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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In My Mailbox (IMM)

In My Mailbox (or IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

I had a particularly great past couple of weeks, so I decided to share my mailbox.

I received a BIG box of awesome from Little, Brown, LB Kids and Poppy earlier this week containing the following 8 YA ARCS:

DJ Rising by Love Maia Goodreads | Little, Brown

Dumpling Days by Grace Lin Goodreads | Little, Brown

How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr Goodreads | Little, Brown

How To Rock Braces And Glasses by Meg Haston Goodreads | Poppy

Rock On: A Story Of Guitars, Gigs, Girls, And A Brother (Not Necessarily In That Order) by Denise Vega Goodreads | Little, Brown

The Queen Of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker Goodreads | Poppy

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney Goodreads | Little, Brown

Winter Town by Stephen Emond Goodreads | Little, Brown

I also received the following YA books in the mail for review from other awesome publishers:

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead Goodreads | Razorbill

Dark Souls by Paula Morris Goodreads | Point

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley Goodreads | Atheneum

FYI Witchlanders and Dark Souls are both books I have scheduled for review on my other site, The Well-Read Wife.

I received the following adult books for review on my other site The Well-Read Wife:

BedBugs by Ben H. Winters Goodreads | Quirk

Pretty by Jillian Lauren Goodreads | Plume

Silas by Robert J. Duperre Goodreads | CreateSpace

What did you get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Book Review: Falling For Hamlet by Michelle Ray

Title: Falling For Hamlet

Author: Michelle Ray

348 pages, Published by Poppy

Michelle’s Info: Website | Facebook

Buy The Book: Amazon

Summary: Meet Ophelia: a blonde, beautiful high-school senior and long-time girlfriend of Prince Hamlet of Denmark. Her life is dominated not only by her boyfriend's fame and his overbearing family, but also by the paparazzi who hound them wherever they go. As the devastatingly handsome Hamlet spirals into madness after the mysterious death of his father, the King, Ophelia rides out his crazy roller coaster life, and lives to tell about it. In live television interviews, of course. (Summary provided by the publisher.)

My Thoughts:

Picture this: A beautiful teen and her super famous boyfriend cannot go anywhere in public without worrying the paparazzi and other teens with camera phones will follow their every move. In the midst of an already out of control everyday life, Ophelia and Hamlet have to deal with a sinister conspiracy within the royal family. With Falling For Hamlet Michelle Ray has taken Shakespeare’s timeless characters, plot and setting and updated them for teens.

Obviously, Michelle Ray has changed a few things. For instance, she is telling the story from Ophelia’s point of view. Ophelia is in much more of the book than she was in the play, but this difference makes for interesting reading for anyone who ever wondered what Ophelia was like. As a former English teacher and Shakespeare After School leader, I wish this book had been written back when I was teaching. There is so much I could have done with it!

Something is awesome in the state of Denmark! Falling For Hamlet by Michelle Ray, a thoroughly modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, will captivate teens as they read about how Ophelia deals with dating tormented Prince Hamlet. Click here for a chance to win a copy of Falling For Hamlet.

Note To Parents: There is one brief reference to a sexual situation in this book. This book is a perfect course supplement if your child is having problems understanding Shakespeare.

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Book Review: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger

Title: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)
Author: Kody Keplinger
288 pages, Published by Poppy
Kody's Information: Twitter | Website | Blog
Buy The Book: Amazon

From the Publisher:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. (Summary provided by Poppy.)

My Thoughts:

After hearing how awesome The DUFF by Kody Keplinger is for the most of the past year, I finally decided to read it. I was really impressed by this one. Believe the hype. This book rocks. Keplinger takes the modern high school experience and brings it to life for her readers.

Bianca, the main character, perfectly embodies how most girls feel in high school. After she is referred to as the DUFF ( short for Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by the hot yet super-insensitive Wesley, Bianca's reaction is priceless. But regardless of the satisfaction she gets out of throwing a cherry coke in Wesley's face, his words sting and Bianca buys into them. The way Bianca goes about dealing with her insecurities and with her problems at home with her mom and dad will ring true to readers.

I think older teens and young adults well into their 20s (and in my case 30s) will love this book and have much to relate to as they read about how Bianca handles the many issues she encounters. I hate to even mention that Kody Kepplinger was 17 years old when she wrote the book, because it sounds like I'm saying this book is good for having been written by a 17 year old. However impressive it is that Kody wrote a book at 17 years of age, this book is excellent whether it was written by a 17 year old or a 45 year old. Go buy it!

Note to Parents: I should mention that this book has some cursing and sex scenes. The characters in the sex scenes use protection and there is discussion within the book about the consequences of sex. I feel like this is very realistic with regards to the high school experience and should not deter parents from allowing their teens to read The DUFF. Honestly, I highly recommend parents read it, so they can better understand what high school is like for their teens.