Casting Call: The DUFF

Happy Friday!

After spending days thinking "what to cast, what to cast" I've finally settled on Kody Keplinger's The Duff, which our own lovely Erin reviewed a couple of months ago. Just to recap:

Summary (courtesy of Goodreads): 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 "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

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

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that 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. 

Cool, right? A rock star debut for Kody Keplinger! With that being said, here is the cast for...

THE DUFF

Character descriptions courtesy of Kody Keplinger

Bianca Piper: Bianca is the star and the narrator of THE DUFF. She's sarcastic and super cynical, but also very loyal to her best friends, Casey and Jessica.Bianca is kind of anti-social. She hates parties and clubs and prefers just being alone with her friends watching James McAvoy movies. Appearance wise, we don't know that much about B. Here's what we know - she has wavy auburn hair, she's only 5'2", and she *says* she is overweight and flat chested, but the jury is still out on that one. She's definitely not as thin as her best friends, which is how the whole "DUFF" thing gets started.

Cast: Alia Shawkat--Alia Shawkat isn't your typical 'pretty actress' (and thank God!). She is pretty but it's a down to earth pretty. Based on her portrayal of  the snarky, sarcastic Maeby on Arrested Development & her being cast in the gritty film The Runaways, I think Alia would be amazing. (I know that she's not 'fat' but according to Bianca's friends, she wasn't fat, either.)

Wesley Rush: On the surface, Wesley seems like your typical slimy playboy - he really, really likes the ladies, and they really, really like him back. But here's what you may not know about Wesley: while he doesn't always advertise it, he's one of the smartest kids at Hamilton High School. He's ranked third in their graduating class. Appearance wise, Wesley is pretty freakin' hot. He's 6'2" and totally muscular. He has curly brown hair, gray eyes, and a sneaky little grin that drives Bianca nuts . . . in both good ways and bad.

Cast: Chace Crawford--I know, I know, Chace Crawford does not have dark curly hair, or grey eyes for that matter. Still he would totally be the d-bag with the heart of gold. He already carries that role pretty well on Gossip Girl and it would be easy for him to bring that experience to the table. He's charismatic, easy on the eyes but looks like he could turn evil in a second.  

Toby Tucker: Toby is a Young Democrat. He's super involved in politics, and he has been since he was twelve. His favorite class is AP Government, and he spent a lot of time promoting Voter Registration at his high school. One day, Toby hopes to be a senator.Toby is about five-foot-nine and skinny. He has blond hair cut in a dorky old fashion bowl cut. His eyes are green, and he wears oval shaped glasses. He always wears a navy blue blazer (his favorite color) with everything he owns. Over all, he's pretty adorable in the smart, nerdy kind of way.

Cast: Kevin McHale--Okay, again, I'm stepping outside the box here but I think Glee's Kevin McHale could nail it. He has the cute, nerdy quality that has earned him a decent teenage girl fan base. In his interviews, he's eloquent, funny and charming--three qualities a future politician should have.

Jessica Gaither: Jessica Gaither is the daughter of a psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Gaither, and a dentist, Dr. Janice Leck-Gaither.She had trouble making good friends for a while after moving, but she is now best friends with Casey Blythe and Bianca Piper. Jessica is a constant ball of sunshine. She may be percieved as "ditsy" by some, but usually just over enthusiasm.  Looks wise, Jessica is adorable. She's about 5'5" and super curvy. She has golden blond, long hair that she usually wears in a ponytail. She wears lots of pastels, and she loves skirts.

Cast: Kaley Cuoco--Kaley is adorable! On the Big Bang Theory, Kaley's character dazzles everyone around her, even is she comes off less than 'smart'. She's bubbly, cute and I think she'd be a perfect fit. 


Casey Blythe:  Casey met Bianca when they were five years old on the playground. She instantly took the role as Bianca's "protector" - a role Casey plays with lots of her friends. Her natural instinct is to take care of her friends and defend them. She's incredibly loyal, and she doesn't like letting her friends go.  As for how she looks, Casey is very tall. She's almost six-feet-one and she is very self conscious about her height. She has blond hair and hazel eyes. Recently, she chopped her blond hair into a pixie cut. She's got an athletic build from years of cheerleading, and she loves to wear bright colors.

Cast: I DON'T KNOW.  Seriously, I thought this would be super easy...I mean just find a young blond actress, right? Wrong. It's tough to find a protective cheerleader. Mal (my roommate) and I have been sitting here drawing a blank for quite a while so...

Who would you suggest for Casey? What do you think of the other choices? Am I pointed in the right direction or completely off base? Let me know!


By the way...check out Kody's cast for The Duff here!

The Duff Winner!

Let me just say that I stayed up way, way too late last night starting and finishing Mockingjay (which was awesome) so my brain is a big pile of mush right now.  I blame Janelle and her awesome review that made me speed through it (though she did put up with my fervent texting whenever I got to the suspenseful bits so I guess she's forgiven).

Anyway, on to the winner of our first ever Lit Snit giveaway!

Congrats to Alice!  You are now the proud owner of an ARC copy of Kody Keplinger's The Duff!

You should be getting an email shortly to get your contact info and we'll send it out to you.

Thanks to all that entered!  We should have another giveaway up in a few weeks so keep an eye out.

Don't Forget!

Oh, and don't forget that our giveaway for an ARC copy of Kody Keplinger's The Duff (which I LOVED) ends tomorrow!!

Giveaway - The Duff

I don't know if you heard, but I kind of loved Kody Keplinger's debut novel, The Duff (and by kind of loved I mean I couldn't stop talking about it for days and bordered on crazed stalker-fan of Kody).  I happen to have gotten my hot little hands on an extra ARC copy and thought we'd do our very first giveaway here at Lit Snit.  The rules are simple, just enter the form here and you're entered to win.  You will get extra points if you follow our blog and follow us on Twitter.  Contest ends 8/24 so what are you waiting for??



**Sorry this giveaway is US only.

Review - The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Summary (via Goodreads): 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 "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

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

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that 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.

Review (Warning—Light Spoilers): I had to give myself a week and one re-read to write my review so this review didn’t come out full of incoherent fangirl squeeing. Since reading The Duff I've been slightly internet stalking Kody Keplinger as I do most authors I love. (Note to Kody: it's harmless stalking...I swear. Just ignore that feeling like you're being watched all the time. It will fade once you get used to me.)

Just seventeen when she wrote this, I’m torn between admiration and insane jealousy of Keplinger. Her writing is realistic, but incredibly nuanced. (Note again to Kody: not "insane jealousy" like I'm going to 'Single White Female' you. More like I want to steal your words and make your brain mine...yeah...now that I think about it, that sounds worse, doesn't it?)

Fast-moving, charming, and honest, The Duff (which stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend) hooked me from page one. Bianca is smart, spunky, and just a little insecure. Wesley, who could easily be a flat character with his “playboy” ways, is he’s as well-developed as Bianca. I totally understand how Bianca could fall for this guy she supposedly hated (heck, I kind of fell for him myself). The way their relationship evolves is completely believable. Their transition from "enemies with benefits" to friends to something even more happens so smoothly you don't even realize it's happening, much like the characters themselves. Their banter is witty and their hookups are, well, pretty hot. As they get to peel back the layers and emotional barriers you begin to see why these two people are so right for each other. Without really realizing it, each helps the other deal with larger issues. Bianca deals with her parents’ divorce and her father’s alcoholism, while Wesley faces absent parents and a grandmother that despises him.

I loved Bianca’s friends, Casey and Jessica. Both are very different from Bianca but incredibly loyal and clearly the trio cares very deeply for each other. At one point, Wesley says that he really only has one friend, who is gay, because other boys are jealous of him. I wish we could have seen a bit more how this affected Wesley. Girls so often turn against a girl that is seen as more sexually active I thought it was interesting that Wesley’s open attitude regarding sex made him a social outcast among the guys.

My only major gripe is that I think Bianca’s father’s alcoholism perhaps doesn’t get the attention it should. His outbursts and recovery are waved aside with a heartfelt apology and mention of AA, but I felt like the issue should have been more developed, especially since he gets violent with her. Also, her absentee mother showing up and expecting things to just work themselves out irked me.

And while I hated how Bianca let Wesley get away with calling her such a horrible name for so long, the scene where she finally admits how much it hurt her is so poignant and emotional you realize that Wesley has no idea how much weight that word carried. In their relationship, Keplinger elegantly explores issues of self-respect and self-worth that aren’t just regulated to teens. All women, young or old, feel like “the duff” at one point or another.

By now I'm sure it's apparent that I loved The Duff. I think I’d put it up there with Some Girls Are and The Sky is Everywhere as my favorite YA books so far this year (maybe ever). Unfortunately, The Duff doesn't come out until September. I know, I know, I'm sorry for raving about something that isn't in stores for you right now. But, I'm counting down the days until you guys can get your hands on this awesome debut novel. I'm sure once you read it you, like me, will be waiting eagerly to see what else Keplinger has in store for us.

Lit Snit Verdict: A+

*This book was provided by the publisher.