. Not exactly the goals of parenting, huh?

And Bianca's parents do succeed in tricking us into thinking there is depth and a plot here, along with the rest of The Duff's cast. Though there is no underlying plot line to this book, there is a long string of  plot mechanisms that are supposed to look like one. As I read along, I began to make a mental list, but it's such a ridiculous list that I won't bog down this blog post with it. Just know that it included a divorce, multiple forbidden romances, ill-timed visits, alcoholism, troubled home lives, OCD, and lots and lots of sex. None of which which were well-developed or realistically portrayed. Everything and everyone was turned into a 2-D caricature, from the cheerleading best friend to the abusive, alcoholic father.


Maybe I would have liked The Duff if the author had taken the time to research and develop the themes included in this book. Maybe I would have enjoyed the characters if they had been more like real people and less like stick figures. Maybe I would have given this more than two stars if any of the philosophical conclusions Bianca made were legitimate.

There was so much undeveloped potential here and so much unnecessary detail.

2 stars