Book Review ---> Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

By:  Kody Keplinger
Series:  N/A
Published By: Poppy - Sept. 2011
Pages:  273 Hardcover
Rating:  5
Book Cover Rating:  4
Read:  Sept. 2011
Genre:  Contemporary, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

First Line: There is nothing more humiliating than being topless in the backseat of your boyfriends car when someone decides to throw an egg at the windshield.

Black Disaster Fairy's Take:
Let's just say the Fairy thoroughly enjoyed Shut Out!  I raced through this book in two days.  That says a lot.  It normally takes me a bit longer.  Now I'm looking forward to picking up DUFF. 


Lissa, the protagonist, is a confident OCD girl who yet has flaws that are likable.  She is dating Randy, a quarterback, who happens to be a jerk.  Sweet sometimes but mostly a jerk.  We see just how much through the book.  It makes us cheer for Cash, a soccer player and rival of Randy's, all that much harder.  He literally made me swoon and he will make you as well.  Hardworking, takes care of his family, smart, and is great for Lissa.  


Now please do not fret, there is a huge showdown in this book!  The black football marks makes you think battle or a fierce game.  Actually, it is even better!  A Battle of the Sexes!  Lissa along with the girlfriends of the football and soccer teams go on a sex strike until the ten year feud between the teams comes to an end.  They are sick of how the rivalry is disrupting their relationships every season.


Let the manipulation begin!


It was more than entertaining watching the boys beg and carry on like they cannot live with out sex.  It was encouraging to watch the girls learn to value uniqueness and girl power. 


I do love that Kody Keplinger shows that using sex or anything of the sort to keep a boyfriend is just plain ridiculous!  Also that it shows the female readers that we want to be "normal" when it comes to this issue.  Which is ridiculous as well!  There is no "normal" and we should not feel shame as a result of our cultures double standards.

I didn't understand why it was okay for Cash to flirt with every girl he met and never commit to any of them when, if a girl did the same thing, the guys would call her a cock tease. --- Page 58

Kody Keplinger was not afraid to censor herself or push the boundaries concerning sexuality and teenagers.  It made the book feel more real, like I would meet these characters if I walked into the high school, it felt that realistic.


Overall, Shut Out was very addictive!   Hilarious, cute, touching and a lessons on the double standards that our society covets.  The sexuality touched in the book was not extremely graphic and should not make you feel uncomfortable.  The way it is broached in the book is not over powering the rest of the messages.

Chloe didn't have all the answers, either.  I knew that now.  But she had known something all along that I hadn't:  that being ashamed of what you want or how you feel is pointless, and letting anyone else make you feel ashamed is a waste.  We all wanted different things and that was OK.  --- Page 267

BDF would recommend for older teens and adults.

* ARC from BEA*