A review by lanica
Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
2.0
PERSONAL REVIEW: Wow! Is that really what High School is like these days? I'm getting old!
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN REVIEW: I think parents who opened this up to some random page and started reading might have some issues with this book. If I put this on my library shelves, I'd expect someone - at some point - to complain...or even challenge this book. And, I might have to agree, which is why this book would not be one I would purchase for my school library.
First off let me say that this has an overall good message. Be yourself. Don't let other people make you do things you are not willing to do. Be an individual. Think for yourself. Think! But, that being said, this book is not for everyone.
The girlfriends of both the soccer and football teams all agree to withhold sex until the rivalry between the teams is quashed.
I have a few problems with the premise:
*It assumes that the girls are all having sex, only one comes out as being a virgin and she is treated poorly when she says so.
*It assumes that the girls are not a part of the rivalry. I know that in many cases girls are a lot more mean-spirited than boys and it's unlikely that they are all going to want the same ends here.
*It assumes that none of the girls are in sports of their own. They are all available after school for the games and shopping or whatever, but not one girl is said to be involved in extracurriculars of their own of any kind.
The idea that the girls are afraid to talk about sex, but the 'sex strike' makes them open up to one another is a good idea, but it doesn't really help the girls who are likely to read the book understand anything that they may need in real life. The girls say, "I don't like it" or "I'm afraid" or whatever, and a girl who reads this book will say, yeah...me, too. But then the writer does nothing to help the reader truly understand the issues. It had the potential to be life-changing...instead, it's just fluff.
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN REVIEW: I think parents who opened this up to some random page and started reading might have some issues with this book. If I put this on my library shelves, I'd expect someone - at some point - to complain...or even challenge this book. And, I might have to agree, which is why this book would not be one I would purchase for my school library.
First off let me say that this has an overall good message. Be yourself. Don't let other people make you do things you are not willing to do. Be an individual. Think for yourself. Think! But, that being said, this book is not for everyone.
The girlfriends of both the soccer and football teams all agree to withhold sex until the rivalry between the teams is quashed.
I have a few problems with the premise:
*It assumes that the girls are all having sex, only one comes out as being a virgin and she is treated poorly when she says so.
*It assumes that the girls are not a part of the rivalry. I know that in many cases girls are a lot more mean-spirited than boys and it's unlikely that they are all going to want the same ends here.
*It assumes that none of the girls are in sports of their own. They are all available after school for the games and shopping or whatever, but not one girl is said to be involved in extracurriculars of their own of any kind.
The idea that the girls are afraid to talk about sex, but the 'sex strike' makes them open up to one another is a good idea, but it doesn't really help the girls who are likely to read the book understand anything that they may need in real life. The girls say, "I don't like it" or "I'm afraid" or whatever, and a girl who reads this book will say, yeah...me, too. But then the writer does nothing to help the reader truly understand the issues. It had the potential to be life-changing...instead, it's just fluff.