31 December 2013

Book Review: Shut Out by Kody Kepliner

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12443486-shut-out
(Click image to take you to Goodreads)
Format: Audiobook
Publishers: Brilliance Audio
Published: 24th August 2011
Pages: N/A
Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance
Main Characters: Lissa, Cash
Date Listened: 17th December - 22nd December 2013
Rating Given:
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Blurb:


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 gas 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.

Inspired by Aristophanes' play Lysistrata, critically acclaimed author of The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Kody Keplinger adds her own trademark humor in this fresh take on modern teenage romance, rivalry and sexuality.


I have been after this book for ages and never been able to get it so when I did a free trial for a audiobook from Audioble and found it I jumped at the chance to get it.
 
I kind of like this cover as its very much in keeping with the story which is always a plus for me. It was also what got me interested in the book.
 
This was a new kind of book for me which I did find that at the beginning I wasn't sure I was going to like it as there was a few annoying things that happened but once I got over those I found that I was addicted to the story and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. What I would say is that this book would be more for the older YA as there is a lot of sex talk and a bit of swearing but (I didn't mind this as I am past the YA) but I found the different girls take on sex very interesting. I loved the girls verses boys and I did find myself rooting for the girls although there was a time when I was on the boys side especially towards the end. I never knew that this was a retelling until I read the blurb recently but I haven't read or even heard of Lysistrata until I listened to this book. There was quite a lot of times that this had me laughing out loud as some of the tales and the situations was hilarious. By the end of this book I was very much invested with the story and the characters.
 
Quite a lot of these characters I found where very childish but for most of them they really did seem to grow up throughout the book. Lissa changed a lot throughout this book some in a good way but then others not so good but by the end I really felt for her and wanted everything to work out for her. I never really liked Randy especially after he does something unforgiveable which I hadn't even expected him to do. Cash I loved throughout the book he seemed to be the most grown up out of all of the characters. I really liked most of the side characters as they where funny especially Chloe.
 
Overall it was hard to get into but once I did get into it I loved it and now I need to read more from this author!