Book Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Title: Shut Out

Author: Kody Keplinger

288 pages, Published by Poppy

Kody’s Information: Website | Blog | Twitter | FB

Buy The Book: Amazon

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. (Summary provided by Poppy.)

My Thoughts:

With her debut novel, The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) (Poppy, 2010), Kody Keplinger was a breakout success. Keplinger’s latest YA offering, Shut Out, proves she has staying power. Based on the comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Shut Out is the story of Lissa. Lissa is tired of the football team’s rivalry with the soccer team and she decides to put a stop to it by leading the girlfriends of the soccer and football team members on a hookup strike. While the book has many funny moments, Keplinger is at her best when she addresses many of the social issues that affect today’s teens. From the stigma surrounding talking honestly about sex and relationships with peers to the financial hardships many teens are facing due to the rough economy, Keplinger addresses topics that are important to her audience with sensitivity and humor. Parents, if you want to know what your teens are up to, I highly suggest picking up a book by Kody Keplinger. I’ll definitely be sticking copies of The Duff and Shut Out in all of my friend’s Christmas stockings this year!

Note to Parents: Poppy has the age recommendation for Shut Out listed as 15 and up. The book contains a few f bombs and sexual references, so use discretion when allowing your teen to read it. As always, I suggest reading the book along with your teen, so you can discuss the book with him/her.

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