Author: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Poppy (Little, Brown)
Pages: 273
Goodreads
Summary: 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 was such a huge fan of Kody’s debut novel, The DUFF that I literally could not wait to get my hands on this book. The day it arrived, I dropped everything to read. As usual, it didn’t last long.
And I liked it. I liked it a lot. But I didn’t love it. Not like I wanted to. Part of the problem (for me) is that I cracked this open expecting to find another Wesley Rush, and while Cash Sterling was great…he’s no Wesley. I know it’s probably wrong of me to compare the two, but how can I not?
That being said, I did like that Keplinger took a story that’s pretty well known and put her own spin on it to make it work in the here and now. She once again explored a topic that, while some parents might not want to accept it, is definitely at the forefront of teenager’s minds:
Sex.
Just like with The DUFF, Keplinger does an excellent job of portraying a high school girl. She brings to the forefront for readers what it’s like to feel that girlish insecurity we’ve all felt. And how we sometimes feel pressured because of that insecurity into doing things we might not be ready for.
The way the girls (and the guys) come together in the book, how they bond and grow and learn is something every teenager should read. But this thirty-something wanted some more time on the pool table, not even gonna lie.
I knew a boy just like Cash Sterling when I was in high school. Unfortunately, I also knew one just like Randy, too. That’s one of the things that’s so great about Shut Out–it’s authentic. I felt like I knew these characters, like I could be right there plotting to win the war along with them.
Did I love this book as much as I loved the DUFF? No. There really is no comparison to Wesley Rush for me, but I liked Lissa as a character more than I liked Bianca. I know that the purpose of this isn’t really to compare the two, but I had to tell you that, just in case. I also wavered on my rating and really wish I could give half stars, because if I could, I would give it 3-1/2 stars. I didn’t want people to flip out and see only 3 stars though, because I slightly more than like it, but I don’t love it.
There is, in my opinion, a huge hole in the plot that I cannot discuss because it would be giving away way too much. But, it definitely left me scratching my head and making me wonder if I had misread something. I didn’t, but I suppose it could have been misinterpretation on my part. Whatever, I know that you’ll stop reading my reviews after seeing this rambling chickenscratch.
Other than that, though, I thought everything else was right on: growing up and being out of control, where you sit in the cafeteria after a breakup, support and friendship where you least expect it. It was good.
From the friendships to the rivalries to the “uhmahgawd does he like me” feeling, Keplinger definitely gets this genre and this group of people, and I really enjoy her style. Her characters have depth and realistic dialogue. Plus, it’s hot and has a little throwback to The DUFF in the form of Harrison Carlyle. Add in a little NSYNC and Cosmo representing their Bible, and it’s win in my book. I think you should read it 
Shut Out comes out in the US on Tuesday, September 5! Want to be one of the first Fictionees to read it? Guess what? We have TWO, that’s right, TWO copies to give away! To enter, just leave a comment on this post!
Giveaway ends on Thursday, September 1 at Midnight EST! We will announce winners on Friday, September 2!
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