The DUFF - Kody Keplinger

One of the books I have most been anticipating this year was The DUFF by debut author Kody Keplinger. I never read any reviews of it and kept my knowledge of what it was about to what the synopsis on Goodreads said. I didn't want this to turn into another one of those books where the hype was so great that I felt let down when I read it. I'm so glad I went that route because I really liked this book and I can't wait to read more from Kody.


Seventeen year old Bianca is having a rough time at home so when hot man-whore Wesley tells her she's a DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend), she throws her Cherry Coke on him. Later, when she can no longer handle everything, Bianca kisses Wesley and finds that it brings her a weird sense of relief. Then Bianca starts having sex with Wesley to feel free of her problems but then another one arises. She starts falling for him when she realizes that not only is he a good listener but he has his own issues that need to be worked out. Could she really love the one guy she hates the most?

Although I never really partook in the whole hooking up thing, I really related to Bianca. From bottling things up until you can't seem to take anymore to feeling like the duff, to a love of Cherry Coke, I've been there and felt that. I wish I would've had a book like this when I was seventeen.

I do feel like some of the other characters could have been a little more developed than they were, especially Bianca's best friends. I also felt like the whole Bianca/Wesley thing happened way too quickly. I saw Bianca as this strong, cynical girl with way too much dignity and then before you know it, she's jumping into bed with this guy she despises.

I did love how cynical and sarcastic Bianca was though. That was totally me in high school (ok, and still am) and I think that's part of what made this book so believable to me. Some people may think it was depressing or too overdone but not I. I think the reason Kody captured this so well was because she WAS that age when she wrote this book and according to her, she was feeling these things when writing it and that's part of why I loved it as much as I did.

Can we talk about the fact that she was in high school when she wrote this? She's only EIGHTEEN you guys! To be eighteen and have your first book published is a feat not many people are able to accomplish. I don't know about you, but this in itself makes me feel so unaccomplished and like that kid who sits in class eating paste and I'm only twenty-five!

I can't wait to read more from Kody and I know I will.

This was book #8 in the 2010 Debut Authors Challenge.

A Love Story: Starring My Dead Best Friendm - Emily Horner

Thanks to Around the World Tours, I was able to get on an ARC tour for Emily Horner's A Love Story: Starring my Dead Best Friend.

Cass's best friend Julia was killed in a car accident. In her honor, Cass and some of Julia's drama friends are putting on the musical she had been working on for months titled Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad. However, Cass feels that since the only link to the drama kids, Julia, is gone, that she no longer fits in with them. When Cass finds out that Heather, the girl who picked on Cass throughout middle school, has been cast as the Ninja Princess, she can't take it anymore and embarks on the trip from Illinois to California she and Julia had planned.

Cass takes off on her bicycle and with Julia's ashes, she starts her journey. Along the way she encounters new friends and tough situations. In a last ditch attempt, she calls Julia's boyfriend, Ollie, to come pick her up. When Ollie arrives, she finds a few other friends came along and Cass later realizes that they are still heading towards California. Once the mission to take Julia to California is complete, they all return home and continue with making Julia's musical a reality.

This book was told in alternating parts, Then and Now. Sometimes this format is hit or miss with me and this was one of those instances where I wish it had just started with the Then's and continued into the Now's. I liked this book well enough and I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when I signed up for the tour, but I'm glad I read it.

I liked being able to figure out with Cass that she was a lesbian. It was something she struggled with without even knowing it herself. I hate that she was made fun of for it but Heather's picking on her made so much sense later because she acted just like a little kid would in elementary school. I also liked how the relationship between Cass and Heather blossomed. It wasn't easy for Cass to forgive and forget about the past but she made an honest attempt and in the end it all worked out.

I did have a problem with Cass's parents though. What parents don't let their teenager drive or wear makeup but they'll let them ride a bicycle from Illinois to California by themselves? This was just a part I couldn't get over.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

This was book #7 in the 2010 Debut Authors Challenge

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Cori, a girl from my online book club, decided to send the ARC she won from Goodreads.com of Sarah Addison Allen's The Girl Who Chased the Moon on tour. Ten people get a week each to read the book before sending it to the next person on the list and I was stop number one. I was pretty stoked to get a chance to participate in this tour because this was my first ARC, as well as the first book by Sarah Addison Allen that I've had the pleasure of reading.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. I wanted to go into this book blind so I avoided any synopsis and refused to even look at the back of the book. The book follows two girls, Emily Benedict who has come to Mullaby for the first time and Julia Winterson, a woman who has returned to the place she grew up but can't wait to get out of.

After her mom passes away, teenager Emily Benedict moves to Mullaby, North Carolina to live with the grandfather she never knew existed. Being the new girl is never easy, but it seems to be slightly worse for Emily because everyone seems to choose their words very carefully upon meeting her. She gradually finds out more and more about her mom's past, of which she never spoke of to Emily. She soon meets Julia, her next door neighbor who sees a bit of herself in Emily, and a charming and captivating boy named Win Coffey. Soon after arriving in Mullaby, Emily is plunged into a world of strange and wonderous things that seem to surround the Coffey family.

Julia Winterson is woman who returned to town after her dad passed away and is counting down the months until her time in Mullaby is over, so she can once again leave. She's got a troubled past and part of that past is in the form of Sawyer Alexander, who just can't seem to stay away from her.

I really enjoyed reading this book because the picture that Allen painted of the town just seemed so vivid to me and I liked the alternating POV. I became eager to finish reading because I wanted to see where the story went and when I finished, I wanted more.

The downside to this book was that it could have been a little longer, at least another hundred pages or so. The characters were likable but I would have liked to get to know them more and, especially with Julia's story, I would have liked to see that expanded into. I felt kind of let down at the end of her story and I hope there will be a second book to placate me, and other readers who feel the same as me. It was like things were explained a bit too much at the beginning and towards the end it felt like there was a rush to finish the story. There's something special about Win and Emily's story is pretty much oriented around that but when it gets to where he's basically saying "this is me," there's not really an explanation as to how or why.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon is an OK book and although it's a bit predictable at times, it's a light read and I recommend reading it at least once.