Hello there internet! I'm back today with one of many overdue reviews! This one is of a book i loved and i think it's just a super great read...Shut Out by Kody Keplinger!!
As always, i do try to keep my reviews pretty spoiler free - however spoilers happen and i am sorry, so read with caution :)
*I was sent a free copy of Shut Out to review - however all thoughts are my own and 100% honest*
Shut Out follows a girl named Lissa and how she is fed up with the constant rivalry between the Football team and the Soccer team, as are all the other girls at Hamilton High. To finally put an end to this rivalry Lissa comes up with an idea which she shares with all the other girlfriends of the boys on the teams - go on a sex strike. The girls all decide that they will have no sexual contact, including kissing, with any of the guys until they finally end the feud that none of them were around for the start of.
What i really love about this book, is that it has the cute, funny romance that i love about contemporary YA, and excellent character developments which i sometimes find missing in these kinds of books.
Lissa is such a great perspective to read from, and seeing her friendships develop, break, and rebuild is really lovely, and not to mention her romantic relationships during this no-hookup plan!
There are two guys in Lissa's love life - her boyfriend, Randy (perfect name choice) and the ever present rival on and off the field, Cash Sterling. Now Randy is the guy that i hated during this book, and we are definitely meant to. He is the epitome of crappy boyfriend and Keplinger has done an amazing job in making him easy to hate. However Cash is the opposite of Randy, he is lovely, caring, funny, and cute as hell. However, as in real life, there are moments when Randy is likeable, and there are times when you question how nice Cash really is...but it all works out perfectly.
I adored this book. It hit on really important ideas. There is a certain section where the girls are fighting about who is the biggest 'slut' and telling the virgins that they need to 'give it up' to their boyfriends. And then comes the greatest moment i think i have ever read in a YA book...They call out how stupid all of this is. Keplinger wrote such an amazing speech about how girls need to stop shaming each other on whether or not they've had sex, or how much they have sex, or (and this was the best, unexpected moment) on whether they even enjoy having sex! If i could get all girls to read that section at least, i would be so happy, because it is the most important thing that i think i have ever read in YA.
I love this book, and i hope that everyone goes out and reads it, because my gosh is it a good one!
Meghan xx
