Shut Out
By: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Poppy
Published: Sept. 5, 2011
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it’s a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy’s car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend’s attention
Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players’ girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won’t get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don’t count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling
After reading The DUFF and falling head over heals in love with it, I was excited to get my hands on Shut Out. I had never heard of the Greek play Lysistrata, where a group of wives withhold sex from their husbands in hopes of them stopping the war. But after reading this, I think I just might run out and grab a copy to read. Granted, I am sure it won’t have the same wittiness and humor that I have come to love from Keplinger’s books. I still love how honest she is about teenage sexuality and how empowering her books are.
Lissa is a strong character. She takes charge and rallies up the girls when she comes up with her plan. She doesn’t take any crap from anyone, even her boyfriend. However, she was pretty dense when it came to Cash. From the first introduction to Cash I knew he was in love with her but for some reason she was totally oblivious to that fact. But I liked how Cash played it cool and then started helping out the guys.
Keplinger has pulled out another great book. If you were a fan of The Duff, you will not be disappointed with this one. The book is entertaining from start to finish.
My all time favorite part is when the guys show up at one of the girls “sleepover” meetings and they start singing Tearin’ Up My Heart by N’SYNC. Talk about blast from the past. I remember having their posters taped on my wall one right on top of the other one like wallpaper. Oh yeah, I so watched the music video after reading this book.
I read Lysistrata a few months ago, and then I heard about this one. I definitely want to read this one-it’s hard to see that situation happening with modern teens so this should be a good read. Thanks for the review!