Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Source: Purchased audio book

My Summary:

Lissa's boyfriend is the very gorgeous quarterback of the high school football team, Randy.  She loves him and he loves her.  What could be better for your senior year of school?  Well, getting the car your making out in with said boyfriend egged by the soccer team kinda ruins the mood.  Especially when Randy tears out after them leaving Lissa alone in the back seat of the car.  Tired of the rivalry, Lissa organizes the girlfriends of the football players and the soccer player to do something about this problem.  Little does Lissa realize what a war she has started and how painful the results will be.




My Thoughts:



4 stars - a great read

Caution:  This book contains a great deal of swearing and  discussion of sexual topics.

I listened to this book, so let me start with the narrator, Kate Reinders.  I think Kate's voice suited Lissa.  At times, I thought she sounded whiny but as I learned more about Lissa, I think it fit.  I will say that Kate did a great job while she isn't my favorite reader.

The world of Hamilton high school is an interesting one.  The rivalry isn't between schools but between the football team and the soccer team going back to Lissa's older brothers time.  It was certainly a different twist of high school problems than I've seen before.  I can see it happening so I was fine with it.

As for the characters, most of them had very true teenage voices and were convincing teens.  The one exception to that was the main character, Lissa.  I struggle to get into this book because of her voice.  She was clearly in an adult mode that I had a hard time fitting with the rest of the characters.  I will say that by the end of the book, I had learned why this is the case.  I wouldn't have changed it but it did make it hard for me to get interested in the book.  Once I did understand, I loved this book.  My favorite character was Cash.  A little bit mystery combined with a lot of hotness, he was what kept me turning the pages. 

The plot was a little slow a few times but I loved the friendships that were made and mended.  At one point, I was yelling at Lissa because she wasn't seeing the obvious.  I do think she grew a lot in this book.  By the end, I really liked her.

This is a good contemporary read that will get you thinking about stereotypes and sexuality.  If that's your thing, you should pick it up.

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