99 problems, and a book ain't one

   The DUFF is my new LOVE. I devoured this book in one day. I read while the kids napped, I read while I cooked, did laundry, and ate meals, and then I read through the night into the wee hours of the morning until the very end. Work was grueling to get through the next day, but I didn’t have, not even one, regret!

   Bianca was a fantastic leading lady. She was bold, sarcastic, smart, and unique. She had this cool way of coming across as such a confident person, even when she struggled with the way she felt about herself and her life on the inside. As anyone who is in or has been in high school knows this, poker face, is a handy dandy survival tool. I could sympathize with the way that Bianca kept a lot of her feelings and problems, especially the harder ones, to herself. I have always struggled with that as well.

Wesley Rush was just as awesome, in completely different ways. I loved the way that he looked at people, with no judgments. Maybe it was that he bore the weight of so many other people’s assumptions and judgments about him that he couldn’t imagine passing that weight to another person.

“Bianca, whore is just a cheap word people use to cut each other down,” he said, his voice softer. “It makes them feel better about their own mistakes. Using words like that is easier than really looking into the situation.”

And I liked that his attitude was catching. I was glad to see Bianca eventually realizing the wisdom in this.

   I also really appreciated Wesley’s honesty, he was never one to lie to get what he wants. He could be arrogant at times, and I thought initially calling Bianca a DUFF was horrid. But she wasn’t exactly the nicest to him either, so I guess it sort of evened out in my mind.

   Even Bianca’s best friends were like a breath of fresh air. It was endearing how caring Casey was. I love that she had an affinity for sticking up for the underdogs, and I just think that is the bees knees. It takes a certain kind of strength and heart to go against the crowd and stand beside the ostracized. I wish there were a million more Caseys in the world, it would be a better place. Jessica was sweet too, although I feel like she fell more to the wayside in this story. Some of the other characters just shined so bright, I think she was a little over shadowed by them.

   I also appreciated the references to some classic literature that the characters were reading, and the parallels they drew between them and what was going on in their current lives. I thought that was pretty neat. All in all this was a fantastic read! I was enamored right from the get go, and it truly never ebbed.

I received a copy of this book from Hachette Children’s Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review