Reading Teen

When I first read the blurb on this book I thought that this would be one of those light teen stories about the relationships between teenage girls. After reading the book I realized that it was nothing like that. I expected the story of Bianca Piper to be about a girl who was in a negative relationship with her girlfriends, being pushed into the role of "designated ugly fat friend". Much to my surprise this was not the story at all. Bianca was an intelligent 17 year old with a close relationship with her two best friends. During a casual conversation with a good-looking, popular guy, Bianca first heard herself described as "The Duff" and immediately took it upon herself as true. Accepting this label pushed Bianca into a course of actions meant to prove that it was true. Added to this situation was the fact that the relationship between Bianca's parents was unraveling and she had to learn to deal with an absent mother and an alcoholic father who had fallen off the wagon. Into all this chaos stepped a guy that Bianca had no respect for and no interest in.....or at least she thought she didn't. To her great surprise and dismay, Bianca found that Wesley was just the distraction she needed to keep from thinking about the pain in her life. The result was a ride that Bianca never anticipated and insights that brought great rewards. One interesting aspect of the book is that Bianca's physical appearance is never described. Even though she identifies with the Duff label, that description is not reflected in the way she is perceived and treated by her friends or others. In fact, one of her friends later says that she thought that SHE was the Duff.I came very close to missing the good and meaningful aspects of this book because of the profusion of language and the sexual content. There is an abundance of both throughout the book and I found it distracting. Part of that is my own aversion to this type of language and partly because I felt it didn't really reflect the character. The sexual content is also disturbing because of the frequency and the idea that it is a problem solving activity.Overall, I really enjoyed the story, but wish it could have been told without the excess language and sex.Janeth (Andye's mom)http://ReadingTeen.net/