The D.U.F.F. by Kody Keplinger

Bianca is best friends with Jessica and Casey. Her friends also happen to be drop dead gorgeous and supermodel tall. Bianca never really noticed that though, until Wesley.

Wesley, the arrogant man-slut at school. He doesn't hide that he gets around with girls, but he's also very nice to them and treats them with honesty.

Though he was brutally honest when he told Bianca that she was the DUFF of her friends - the designated ugly fat friend.

So it goes to show that Bianca cannot stand Wesley, even though the whole school drools over him.

But with troubles at home and Bianca isn't able to talk to Casey or Jessica about it, Bianca starts to lean on Wesley a little bit. Okay, a lot in the fact that she sleeps with him. A lot. It's not a relationship because they are both using one another and have an agreement that no one can know about it. But it's a way to relieve the stress they are feeling from their home life.

Because Bianca's parents aren't doing so well. In fact, after traveling for two years, her mother sent her father divorce papers in the mail. And then her father, a recovering alcoholic, goes on a drinking spree.

After a few months of being with Wesley, she calls it off and starts dating the boy of her dreams from the beginning of the school year: Toby.

But why does Toby's touch feel different than Wesley's? And why does she think about Wesley, period?! Maybe it's because he keeps sending her notes, and calls her and texts her. Isn't he the one that is the player and doesn't stay with one person for more than a month?

And then there are the times that she day dreams about Wesley, not Toby. It seems she may have grown attached to Wesley...

What will Bianca do? Stay with Toby, the guy she's destined to be with because they are so similar or try to handle Wesley, the guy that she can't get out of her head? Read The DUFF by Kody Keplinger to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Kody Keplinger has become a fast author that I have immensely enjoyed reading! She has three novels out and I devoured every single one of them. I also really enjoyed them because they are different from each other.

This novel is no different, though I found it more rough than the others. To be called a DUFF behind your back is one thing, but Bianca was told that she was a DUFF to her face. I don't know how she handled it, but I probably would have done the same thing she did and just believed it to make me feel better. Knowing something and living up to it is sometimes easier than trying to prove it's wrong.

I did laugh out loud during the first time Bianca and Wesley kiss - well Bianca kissing Wesley when he wasn't expecting it. I can only imagine how shocked he was, but he didn't waste any time kissing her back, that's for sure.

Actually, Bianca threw Wesley off quite a bit. The playboy was shocked by the DUFF - that throws a twist into things and makes it even better because he's supposed to be ready for everything. Bianca definitely took him by surprise.

I felt for both Bianca and Wesley because they were having crappy family problems. And they both felt that they couldn't tell their friends because they didn't want to burden them, so they confided in each other. Not something either of them thought they would be doing, but it definitely helped them both.

I cannot wait for more of Keplinger's novels! She does a wonderful job with her books and I'm always sucked into them - usually reading them in one sitting! This book took me less than a day to read - that's how devoted to it I was!

I think teen girls would really love her novels, and this one deals with self-image that I think any females can relate to at one point in their life (usually high school). So I would definitely recommend this book to others!

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

The summer before college is going to be great for Whitley because she gets one last hooray with her father at his condo near the lake. She's also getting away from her mother who is always complaining about her ex-husband, even though they've been divorced for 6 years now.

But everything changes when Whitley and her father don't go to the condo. Instead, he drives her to a house in a suburb.

Where there's a woman hugging her. And two teenagers in the background...

Apparently Whitley's dad is engaged, and didn't think to tell her about that BEFORE driving to the house.

And the other bad part? The son of his fiance, Nathan, just happens to be the guy she got drunk with and slept with at his graduation bash...

Can you say awkward?

So now Whitley is stuck living with her father and his new family, has an almost step-brother that she slept with and might still have feelings for, a new younger step-sister that wants to be just like Whitley, and an almost step-mother that notices a lot more than Whitley's real mother and father.

All she wanted was a summer of drinking and hanging out with her dad, who she only gets to see once a year. And some input on what she might major in college from her father would also be nice. But for some reason, he is "too busy" to hang out with her anymore. She hasn't seen him all summer.

When people start taking photos of Whiltey in drunken circumstances then post them on Facebook, where her father gets tagged in them, things are about to get very intense. Whitley's relationship with her mother, father and Nathan might not make it through the summer...

Read A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger to find out what happens!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I think I've become a fan of Kody Keplinger! I need to read her third novel before I make that official, but her other two novels are great and I loved them!

So, the book review. Whitley would not be my friend. Well, she doesn't "do" friends, so it would be problematic, but she's very dramatic and a partier, which I'm not.

I do have to admit, though, that I might have acted childish and upset if my dad did what Whitley's dad did to her. Actually, I would have threw a fit the moment I found out instead of waiting til the end of summer and got it off of my chest, because I wouldn't be able to keep it to myself.

The thing with Nathan was a little odd. But they met before they found out about each other and their new "living" arrangements, so it wasn't too weird. Just a little.

I almost feel bad for Whitley. I can't blame her for acting out and being a partier, for not having any friends, because of her life style for the last 6 years. Dad left, mom starting being a pain, older brother moved to the west coast - it's a lot for a 13 year old to go through.

Overall, I liked this book. I liked the way Whitley opened up, especially to Bailey, her younger almost step-sister. She couldn't say no to the girl and started to become protective of her.

And Harrison. The gay hot guy that Whitley suddenly found herself becoming friends with. He was a hoot and was very good for Whitley.

So yes, I liked it and while I may not have loved every aspect of it, the message was good and I grew to love it by the end of the novel :)

Now I just need to go find the third novel that I haven't read and see if Keplinger is an author to keep!

I would recommend this novel for older teen girls because there is content in here that might not be suitable for younger girls.

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Hamilton High has a unique rivalry. Instead of fighting with another rival school, the football team and the soccer team fight with one another.

It started 10 years ago and has continued - all because the football funding was cut down to create the soccer team and have another sport for their school.

Lissa has been dating the quarterback of the football team for over a year now, so she has already been through this ridiculous fight for a season. She does not want to do it for another.

She tries to talk to Randy about stopping the pranks and hazing of the soccer team, but after he ignores her one too many times, she decides to take things in her own hands.

After emailing all of the girlfriends of the football players, Lissa tells them her idea: stop having sex or do any sexual things with their boyfriends - even if it means no kissing or holding hands.

She figures that the only thing that would stop boys from fighting one another is if they weren't getting any attention from their girlfriends.

While this is going on, Lissa is also having conflicting feelings toward Randy. And her eyes are starting to stray to a soccer player, Cash. They had a one night connection during the summer, but nothing happened from it. But now they are working together at the library and Lissa's thoughts are more about Cash than Randy lately...

Lissa is the leader of the girl's strike, so she needs to think of new ways to keep the girls away from their men. But after a month of being on strike, many of the girls are tired of being away and want to have a boyfriend again.

And Lissa is finding herself in a predicament with the guy who starts to organize the guys strike against the girls: Cash.

Will the girls be able to hold strong until the football and soccer players call a truce to their rivalry? Or will they give in to temptation no matter how worthy the cause is to stay strong? Read this hilarious story, Shut Out, by Kody Keplinger to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great story! I found myself laughing out loud when reading and was cheering for the ladies all the way!

Of course, there were things I could have done without. Lissa was a little annoying. She was a little controlling, but that's because she had to take over after her mother died. And she seemed to change the rules of the strike after awhile, making it more personal than she should have.

The best thing about this book (okay, not the best thing, but one I really enjoyed) was that Lissa and Cash worked at the library! Library! Okay, my nerdiness for books is over now.

I really loved Cash. He was so charming but shy and quiet all wrapped in one person that it was hard not to fall in love with him. And the scenes between him and Lissa were pretty steamy, but also ridiculously funny and cringe worthy at times.

I never dated anyone in a sport, but I can imagine to any girl that is dating a guy in a competive sport would feel like how Lissa and the other girls in this novel feel when their boyfriend ignore them over choosing their teammates.

This book would be really good for older teen girls. I saw older because they talk about sex a lot (it's a sex strike) and because most of the girls in the novel are juniors and seniors. Other than that, older females would really get a kick out of this book and it's really funny in some areas.

Oh! Another thing I like about this book is it's a re-telling of Lysistrata by Aristophanes, which I actually read in college, though I don't remember too many details from that book, haha.

As far as I know, this is a stand alone novel, and I am already looking forward to reading another one of Keplinger's novel, A Midsummer's Nightmare, another re-telling of a classic story. Once it comes back to my library, I will be snatching that up to read myself and see if Keplinger's writing style is as good as this one!