The DUFF

The DUFF

Bibliographic Information

Keplinger, Kody. Thr DUFF. Little Brown and Company, New York. 2010.

Plot Description

Bianca is seventeen, and the DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend. She is unaware of her DUFF status until school playboy Wesley explains it to her one night. His theory is that if he is nice to the DUFF then Bianca’s friends will see how nice he is and he will hook-up with them. Bianca is disgusted by Wesley, she hates him. Yet somehow she finds herself kissing him one night. As things for Bianca get worse, her parent’s relationship and her ex-boyfriend coming back to town, she finds herself having sex with Wesley. Is Wesley as bad as she thinks or is he just as lost as she is?

Quantitative Reading Level

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 2.9

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease: 89.4

ATOS Level: 4.2

Qualitative Reading Level

Meaning: Middle Low. Text contains single layer of meaning.

Structure: Middle Low. The narrative structure is largely simple, more explicit than implicit and is largely conventional. Narration does not shift in point of view. The order of events is chronological.

Language: Middle Low: Text contains subtle use of figurative language or irony. The language is largely contemporary, familiar, conversational language that is explicit. The text is rarely unfamiliar, archaic, domain-specific or overly academic.

Knowledge Demands: Middle Low. Explores a single complex theme, experiences portrayed are common to many readers. The use of intertexuality and allusions to cultural elements requires some level of cultural and literacy knowledge. The text requires some cultural/literary knowledge; there are few references to other texts.

Content Area

Health: Safe Environment, English

Subject Area Tag

Health, English, Reading for Pleasure: Chapter Books, Middle School or High School

Content Area Standard

NYS Health: Standard 2—A Safe and Healthy Environment

1. Students will demonstrate personally and socially responsible behaviors. They will care for and respect themselves and others. They will recognize threats to the environment and offer appropriate strategies to minimize them.

New York State Content Area Standard (Grades 6-12)

1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical,  connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

11. Respond to literature by employing knowledge of literary language, textual features, and forms to read and comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret literary texts from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of American and world cultures.

Curriculum Suggestions

• Use in health class to demonstrate the power of words 
• Use in English and compare Bianca to a classic character

Links to Supporting Digital Content

Kids Health: Self esteem

http://teenshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/self_esteem.html

Do Something: teens and self esteem

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-teens-and-self-esteem

Optional:

This book was displayed as part of the New to the Library section. I knew what a DUFF was so the title caught my eye. I thought that this would be a topic that would interest teens. 

*photo obtained from Goodreads