This review was first posted on http://www.rubysreads.com 
 Confession: I still get startled when I encounter sex scenes in Teen books. It's just that I grew up on a steady diet of Sweet Valley High books and the most even boy crazy Jessica did was kiss. When Jessica finally did the deed, she ended up marrying the guy. And, I mean, okay, that was a total disaster (remember the wheelchair and then the gas leek and Steven had to...? Nevermind). I guess maybe it's just my week for feeling old. First it was getting used to Twitter (what? you mean just because it shows up on my homepage doesn't mean it's a tweet directed at me? Whhhhhhyyy didn't they tell me that in the first place?!?! God.) 
 So, enough. Back to the review. The Duff is certainly an enjoyable novel. I sat down and read it in no time flat. But: I found myself continually distracted by thoughts related to the age of the author. Is it possible for a teenager to write realistic characters that aren't other teenagers? For example, Bianca's mom isn't really a well-rounded character. I get that things with her marriage weren't working, but what was her excuse for spending so little time/energy/unlimited nighttime minutes with her daughter? It's Bianca's story, so we don't ever really get to find out. Moreover, we don't ever really get to understand why Bianca's mother never even considered that her recovering alcoholic of a husband might resort to old, unhealthy coping habits. Even Bianca wonders about this, but answers are never received. 
 Long story short: I wonder how my reactions to this book would have been different if I hadn't known that the author was a teenager. There are pluses and minuses to teenage writers. First of all, they're closer in age to their protagonists. They have no trouble recreating the teenage mind...they still have one. What they don't have is perspective. Even the most perspicacious (I've been listening to Behemoth) teenager is physically incapable of perspective. At the risk of sounding old (again) only age can offer that. These were the things I pondered as I read The DUFF. 
 As for the plot itself, while I enjoyed it, it felt a bit preachy. I think it's true--the only person who never feels like the DUFF is the person who doesn't have any friends--but by the end I was secretly saying to myself, "Yeah, I get it already. The only reason Wesley has never felt like the DUFF is because his only friend is the gay guy." I was also kind of irritated with the portrayal of Jessica, Bianca's ditsy best friend. I felt that Bianca's attitude toward her was condescending. I mean: Jessica's not very smart, and she totally isn't picking up on the fact that her crush is gay--despite the fact that we've told her, like, a thousand times--but we're friends with her anyway, because we're cool like that and also, we rescued her from being the DUFF in a group of bitchy cheerleaders. Despite the fact that I totally didn't want to know her after her jerkwad of a brother did to me. God, I'm such a good person. 
 Finally, there's the love story. This is actually the part of the story that worked best for me, though I admit to being blown away by their apparently very active sex life. Bianca and Wesley deserved each other because they are both incredibly self-centered. Remember how I was talking about perspective? Well, perspective would eventually allow a character like Bianca to see that she was being everything that she accused Wesley of being. In the end it's actually Bianca who treats Wesley like crap, despite the fact that he's supposed to be the jackwagon in the "relationship." I don't think I'd mind any of this if I felt it was intentional on the author's part, or if there was, ultimately, some acknowledgment of the fact on Bianca's part. 
 It wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I realized how many issues I had with this book. I enjoyed reading it. I'll definitely pick up a copy of Shut Out, and I am incredibly impressed with what Keplinger has been able to accomplish at such a young age. This is solid (and often funny) contemporary YA--but I still prefer Anna and the French Kiss.