From the Bookshelf of Addicted to YA…

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend (Hamilton High, #1)

Kody Keplinger

Start date: April 1, 2015

Finish date: April 30, 2015

Discussion: Stand Alone

Why we're reading this: It won the poll for the stand alone BOTM
[close] It won the poll for the stand alone BOTM

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Stand Alone

* Stand Alone- Maybe Meant to Be
By Bailey · 3 posts · 29 views

last updated Aug 18, 2025 12:04PM

* Stand Alone- The Summer of Broken Rules
By Bailey · 4 posts · 48 views

last updated Jul 08, 2025 08:57AM

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What Members Thought

Aug 18, 2021 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it it was ok

Shelves: dealing-with-heavy-issues-or-crisis, emotional-reads, own-audiobook-read, reviewed, young-adult, audio, enemies-to-lovers, romance, high-school, family-issues

I have so many conflicting feelings about this book. There is so much hype surrounding this book and after reading the book it is easy to see why.

First of all, if you saw the movie based on this novel and are thinking of picking up the book then be prepared to be surprised because the movie and the book have completely different plots. I dare say that they are barely connected. They are vastly different stories. The movie is loosely based on the book at best. There are some of the same characte I have so many conflicting feelings about this book. There is so much hype surrounding this book and after reading the book it is easy to see why.

First of all, if you saw the movie based on this novel and are thinking of picking up the book then be prepared to be surprised because the movie and the book have completely different plots. I dare say that they are barely connected. They are vastly different stories. The movie is loosely based on the book at best. There are some of the same characters and a few of the scenes in the book take place in the movie but they are simply not the same story. I was a little shocked by this. I really loved the movie so my expectations were kind of high going into the book. Getting a completely different story was a bit of a letdown for me. But such things happen with movie adaptations. It's just that this didn't feel like an adaptation to me, it felt like a completely separate thing with barely any ties to its original source. If I were the author I would probably be insulted.

The fact that the story I got was not the story I was expecting aside, the book's premise was not totally lacking. The plot was okay for the most part and engaging enough, I just didn't much care for the execution. There were so many plot points that I felt were unnecessary or went against the characters' personalities. It just felt kind of messy in general.

The major issue that I had with this book was the main character, Bianca. She was probably the most annoying, immature, and hypocritical character that I have ever read. Most of the time, anyway. Once in a while, she would say or do something that would spark a bit of pride inside my chest, but for the most part, I could not stand her character. Her cynicism really grated on my nerves and her internal thought process was irritating and absolutely aggravating. I could not connect with her character one bit. It isn't often that I dislike a character to such an extreme degree that it affects my opinion of the entire book but such is the case with Bianca. Wesley's character was a bit underdeveloped in my opinion. I think that he had so much more potential. I liked his character for the most part but his character development was pretty lackluster.

Bianca and Wesley's relationship was messy. They jump into a physical relationship right away and Bianca hates him at that point. I guess I just didn't feel like they had much chemistry. At least, nothing to write home about. They do get to know one another throughout all of the time they spend sleeping together so they do start to care for one another. That felt very organic but the rest of their relationship felt so disconnected. There was very little actual romance. I did love how Wesley showed Bianca that he cared though. He stood up for her against her own dad and then he pursued her after she rejected him. He did some romantic things but the same really can't be said for Bianca. The romance felt very one-sided the entire time. There just wasn't enough emotion so their entire relationship felt unconvincing.

Overall, this book is the DUFF in YA Contemporary Romance. This book really had so much potential but ultimately fell flat in so many ways. While I can applaud the author for some of the ideas in the story, I felt that the execution really needed some work. This book has a great premise and is certainly entertaining but everything else really drags down my opinion of the book. Unfortunately, all of the problematic things outweighed all of the good things for me.

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Oct 27, 2010 j o r y rated it really liked it

I'll admit, I was a little hesitant to read this book at first. I kept hearing wonderful things about it, but after reading the plot line I was a little unsure. I have to admit though, after reading the book I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really enjoyed reading it.

Bianca is a smart, cynical, self-loathing girl with issues that any 17-year-old girl could have. Her parents are getting a divorce, her ex (the one that broke her heart and turned her into what she is today) is coming back i ...more

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Jan 27, 2014 waniwani rated it it was ok

If you're not expecting a great novel, then this isn't that bad. I liked the friendship between the girls which was pretty well developed, I didn't buy the sudden all consuming love between the two leads, and I think the problems within Bianca's family were solved much too easily. Certainly not the worst YA book I've read, but I wouldn't read it again.

But an extra star for a cool title, it was enough to get me to read the book. ...more

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Sep 20, 2013 Nikki rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015, owned-books

OMG! I absolutely love this book.
Though I saw the movie the first before reading the book. I love both!! Gosh. Okay, I cannot give a proper review with this because I am totally freaking out I just finished the book and I'm totally watching the movie again right now. Sooooooooooo, yeah. You probably figure out how addicted I am.

God, Wes looks hot in the movie, too.
#FANGIRLING
#EXCUSEME ...more

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Mar 04, 2015 Sara rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015-book-challenge

Basically a quintessential YA novel about how the "ugly" girl gets the "hot" guy.

I liked it enough when I was reading it, but nothing really stood out to me about it. ...more

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