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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

"Shut Out" by Kody Keplinger

Release Date: September 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Poppy

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.

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. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming.

Inspired by Aristophanes' play Lysistrata, critically acclaimed author of The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Kody Keplinger adds her own trademark humor in this fresh take on modern teenage romance, rivalry and sexuality.


I will say this, Kody Keplinger never fails to make me laugh out loud. This story was smart, funny and sweet. I'll admit, it was a little disconcerting at first, to think about teenagers being able to use sex for power. I mean, not all of them have their own cars, but they want to control their boyfriends with sex. Of course, I'm not so old that I don't remember that sex was fairly prominent in my high school, too. So after my initial 'OMG' moment, I continued reading and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I really liked the main character Lissa. She was definitely naive, especially concerning her boyfriend Randy, but she was smart and tough. A good leader, as long as she was focused on what was important. Her best friend Chloe was a trip! She kind of reminded me of a friend I had in high school, attitude wise. I loved that she wasn't ashamed of who she was, or that she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She was a terrific friend, too, always there for Lissa. Ellen was a great character, too. Once we get to know her a little better, we get to see why Lissa missed her so much. Tool is a good word for Randy and that's about all that needs to be said on him. Cash on the other hand, WOW! Now I know it's fiction, but I'd like to think that there are actually teenage boys out there as wonderful as him, and I don't just mean looks wise. Although, he had me at green eyes :0)

I'd never read the story of Lysistrata, so I don't really know how similar the two are, but the premise of a sex strike definitely made for some hilarious antics. I am going to go on record, and this is something I have believed since my high school days, soccer boys are way hotter than football boys! Well done Miss Keplinger, bring on the next one!

1 comment:

  1. Your review makes it sound even better than it does in the description! Can't wait to read it. =)

    ReplyDelete

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