Stand-alone
Recently made into a movie: IMDB
Goodreads Blurb:
"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.
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."
Okay. So I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I first wanted to read this book when I saw the trailer for the movie and I thought it looked like a really good story. And then I read the book. And it was okay I guess...
Let me lay it out for you: there is a lot of sex (or implied sex) in this book. It's Bianca's attempt to 'relieve her stress' of being the 'DUFF'. And I get it and in the end it really leads up to an amazing message that no matter what, you're always going to be someone's DUFF so you might as well not care about what other people think. That's actually great reasoning right? That's one of the solid things I loved in this book.
I kind of liked how Bianca and Wesley's relationship develops. I won't say what it develops into but let's just say it's a complete 180. But somehow, I can't get it out of my head that it's just another cliche thing how the guy and the girl go on the long journey and get to know each other blah blah blah. You know how some people hate love triangles? Well that's my love triangle. I can't stand it when that happens.
I just don't know. Which I guess is why I rated it 3 stars. Because I would reread it (I actually am before I watch the movie so I can accurately compare the two) but it just doesn't stand out to me.
As for the characters, I actually did like how the author developed Bianca and Wesley's characters. They really managed to capture all the teen pressures and relationship dynamics. That's all I really have to say about this book... Like I said, it just wasn't remarkable to me except for the message it sent.
The Final Verdict:
I just wasn't wowed by this book. The message is fabulous but it was just meh otherwise. The author did a great job of capturing what being a teen in high school is all about. I did like the ending and how everything turned out as well.
Quotes:
“Spanish, huh?" he said, glancing down at the scattered papers as he grabbed them. "Can you say anything interesting?"
"El tono de tu voz hace que queria estrangularme." I stood up and waited for him to hand over my papers.
"That sounds sexy," he said, getting to his feet and handing me the stack of Spanish work he'd swept together. "What's it mean?"
"The sound of your voice makes me want to strangle myself."
"Kinky.”
"Wesley Rush doesn’t chase girls, but I’m chasing you"
“Your sense of humor needs some work, then,' Wesley suggested. 'Most girls find my jokes charming.'
'Those girls must have IQs low enough to trip over.”
“Thanks,” Toby said. “And if Wesley breaks your heart, I promise to . . . well, I would say I’d kick his ass, but we both know that’s physically impossible.” He frowned down at his skinny arms. “So I’ll write him a strongly worded letter.”
“I wanted to make sure you were fine...and that he was okay, too. You didn't, like, stab the boy, did you? I mean, I totally disapprove of murdering hotties, but if you need help burying the body, you know I'll bring the shovel.”
“I’m the wind beneath your wings”
“No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.”
I put this on my to read because of the trailer, I still haven't read it though. The thing you said about the relationship sounds really cliché so I'll probably hold off reading this for awhile. It doesn't really sound like anything too amazing. But great review! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah I didn't really see what was so special about it although I have to say the dialogue was pretty funny (as you can probably tell from the quotes). I hope you like it better than I did if/when you get around to it!
DeleteI like some contemporaries, but from your review this doesn't sound like my cup of coffee. You always hope for all books to be memorable, but sometimes they just aren't, even when the overall message is great. I'm tempted to watch the movie just to see if I'd like it. Excellent review!
ReplyDelete~Litha Nelle
For sure! I think the only thing I'll really remember in this book is one very dramatic scene. I actually really want to see the movie as well - people who have both seen the movie and read the book say that the movie is really different so maybe it'll be better! Thanks for stopping by!
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