The DUFF

The book that I read during the 2nd quarter was The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, which describes the situations that young females experience throughout their growing years of high school, self-esteem issues and the perspectives others have about their peers. The novel starts off with the main character, Bianca being told by her next-door neighbor Wesley that there is a person typically in friend groups with girls that is a DUFF: the designated ugly fat friend. After Bianca is told that, she further realizes that the title has permeated through the school and she has held that status for a long time. While trying to prove others wrong, she asks Wesley to help her reinvent herself and to further prove those around her wrong. By her changing everything in which she usually feels comfortable doing, she is suddenly brought out of her comfort zone and further experiences new things. By the end of the novel, she finds an even balance and in return ends up finding herself in the process.

Although most of the characters within the novel were not my favorites, I believe that the version of Bianca in the novel would be my favorite character simply because she evolves throughout the book. She eventually answers her own questions about self-doubt. This is especially apparent in the novel when the author paints Bianca to have more problems going on in her life, thus showing her use of sarcasm as a strategy to deflect her own insecurities. Based on her new independence and self-awareness, she begins a crucial process in the novel that the only opinion that matters is her own regarding herself. Overall, I am pleased that I gave this novel a chance, and it further proves the belief that the production of movies from novels can be damaging to the author's original intention and theme.