Top Ten Tuesday (1)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

The Top Ten Books Bianca Read But Never Wrote A Review For 

All of these books I plan on rereading and writing a review for later on. Also, these aren't all necessarily my TOP, top ten books....and no particular order.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin -- Elsewhere easily made the top three books I read in 2010. This book was beautiful and very, very thought-provoking. I also read Zevin's debut novel Memoir of an Amnesiac and enjoyed that, too. I'm so happy that I recieved an ARC of her upcoming book, All These Things I've Done.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- You can't be a book blogger without seeing a crazy ton of praising reviews of this trilogy. I had this book sitting on my shelf for months and when I finally did pick it up I devoured it. I also went to Chicago and saw Collins on tour. :)

Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott -- This was the second Elizabeth Scott book I read, and I read it straight after finishing her debut, Bloom. Perfect You was a book that I ended up reading in one setting. I don't think think I even got up to use the bathroom. I didn't review this one because I hadn't started my book blog yet. Favorite book that I've read of Scott's.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver -- My cross country team last year had to hear me go on and on about how much I couldn't wait to receive and ARC of the book in the mail. And once I finally did get my hands on it, I loved it. My love for dystopian novels keeps growing.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld -- I read Prep during my freshman year and loved it. It actually became one of my favorite books which I was not expecting. The cover is terrible. But I guess that's why you should never judge a book by it's cover!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky -- Also another all-time favorite. I read this one, straight through, during middle school. This book is so wonderful and the main character, Charlie, is easily one of my favorite literary characters.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen -- This Lullaby is easily my favorite Dessen book and the only book of hers that I've read multiple times. The main character, Remy, is different from all her other main characters. She's more edgier, cynical.. And it features one of my favorite couples in YA.

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling -- I honestly don't know how I haven't reviewed these books yet. They are my favorite books EVER and I am quite obsessed. I've definitely have reread them since I started my blogs and have had long blog entries on related HP things. I guess, I hesitant to write reviews since I know whatever I have to say will never do the books justice.

Just as Long as We're Together by Judy Blume -- The fact that I don't have any review of a Judy Blume book is terrible. I love her books; I grew up on them! Again, mostly, it's because I haven't read them in a really long time and definitely before I started Wicked Good Books. I plan on rereading them all in the next several months though.

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian -- I read this book earlier this summer and just loved it. I love the feminism, the romance, the writing. It was wonderful. The review will probably be posted soon.

Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

The Duff by Kody Keplinger
Little Brown/2010/Young Adult/288

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

This was easily my most anticipated book of 2010. From the moment I first read the synopsis, I was intrigued. Not only because the main character and I share the same name but also because I ADORE plots like this. I seriously can not get enough of enemies turned lovers or whatever.


I know that the conservative parents will be shaking their heads at Keplinger's debut novel but if you are looking for an edgy, realistic portrayal of teenagers, you should pick up this book. I had never heard of the term the DUFF before which is: The Designated Ugly Fat Friend. And I'm sure most of us have felt like that at one point in our lives, I know I sure have. 


Wesley (did I mention that I absolutely adore this name?) was great. I loved reading about how Bianca saw him at first and the progression between the two of them. Bianca's sarcasm and pessimistic personality was definitely a bonus to read about. She kind of reminded me of Sarah Dessen's character Remy from This Lullaby (which I love). By the end, I was rooting for them to have a relationship that was more than sex. 


I can't wait to read Kody's next book! 

4.8 stars out of 5

Cover: B-/C+ The cover definitely grew on me. When I first saw it, I thought, "Eh.." but now I feel its a good choice for the book. The girl has the over confident expression, which I think fits Bianca's personality. 
Favorite Character: I'm going to go with Bianca. But I also like Wesley. 
Put-down-ability: Could not put it down at all!! When I was finally able to check the book out from the library, I read this book in one setting. My goodness! I loved this book. 


*Source: public library