Shut Out

By: Kody Keplinger

Narrated by: Kate Reinders

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 or haze a freshman. 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. 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. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming. In this hilarious and romantic reimagining of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, the battle of boys against girls is on.

©2011 Kody Keplinger (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A great read

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

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:

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.

Very Very good

What made the experience of listening to Shut Out the most enjoyable?

The narrator was excellent her tone is so persuasive and I really was amazed by her performance

Who was your favorite character and why?

my favorite character was Chloe .. maybe she is a b**** but she is a very good girl

Which character – as performed by Kate Reinders – was your favorite?

Chloe of course

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

it made me laugh at some point , but it wasn't extreme but I was really inspired by it that girls can do whatever they want if they united

Any additional comments?

this book was so so good .. certainly better the The DUFF

Listened for 7 hours straight

I didn’t think it was gonna be that good and i thought it would be cliche and cheesy but it was funny and Kate’s performance was perfect especially for the character Chloe. Creative storyline and storytelling and would listen/read all over again. :)