Title: Shut Out
Author: Kody Keplinger
Pages: 273 pages
Publisher: Poppy
Published on: September 5th' 2011
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...
Review:
I'll have to admit that if I were to choose between The DUFF and Shut Out, I'd still pick The DUFF. And while Shut Out was brimming with sexual tension (which I love) and super hot soccer players, there was just something a bit lacking with it. The story took a while to build compared to The DUFF's fast-paced writing and that sort of affected its impact. Though I did feel like the story really needed that slow build up, I've always just liked my Contemps happy and fast-paced but that didn't stop me from loving it anyway.
I really did enjoy Shut Out not just because there were shirtless soccer players involved but also because of the relationships happening in the story. And as well as the sweetness of the romance that did eventually happen.
Lissa
Lissa, the protagonist, really goes through a lot in this book and we really see how far determination and sheer willpower will get a person. She's this character that's vulnerable at times and really fierce at the other. You can really relate to what she's going through because she pretty much goes through the same thing an normal teenager goes through: peer pressure, fear of the unknown, fear of losing someone important and the like.
Lissa and her family
Lissa lives with her brother and her father. Her father has been in a wheel chair for a while because of an incident that broke a few parts of his body. I really love how close she is with these two and that even though they lost her mother, they didn't let it completely overshadow their family. You can really see how much they love each other and I really appreciated that. (And it doesn't hurt that her brother is a hottie.)
Lissa and Randy
I actually thought that they made a pretty cute couple at first but towards the middle of the book, I just thought of how much of a douche he really is. He treats Lissa like a possession and that's just not something she should be subjecting herself to. I really liked that Lissa was her own person but there were times where her thoughts were clouded with how much she loves Randy. News flash, dude, the puppy-dog eyes don't look good on seventeen-year-old jocks.
Lissa and her friends
Ever since the girls made the pledge not to have sex with their boyfriends, girls who weren't really talking before have gotten relatively closer. You can really see the bond that was created by the girls because they weren't just friends to each other, they were practically sisters and it was in these parts of the book that really made me appreciate how important friends really are.
Lissa and Cash
Okay, I'm super excited for this because I love them together. Their sexual tension was so thick that if you came within ten-feet of them, you'll get thrown back through sheer force. I really loved how sweet Cash is. He's basically this really hot and unattainable guy with a really sweet and cheesy side (I know, swoon!) He's such a really character and that's something I really loved about him, he doesn't pretend to be someone he's not and he's obviously willing to fight for the girl he wants.
If you want to read a sweet, at times poignant and hilarious book, Shut Out is for you. Contemporary books have always been a big favorite of mine and I'm so happy to be able to share these titles with you. Hope you enjoy Kody Keplinger's books because Geraldine and I are HUGE fans!
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