Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Title: Shut Out
Author: Kody Keplinger
Published: September 5th 2011
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
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Caution: May contain spoilers

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...

My Thoughts:

After reading The DUFF, I was in love with Kody Keplinger's style of writing. It's one of those things where you know it isn't a 'one hit wonder' kind of situation. This is an author who can take any story and turn it into an epic story that not only touches you but also makes you laugh a lot. So, long story short, I absolutely had to get this book.

Lissa's idea to get this rivalry between the teams to end was pretty great. It brought out the best and worst in everyone, not to mention showed people for who they really are. Not just the boys, but also the girls. I don't know what it was, but I just did not like Randy from the start. It made me wonder why someone as sweet as Lissa would be with such a jerk. Since he's such an idiot, it doesn't take long for him to do something stupid.

In the meantime, Lissa is shelving books at the library with the assistance of Cash. Now, Cash... let me tell you right now, this guy is awesome. He has this genuine sweetness to him, and he actually has deep thoughts. It's hard for Lissa to resist his charm (heck, it would be hard for ME to resist his charm). It was very swoon-y. This quote pretty much says it all:

I didn't have that kind of fight in me.

For Lissa, caving in to this is like giving up on her cause, not to mention giving up control over a situation. It's hard for her to let go of control and let something else or someone else take over. This aspect of her personality was one I especially liked. She needed to grow from this because:

You can't control everything. Sometimes you just need to relax and have faith that things will work out. Let go a little and just let life happen.

Shut Out was brilliant. Just plain brilliant. This premise is very amusing in itself, but the way it was developed was in the best way possible. As I mentioned above, the way Kody Keplinger writes makes the story great. She isn't afraid to just tell it like it is, not only life lessons, but also she has this way of turning a phrase that makes you laugh out loud. If you haven't read Kody Keplinger yet, I strongly suggest that you do. Go get one of her books. Now.

My Rating: