Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Title: Shut Out

Author: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: 88% or B+
Buy It: Amazon

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.

My Thoughts::
After reading The DUFF by Keplinger, I didn't hesitate to accept this book for review and see what else she had in store. The summary seemed interesting, but it turned out to be so much more than that.

What I find to be liking most about Keplinger's writing is her subject choice. People always say that writing about abuse and eating disorders is impressive because the subject is controversial. I think this is true, but I never cared all that much. It's hard to identify and share feelings with a character that is going through something that you can't even imagine going through. That's what makes Keplinger's work so interesting. She keeps controversial subjects that other authors try not to go near (with this book, sex), which opens the viewing circle to so many other girls having the same doubts and feelings.

Every single character in this book pissed me off at one point or another. Though, it wasn't entirely because of what they were saying, doing, or thinking. It was because I could see myself doing those things as well. Keplinger made sure to create a group of characters that showcase all of our insecurities and problems..and sometimes? It's hard to look. Even after all of that, I grew to really feel for the characters, especially Lissa who was so entirely witty.

The plot was pretty original and interesting, though it became predictable. Any regular reader would be able to tell when something was about to happen, good or bad, and even identify what that bad thing would be.

Overall I gained a lot of insight and confidence after reading Shut Out, even though the plot got a bit predictable. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's brave enough to read about teen sex or just wants a boy vs. girl read.