Books to Buy – Page 13 – Zakiya N. Jamal

Book Review: You Were Here

Posted on March 1, 2016July 12, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

Jaycee is about to accomplish what her older brother Jake couldn’t: live past graduation.

Jaycee is dealing with her brother’s death the only way she can – by re-creating Jake’s daredevil stunts. The ones that got him killed. She’s not crazy, okay? She just doesn’t have a whole lot of respect for staying alive.

Jaycee doesn’t expect to have help on her insane quest to remember Jake. But she’s joined by a group of unlikely friends – all with their own reasons for completing the dares and their own brand of dysfunction: the uptight, ex-best friend, the heartbroken poet, the slacker with Peter Pan syndrome, and… Mik. He doesn’t talk, but somehow still challenges Jayce to do the unthinkable-reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

Cori McCarthy’s gripping narrative defies expectation, moving seamlessly from prose to graphic novel panels and word art poetry, perfect for fans of E. Lockhart, Jennier Niven, and Jandy Nelson. From the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum to the skeletal remains of the world’s largest amusement park, You Were Here takes you on an unforgettable journey of friendship, heartbreak and inevitable change.

*I received a free digital advanced reader’s copy of this book from Sourcebooks Fire. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be released on March 1, 2016.*

This book was better than I expected it to be. I don’t really know what I was expecting but I wasn’t prepared to fall in love with it as much as I did. Told in multiple point of views, Cori McCarthy weaves together a story of forgiveness, love, moving on, and hope.

It’s been five years since Jaycee’s older, dare devil brother Jake died while doing a dare. Since then Jaycee has kind of lost herself. She wears Jake’s clothes and follows his dares, trying to keep the memory of Jake alive.

On the night of her own graduation Jaycee realizes she’s lived past the age her brother did. Planning to go to the old, abandoned mental hospital she always does on the anniversary of her brother’s death she’s joined by her ex-best friend, Natalie, Natalie’s boyfriend, Zach, and his friend, Bishop. Creating a rag tag team that’s soon joined by Mik, Jake’s friend and Jaycee’s…something, they decide to go through Jake’s dares together, each for their own personal reasons.

Jaycee’s chapters are told in first person, Zach and Natalie’s are told in third person, Bishop’s sections are just illustrations of the art he makes, and Mik’s point of view is told in the form of comics. You Were Here is put together so creatively and I sympathized and related to each of these characters. Plus, there’s just so much going on but not so much that the important themes get lost.

Each character is going through their own issues. Jaycee is still reeling from her brother’s death, Natalie feels guilty about not being there for Jaycee five years ago, Zach isn’t sure about his future, Bishop is getting over his break-up, and Mik is a selective mute who struggles to speak around Jaycee, the one person he really wants to talk to.

You Were Here is released today and you should all do yourselves a favor and purchase this one. It’s seriously a book you’ll want on your shelf.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

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Book Review: Carry On

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here–it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

It took me way too long to finally read this book but I’m so glad I did. I absolutely loved it and even though I know Rainbow Rowell wrote the book it felt like Cath from Fangirl wrote it, which was great.

Told in multiple point of views, Carry On tells the story of Simon Snow, a less heroic Harry Potter in my opinion. He’s supposedly the greatest mage (wizard) there ever was and he’s meant to stop the Insidious Humdrum (kind of like Voldemort but way more ridiculous and way less evil).

Carry On was truly ridiculous in the best way. As long as you don’t expect a really deep story with life lessons in it and see it as the entertaining, laughable book it is you’ll love. Even the spells were a bit ridiculous. In the world of Simon Snow, words are the key to spells, therefore song lyrics and popular sayings were used as spells. Oddly, this became very funny to me. Also, I loved almost all the characters, especially Simon’s friend, Penelope, who reminded me of Hermione.

Side note: If you’re wondering why I’m comparing all these characters to Harry Potter you need to read Fangirl. If you don’t want to read Fangirl all you need to know is in the world of Fangirl, the Simon Snow books are on the level of Harry Potter. They’re a series of books about a British boy who’s an orphan and discovers he has magical powers. Sound familiar yet?

But like I said Carry On airs on the side of the ridiculous. It’s not as serious as HP and it’s ~~a bit~~ way more gay. And although there are some deaths it’s definitely not on the level of heartbreak that J.K. Rowling put fans through, mostly because you only have one book to get invested in these characters instead of seven.

Overall, Carry On made me laugh and swoon and even shed a tear, which is all I could ask for from this book. Fangirl is still my favorite book by Rowell but this is a close second.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“I am going to die kissing Simon Snow. Aleister Crowley, I’m living a charmed life.”

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Book Review: Me Before You

Posted on February 18, 2016May 10, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

After watching the trailer for Me Before You I knew I had to read the book. The trailer alone made me tear up so I went into this book knowing I wasn’t emotionally ready. But this book still tore me to pieces.

Louisa Clark is happy with her regular life. She lives at home with her parents, Grandad, sister, and nephew, and she’s dating her boyfriend, Patrick, as she has been for the last seven years. She lives in a small town and doesn’t travel. She plays it safe and is okay with that.

Until she loses her job. After trying a multitude of jobs she finally settles for being the non-medical caregiver for a quadriplegic patient. The patient, Will, is not what Louisa was expecting. He’s young and handsome but also moody and difficult to work with. That doesn’t stop Louisa from being her naturally talkative and cheerful self, doing her best to make him happy.

However, Louisa soon realizes the truth behind why Will’s family hired her to spend time with him and it makes Louisa question everything she thought she knew about Will and about life and death in general. Choosing to stick it out, Louisa does her best to make Will’s life better and in return Will opens Louisa up to new experiences, making her a tad more fearless than she was before.

This novel is beautifully written, told mostly in Louisa’s point of view although there are a few chapters that are in different characters’ point of view. What I find interesting is besides the prologue, which admittedly was still in the third person, we never get Will’s point of view. I’m not sure if Jojo Moyes did this intentionally but the fact that Will has almost no control over his life is clear in that even in this novel he’s not really given a voice.

Overall, I truly loved this book. It made me cry (a lot) but it also made me laugh and smile. Louisa and Will’s relationship is heartwarming and I love that they made each other better. Even if you haven’t read it yet definitely do. The film, starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin (two of my faves) comes out this June and the sequel, After You, came out last year.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

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Book Review: Pushing the Limits

Posted on February 11, 2016February 10, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

He’s my art professor.
I’m his student.
With an electric connection and undeniable chemistry, I know it won’t be long until one of us cracks.

When the opportunity arises to pose naked for the entire art class, I can’t help the thrill of knowing he’ll be watching me.
While they all look past me with their eyes narrowed and concentrated, drawing only the lines and angles of my body, he sees right through me down to my vulnerability.
He sees more than just the physical aspects—he sees me.
That’s when I see the struggle in his features as he tries to stay in control.

How do we keep our distance when everything seems to be pulling us together?
What feels so right can only go wrong if we keep pushing the limits.

Based on the synopsis you’d think this novel starts with the protagonist, Aspen, posing nude in front of her class and professor, Morgan. But that’s not the case.

Told in alternating point of views, between Aspen and Morgan, there’s a lot of build up before readers even get to that scene and there’s way more to this story than just a student/teacher relationship, which I liked.

Both Aspen and Morgan are suffering depression due to similar circumstances but they handle it in very different ways. Aspen’s identical twin sister, Ariel, passed away six years ago and Aspen’s still dealing with the guilt about what happened the night her sister died. Morgan’s brother, Ryan, died a few months ago and Morgan has his own guilt to deal with while also being the guardian for Ryan’s daughter, Natalia.

Both Aspen and Morgan are hurting and they discover solace and more importantly, understanding, with each other. Also, Aspen’s a 21-year-old adult, which makes me feel way more comfortable with her relationship with Morgan. I will say I thought Morgan pushed his boundaries as a teacher way too early and I would’ve liked it more if Aspen initiated the relationship more. Still, I fell in love with Morgan just as much as Aspen did.

He’s smart, funny, artistic, and an all around good guy (besides the fact that he dates one of his students of course). I also really liked Aspen and felt so bad for her. I hate her parents and I wish we could’ve seen more of her brother, Aaron, who seemed like an okay guy.

I also really liked Aspen’s friends, Kendall and Zoe. Especially Kendall. She’s hilarious and added much needed comic relief to this novel. As did Aspen’s classmate, Ellie, who’s so blunt it’s a bit unbelievable but also very funny.

And of course the erotic scenes were very steamy. At some points the sex scenes got a little too repetitive for me so I started skimming them but eventually the author, Brooke Cumberland, skipped over them, which was good. I actually really liked the plot of this novel and at some points just wanted to get back to that so I was glad when she did.

Overall, BookBub once again gave me a great deal on a book I probably would’ve never discovered on my own. This is definitely a good read.

Borrow or Buy: Buy! It’s literally only 99 cents on the Kindle. Just buy it. You won’t regret it!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Sometimes it’s letting [people] in that helps you feel whole again. Even if you feel like a mess yourself.”

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Book Review: November 9

Posted on February 10, 2016February 9, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Hey friends! Once again this obviously isn’t a Woman Crush Wednesday post. It’s a bonus book review! Yay! I’m switching up the schedule right now (hence why there was no WCW last week either). Please bear with me during this time of change. 🙂

Synopsis from Amazon:

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

Honestly, I’d never even heard of Colleen Hoover until I joined #bookstagram. But literally almost every person I follow on Instagram was reading one of her books so I got curious and requested a bunch of her books from the library.

Well now I get the hype. I instantly fell in love with Ben, kind of like Fallon does. Ben is cute, funny, honest, and so genuine. He’s pretty unbelievable but in the best possible way. I also really like that he’s a writer and Fallon loves romance novels because they constantly talk about fiction and typical cliches that occur in romance novels.

It was interesting reading a novel about a guy who was trying to write a novel about what was happening in his life. It was very meta and also funny. The story is told in Fallon and Ben’s point of views, which is perfect because they not only keep things from each other but also from the reader, making the novel pretty surprising. I was definitely shocked by some twists although there were some things I suspected.

Still, this book kept me on my toes and Fallon and Ben’s chemistry and wit made me laugh and swoon. They’re so incredibly cute together and the use of November 9 as the focal point for this book was really interesting. The date has different meanings to both Ben and Fallon and the way Hoover uses that to drive the plot is fantastic.

I am now fully on board the CoHo train and have no intention of getting off anytime soon. Now I get to dive in and read all her books and I can’t wait. If you haven’t read any of her books yet definitely give her a try. She’s a phenomenal writer.

Borrow or Buy: Buy it and reread it multiple times. I need this on my shelf permanently.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“I thought I was tougher than a word. But I just discovered that having to say goodbye to you is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

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Book Review: Making Her His

Posted on February 4, 2016February 3, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

For almost five years, Alex has had one obsession. Her name is Elynn.

Alex Hanas couldn’t believe that after so many years as a widower, his father was getting remarried. To make matters worse, the American gold digger had a kid—a daughter named Elynn. After months of avoiding it, Alex goes to brunch with every intention of giving his father’s new family the deep freeze. But he can’t pull it off with Elynn’s anxious green-grey eyes locked on him.

That was the day his life changed.

Four years later, Alex is as close to Elynn as a stepbrother can be. But that’s not enough for him. He wants more…and he’s done waiting.

I blame BookBub for my dive back into erotica.

Making Her His by Lucy Leroux was in my daily deals email from BookBub and ordinarily I may not have purchased it if it wasn’t for the fact that the Kindle version was free that day. Intrigued by the low low price of zero dollars and zero cents I took the bite and “bought” it.

And let me just say that was a great decision. This relatively short novel follows Alex, a 31-year-old control freak business man, and his stepsister Elynn, a quiet, shy 21-year-old. I’m never sure how to feel about the step siblings thing but in this novel it worked since Alex and Elynn’s parents didn’t get together until Elynn was 17 so Alex and Elynn never even lived together.

Alex reminded me a little bit of the infamous Christian Grey from Fifty Shades. Alex is a successful business man who likes to be in control and often tells Elynn what to do. What makes Alex a more likable character to me, however, is his controlling tendencies are just enough to be considered pushy and not abusive. When Elynn puts her foot down Alex respects that and always makes sure Elynn’s comfortable in their relationship, no matter what they were doing. He doesn’t push her to do anything she’s not ready for and is very conscious of keeping her safe, which I liked a lot.

I also really liked Elynn’s character. She has this interesting fascination with mushrooms that I thought was a little weird but also such a funny and quirky trait, especially in comparison to Alex. Elynn and Alex are the definition of opposites attract. I do think they get over the step siblings issue way too easily. The fact that Alex doesn’t see any issue with it at all and Elynn is easily persuaded seems a bit unrealistic.

Even so, I thought Alex and Elynn were really cute together and the erotica aspects were very steamy. The novel is very fast paced, which made their relationship seem a bit rushed but overall I really enjoyed this novel. It was a quick read and has now made be curious about Leroux’s other novels.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“I already got what I wanted. What I’ve always wanted.”

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Book Review: The Steep & Thorny Way

Posted on February 2, 2016March 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

*I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from Amulet Books. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be released on March 8, 2016.*

In all honesty I’m always hesitant to read books about a person of color written by a white person and historical fiction isn’t really my genre but this book interested me so I gave it a try.

It was slow in the beginning and it took me a little while to get into but I’d say about 40 pages in the pace picked up. I either forgot or skipped over the part of the blurb that mentioned this was inspired by Hamlet but I immediately got that vibe and because of that I thought I knew what was going to happen. I was worried this book would be very predictable but as the book went along the author, Cat Winters, hit me with more twists and surprises. Some I began to suspect as I read but others really took me by surprise.

I also really enjoyed the relationship between Hannalee and Joe, the suspected murderer of Hannalee’s father. Their relationship, at least to me, seems to teeter the line between just friends and more than friends, which is interesting once you learn more about Joe.

Over all, I think Winters did well with this novel. She definitely did her research and I liked how she touched on a lot of issues in just one book. One thing I could’ve done without was the pictures between chapters. If there were just a few photos at the end to show the history of everything that would’ve been cool but having the images between every few chapters didn’t really add anything for me.

I’d say this book is definitely worth a read. The ghost story and mystery aspect made this book way more interesting, as did the relationship between Joe and Hannalee. Although I’m not sure how it’d be done I’d be interested in a sequel to this novel. I want to know what happens to the characters next. Even so, I think this book had a satisfying ending so I’m fine with this being a stand alone. But if Winters wants to throw us another book and make this a series I wouldn’t mind.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

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Book Review: Smart Girl

Posted on January 28, 2016March 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

Brilliant designer Miko Jin is a hopeless romantic. She’s spent most of her life falling in love over and over again…with the men she finds in the pages of her favorite novels.

When Miko meets Liam Ashton, it’s love at first sight. At least, for her. Sure, the two of them are polar opposites, and yes, he seems to be dating someone new each week. But Miko knows what true love is and that you can’t rush it—after all, what she lacks in real-world experience, she makes up for in book smarts. With novels as her guide, and her best friends by her side, she knows she can get Liam to love her back. But just like any good romance novel, fate has a few plot twists in store. Will Miko get her own happy ending? Will she find the strength to stand up for what she deserves even if it means breaking her own heart?

*I received a free digital advanced reader’s copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel was released on January 26, 2016.*

Full disclosure, I didn’t read the first two books in this series before I dived into Smart Girl. Party Girl has been on my wish list for way too long and when I saw the opportunity to read Smart Girl I just had to read it because it sounded so good. And it was!

If you’re like me and haven’t read the first two books in this series, don’t worry. You don’t have to. You should, and I have every intention of going back and reading them as soon as possible, but you definitely don’t have to read them to dive into this novel. The author, Rachel Hollis, writes these novels in a way that they can also be stand alone books. Of course if you do choose to read this before the other two there will definitely be spoilers for the first two books. But it’s not like you need to know what happens in those books to read this one. Got it? Good.

Moving on, I absolutely loved this novel! The main character, Miko, is every fangirl’s dream. She references so many books I love like The Lunar Chronicles, The Hunger Games, and classics like Emma and Sense and Sensibility. But not only does she reference them she actually uses them to try to get the guy of her dreams, Liam, to love her back.

As one could expect this has varying results creating the perfect combination of hilarity and heartbreak when Miko’s plans occasionally failed. What’s more, though, is I just loved Miko as a character. I think anyone can relate to loving someone, especially for a long time, and struggling to find out if they feel the same way or if you should just call it quits. Unrequited love is the worse but sometimes getting what you want isn’t always what it seemed and Miko figures this out the hard way.

I really loved this novel, which is why I know I have to read the first two books. Smart Girl was funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and filled with so many life lessons about friendship, family, and love. It took me about a day to finish this novel because once I started reading I was immediately hooked. Miko is a great narrator and I loved her sense of style and the way she got so into her designing.

I also really liked the side characters as well. Landon and Max were perfect, as were Miko’s assistant, Casidee, and her brother, Tosh. Also, although I think this is the perfect end to this series, I’d be interested in seeing two more books about Casidee and Liam and Max’s younger sister, Malin, finding love. Hollis kind of left that open ended in the epilogue, which jumps three years forward, so I think there’s room for that but I’d be totally fine if the series ended here. It’s a really great ending.

Last quick thing but did anyone else notice that Party Girl and Sweet Girl are amongst the pile of books on the cover of Smart Girl? I just noticed them and that’s so cool! Such a nice touch.

Borrow or Buy: Buy! Buy all three books. I plan to.

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Book Review: Love Lies Beneath

Posted on January 26, 2016May 11, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Simon & Schuster:

Tara is gorgeous, affluent, and forty. She lives in an impeccably restored Russian Hill mansion in San Francisco. Once a widow, twice divorced, she’s a woman with a past she prefers keeping to herself.

Enter Cavin Lattimore. He’s handsome, kind, charming, and the surgeon assigned to Tara following a ski accident in Lake Tahoe. In the weeks it takes her to recover, Cavin sweeps her off her feet and their relationship blossoms into something Tara had never imagined possible. But then she begins to notice some strange things: a van parked outside her home at odd times, a break-in, threatening text messages and emails. She also starts to notice cracks in Cavin’s seemingly perfect personality, like the suppressed rage his conniving teenage son brings out in him, and the discovery that Cavin hired a detective to investigate her immediately after they met.

Now on crutches and housebound, Tara finds herself dependent on the new man in her life—perhaps too much so. She’s handling rocky relationships with her sister and best friend, who are envious of her glamour and freedom; her prickly brother-in-law, who is intimidated by her wealth and power; and her estranged mother. However perfect Tara’s life appears, things are beginning to get messy.

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

I absolutely love Ellen Hopkins and there’s only one book of hers I haven’t read yet but I’m hoping to change that soon. Anyway, the point it, when I discovered she had a new book out that was written in prose instead of her typical poetic style was over the moon.

I’m a big fan of Hopkin’s poetic style of writing, which is why when I discovered Love Lies Beneath was written in prose I was shocked but also intrigued because it’s new. And although the book is mainly written in prose we do get a poem every couple of chapters. But if I’m being honest, which I always am, I could’ve done without them because I felt like they took me out the story and didn’t really add anything.

If you don’t know anything about this book (because truthfully I didn’t until I stumbled upon it in the library) it’s Hopkin’s third adult novel and follows Tara, a forty year old woman who’s been divorced three times. And she’s filthy rich.

Tara also comes a pretty tough background. She grew up with just her sister, mom, and whatever boyfriend her mother had the time. Her mother wasn’t the best, to say the least, and all Tara ever wanted to do was leave her mother and past behind, which is exactly what she did.

I really liked this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat to the very end. I never knew what to expect or who to trust. Everyone was suspicious to be and Hopkins still somehow managed to hit me with a big surprise in the end. Unbelievable. Seriously, Hopkins is one of the greatest storytellers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading and if you haven’t read any books by her yet I definitely recommend this one (and all the others!).

Really, though, this novel was excellent. It was mysterious, sexy, and I couldn’t put it down. Definitely give it a read!

Borrow or Buy: Buy!!!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Even as a kid I had to be the adult.”

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Book Review: The DUFF

Posted on January 21, 2016January 18, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis from Amazon:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff–the designated ugly fat friend–of her crew.

But things aren’t so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, 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.

I watched The DUFF movie a while back and I absolutely loved it and I’ve been dying to get my hands on the book ever since. Therefore when I went to an indie bookstore the other day and saw it there I had to buy it.

I don’t know if I’d say the book was better than the movie but I will say the book definitely had a lot more going on. I hate that the film changed the relationship between Bianca’s parents because I really liked her dad in the book and we don’t even see her dad in the movie.

Also, I really loved the relationship between Wesley and Bianca in the book. I like that they start out as kind of like friends with benefits but not really because Bianca hates him. I also found it very cute when they got to know each other and started opening up to each other.

Okay, the more I think about it the more I realize the book is definitely better than the movie but isn’t that always the case? The book was just so much deeper than the film made it out to be. The film kind of just recreated She’s All That (a great film, by the way, if you haven’t seen it) and threw in the term DUFF. Otherwise the movie is way off base from the book.

I’m definitely glad I saw the movie before I read the book because I can see now why so many people were upset about the movie. The book was so much more complex and I liked the characters way more in the book. Also, I don’t understand why the movie felt the need to add a mean girl when there was no mean girl in the novel. At least, not one that bullied Bianca.

Anyway, my point is this book is amazing and you should definitely read it. I totally have a huge crush on Wesley Rush and I just want to reread this book so I can fall in love with him again. So cute and funny and perfect!

Borrow or Buy: Buy it! Buy it now!

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Favorite Line: