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.
I saw the preview for the movie several times and I had thought that it was about a girl who's best guy friend was popular and she wasn't even though she secretly likes him. Eventually, her friend realizes he likes her too and they get together, sort of like You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift. Anyway, as cliche as the plot or story is as you said, the way the author sets up the parallel between characters of Wuthering Heights and her own characters is certainly a tool worth knowing as a writer. Sometimes it's relieving to breeze through a book and not to look at it so critically and simply enjoy or refute the plot and the characters. One question I would have is whether or not the book is relatable or if it's so trite that it couldn't be applied to real situations even though aspects of Bianca are relatable. So Wesley end up falling for her, what happens to Toby, in what ways is Toby perfect for her? Is there a parallel between Toby and Wesley, are they foil characters or are they similar? I also don't know anything about Wuthering Heights but I was wondering whether the parallel between characters in that Wuthering Heights and Duff was the only aspect of Wuthering Heights that the author drew from.
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