The DUFF

The book I will be writing about is called “The DUFF.” It is written by Kody Keplinger, who is very young (in her 20’s). She actually wrote this book in her senior year of high school. Now this book is a movie that is coming out tonight (2/19). This book is not great literature, it is an easy read targeted towards young adults. This is a book I would classify as a “beach read,” something easy and quick with a lot of drama. The title itself stands for “Designated Ugly Fat Friend.” While I initially thought that was quite possibly one of the most ridiculous titles I have ever heard about, the book was super dramatic and caught my attention. I started reading it this morning and finished about an hour ago.

The plot moves very quickly and jumps around in terms of timing. The book’s plot is about a girl named Bianca who is told she is a DUFF by a boy in her class, Wesley. Bianca is a super relatable self conscious teenage girl, which is why I think Keplinger chose her as the protagonist. She takes this label very seriously and begins to question herself and her status amongst her friends. The label of being a “DUFF” means you are the one least likely to be noticed in your friend group and it means you make your friends look better when they are with you. This is a very rude term, in my opinion, and she is very hurt by it but keeps all of her anger within herself and starts to push her friends away.

Towards the end of the book, of course there is a love triangle (there is one in almost every YA book ever!). Bianca starts to fall in love with Wesley, the boy who is all wrong for her. On the other hand, there is another “perfect” boy, Toby, who likes her. While this sounds so silly and not worthy of writing about, this is the part of the book where Keplinger shows signs of literary genius. Kody Keplinger decided to create a parallel between the characters in Wuthering Heights and her own fictitious characters. She compares Catherine’s choice between Heathcliff (Wesley) and Edgar (Toby). In the end, unlike Catherine, Bianca chooses Heathcliff.

In this entire book, this parallel of characters was the only part I think that stood out in terms of great writing. However simple and cliche the book seemed, it kept me entertained throughout and I enjoyed it.

Funny In Farsi (Part 2)

I have been continuing my book, Funny in Farsi, by Firoozeh Dumas. It is just so funny and humorous that I find myself laughing out loud while reading. The narrator of the book is the author and so she is very believable and realistic, because she actually exists. She is so relatable and recounts her adolescent years perfectly. I completely understand her because of the beautiful way she has portrayed herself inside this book. She uses her previous interactions with others to help us understand more about her as a person. Many people say you can tell so much about a person by how they talk and act around different people. I completely agree with this statement, especially using this book as an example. Instead of telling us the characteristic of her in the book, she shows us through the way she handles different situations.

I love this book also because it is made of tons and tons of flashbacks of some of her most memorable moments. These flashbacks also tell a lot about Iranian and Middle Eastern culture which is what I hope to study next year. Below is an excerpt showing culture:

“For my American friends, “a visiting relative” meant a three-night stay. In my family, relatives’ stays were marked by seasons, not nights. No one bothered coming halfway around the world for just the month of December. Might as well stay to stay to experience spring in California, the children’s graduation ceremonies in June, and Halloween. It didn't matter that our house was barely big enough for us. My father’s motto has always been “Room in the heart, room in the house.”” (pg 24)

As you can see demonstrated in the excerpt, Ms. Dumas educates about Iranian culture while at the same time using humor. This is why I was so drawn to the book after just a few pages. This paragraph made me think of a time when I was studying abroad in the Middle East and my friends and I received an invitation to stay at a random family’s house whom we had just met that day. It was a bit strange for us to receive that invitation because that was not common in any of our cultures. However, this welcoming attitude is a large part of Middle Eastern culture and so I can relate to the book in that way.

I would highly recommend this book, even though I am not finished yet. I hope to finish by next week.