{Review} Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger.

Posted by Donna
Release Date: April 28th, 2013
Finished Date: April , 2015

Publishers: Scholastic
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Source: For Review
Format: eARC

Pages: 405
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Kody Keplinger returns to the world of The DUFF in this brand-new companion novel!

Sonny Ardmore is an excellent liar. She lies about her dad being in prison. She lies about her mom kicking her out. And she lies about sneaking into her best friend's house every night because she has nowhere else to go.

Amy Rush might be the only person Sonny shares everything with -- secrets, clothes, even a nemesis named Ryder Cross.

Ryder's the new kid at Hamilton High and everything Sonny and Amy can't stand -- a prep-school snob. But Ryder has a weakness: Amy. So when Ryder emails Amy asking her out, the friends see it as a prank opportunity not to be missed.

But without meaning to, Sonny ends up talking to Ryder all night online. And to her horror, she realizes that she might actually like him. Only there's one small catch: he thinks he's been talking to Amy. So Sonny comes up with an elaborate scheme to help Ryder realize that she's the girl he's really wanted all along. Can Sonny lie her way to the truth, or will all her lies end up costing her both Ryder and Amy?

The Review: I love Kody Keplinger's books. The DUFF of course being my favourite. So when I heard about her writing a companion novel for The DUFF I simply couldn't wait. 

Sonny Ardmore lies - all the time. She lies to everyone around her because it makes her feel better about her life. Even everyone at schools knows she lies so whenever Sonny has a real problem, it's hard for anyone to believe if she's telling the truth or just crying wolf again. But when Sonny starts connecting with the new guy - Ryder, it's here that she tells one of the biggest lies of all. Sonny is actually pretending to be her best friend Amy - the one Ryder really likes, but as Sonny talks more to Ryder, she realises she likes him. But how can she get out of the mess she's put herself in? It's time Sonny realises that telling lies will get her no-where in life. 

Heading into Lying Out Loud I was so excited. I was expecting the same sort of emotional bust that The DUFF provided and here lies my problem, I definitely went into this book with far to many expectations and unfortunately, Lying Out Loud just didn't have the same feel. Mainly that's because I found the characters from The DUFF much more relatable. I hate comparing the two books but it's impossible not to.

If I'm honest, I didn't really like Sonny as a character. I felt she never helps herself by telling the lies and that she just puts herself in harder situations. I just wanted her to tell the truth. I understand she's a teenager and sometimes they have trouble explaining how they really feel but Sonny's life wasn't pretty, you'd think she'd do anything for a little bit of help. I actually enjoyed Amy Rush - Sonny's best friend and yes, she's Wesley Rush's sister - more than Sonny. But Amy was only a secondary character. I possibly think I may have enjoyed this story more if it was Amy's story rather than Sonny's.

The plot of the story was fun though. The banter between Sonny and Ryder was quirky and enjoyable - definitely my favourite part of the story. And although the ending was predictable it was still lovely to see a good ending to the story. 

In all, I may have had some issues with Lying Out Loud but this will not stop me seeking out more books (when she writes them) by Kody Keplinger. 

Thank you to Scholastic for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

{Review + Giveaway} #theDUFF by Kody Keplinger (UK/IRE only)

Posted by Donna
Release Date: February 25th, 2015

Publishers: Hodder Children's Books 
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Source: For Review
Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

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.

The Review: Plain and simple I loved The DUFF! I can't believe I put off reading this book for so long. It's an amazing story. 

The story follows Bianca, a seventeen-year-old girl who gets labelled The DUFF; Designated Ugly Fat Friend by one of the most popular and hottest boys at school - Wesley. Bianca is very opinionated around Wesley and doesn't hold back on telling him what she really thinks, however when her family life starts to get a little crazy, Bianca finds a kind of peace around Wesley when she finds that he's really easy to talk too. Can Bianca find something more in Wesley or are they forever fated to be enemies?

This was just the type of book I needed last week - something easy to read but completely addictive. It's brutally honest and very realistic about teenage life - you don't find many books that many readers will be able to relate to but, that's what The DUFF is. I believe many readers will know exactly what Bianca is going through and how they will do anything to just find some peace in all the craziness. 

I loved Bianca and Wesley together - I mean who wouldn't? Wesley does come across as a jerk to start with, and it's so much fun watching Bianca put the boy in his place. They banter back and forth which makes the story very humorous but underneath all that humour, there's the beauty of a strong relationship being formed. I loved every single minute these too spent together - it was honest, real and beautiful. 

In all, The DUFF was one surprisingly beautiful read and one I absolutely adored! Well done Kody Keplinger! 

Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of The Duff which is hitting UK cinema's on April 6th,  the movie company are kindly giving ONE winner a chance to win this goody bag which includes the movie tie-in version of the book.

As you all know labelling is a huge issue in our society today, so The Duff are partnering up with Ditch the Label which is a charity who are trying to overcome this, if anyone of you are suffering with any bullying make sure you check out www.ditchthelabel.org for advice and someone to talk to.

The giveaway will run until April 5th 2015. 
Good Luck!

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A Review for The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger

Posted by Donna
Release Date: September 7th, 2010
Finished Date: July 2nd, 2013

Publishers: Poppy
Source: Bought

Format: Paperback
Pages: 280

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

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 "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She 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. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

The Review: “No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.”

Plain and simple I loved The DUFF! I can't believe I put off reading this book for so long. It is just pure amazing!

The story follows Bianca, a seventeen-year-old girl who gets labelled The DUFF; Designated Ugly Fat Friend by one of the most popular and hottest boys at school - Wesley. Bianca is very opinionated around Wesley and doesn't hold back on telling him what she really thinks, however when her family life starts to get a little crazy, Bianca finds a kind of peace around Wesley when she finds that he's really easy to talk too. Can Bianca find something more in Wesley or are they forever fated to be enemies?

This was just the type of book I needed last week - something easy to read but completely addictive. It's brutally honest and very realistic about teenage life - you don't find many books that many readers will be able to relate to but that's what The DUFF is. I believe many readers will know exactly what Bianca is going through and how they will do anything to just find some peace in all the craziness. 

I loved Bianca and Wesley together - I mean who wouldn't? Wesley does come across as a jerk to start with, and it's so much fun watching Bianca put that boy in his place. They banter back and forth, which makes the story very humorous but, underneath all that humour there's the beauty of a strong relationship being formed. I loved every single minute these too spent together, it's was honest, real and beautiful. 

In all, The DUFF was one surprisingly beautiful read and one I absolutely adored! Well done Kody Keplinger! 

Favourite Quotes: 
“Your sense of humor needs some work, then," Wesley suggested. "Most girls find my jokes charming." 
"Those girls must have IQs low enough to trip over.” Bianca & Wesley 

“I don't like him," I explained. "He annoys the hell out of me ninety-six percent of the time, and sometimes I'd like nothing better than to strangle him to death. But at the same time I... I want him to be happy. I think about him way more than I should, and I -"
"You love him.” - Bianca