Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Lissa is tired of playing second fiddle to a sports rivalry. Her boyfriend is on the football team, and it seems like his top priority is to focus on the football/soccer rivalry at Hamilton High. But Lissa has had enough, and she's encouraged the other girlfriends to fight back with the best weapon at their disposal: their sexuality. They are officially cutting off their boyfriends until the rivalry ends. It's not long before the guys are starting to feel the effects of this stance - but rather than giving in, they decide to fight back. Has Lissa started more than she can handle?

I enjoyed The DUFF and was really eager to read Kody Keplinger's second novel. My favourite parts were the sleepover scenes where the girls addressed sexual stereotypes and expectations. Those were, I thought, very honest, touching, and realistic. I also really liked that the book explicitly mentioned Lysistrata (although I'll confess that it was quite a while before I made the Lissa/Lysistrata connection - my excuse is that I was listening to an audiobook). There were some things that I would have loved to have seen explored more, like Lissa's issues of trust, compulsion, and abandonment, or the girlfriends in a role beyond that of "the girlfriends," but the dialogue and tone of the book went a long way to making it an enjoyable read.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Troy High by Shana Norris