Review of Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

A note. I'm trying really hard not to give any spoilers away, but I wanted to be a bit detailed on why I rated it what I rated it. You've been forewarned.

Synopsis From GoodReads:

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 Take:

I was originally drawn to the premise, since, right off the bat I realized it was a retelling of Lysistrata. I was excited, this had to get interesting. For those who don't know, Lysistrata is a Greek play where the women want to end a war so they refuse sex to their husbands etc.  It piqued my curiosity more than The Duff, which I have yet to read, although I've been considering it. Lissa is the girlfriend of a football player. He's constantly forgetting about her because of a stupid and sometimes violent rivalry with the soccer team. Thing is, I was expecting more from this book, but I really didn't connect with the main character, nor the others. There was also a character--an old friend of Lissa's--who ended on bad terms with her, but their issues felt like they resolved too quickly. Actually their issues felt non-existent when there should have been some sort of tension.

 I feel bad saying this, but occasionally it felt like Lissa was a teenager with adult wants and tendencies. Like I was getting a little of the author and NOT Lissa. It would have been fine if they had been just a bit more believable. Leading into that, toward the end the novel got a tad preachy about respecting how one feels about sex, but it was to an extent that felt forced within the novel. Almost like, "And the lesson is..." I'm all for a lesson or having the character grow or learn something about themselves and others at the end, but here it just didn't ring true. That's all I will say on the matter.

Yes, I had a few qualms while reading it. The characters weren't as developed as I would have hoped but it was straight teen gossip. You had the fun cliche characters and the slut who was happy as she was. I genuinely liked her, though wished for a tad more development. It was a a fun, yet light read. Nothing overly emotional. Call it a beach read. 

My Rating:

3.5/5