Recenze: Shut out (IN ENGLISH!)

Lissa Daniels is a senior at Hamilton High, who has been dating a football player. However, there is also a soccer team at the school. That’s why there has always been a rivalry between the two teams. When someone eggs Randy’s car, in which are he and Lissa making out, Randy becomes angry and starts to follow the soccer player who did it. That’s why he leaves Lissa alone as only the second most important thing in his life, after the rivalry. Lissa gets angry and she organises a meeting of football and soccer players‘ girlfriends during which all of the girls agree on a sex strike (yes, exactly like in Aristophanes‘ Lysistrata)- they are not going to have sex or make out with their boyfriends until the teams‘ rivalry is stopped. This decision brings problems to Lissa’s relationship with Randy, who’s suddenly cold and distant.

Moreover, Lissa, working in a library, has got a new co-worker. His name is Cash, he is absolutely hot and Lissa has had some feelings for him since summer. He has never dated any girl from the school, he has always been only flirting with them. It seems like Lissa is the only girl who has ever made out with him…Is the rivalry ever going to go to an end? And will Lissa’s relationship with Randy be okay again?

Although I’m not used to reading books in English, Shut out is a third novel by American author Kody Keplinger I have read and I actually don’t want to read these fantastical novels in Czech as I can’t imagine how would be „The DUFF“ translated to Czech. Moreover, all of Keplinger’s books are easy to understand and anyone with some knowledge of English can catch the meaning.

Everyone who has read some of this author’s books definitely know Hamilton. However, I didn’t know any of the characters involved and the only two places which reminded me something were The Nest and the school. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it is bad! Actually, I appreciate it a little because no one of us can be confused with all the Hamilton’s characters and those different stories. But honestly, during the whole time of reading I often called Lissa Bianca and Randy Wesley as The DUFF's characters.

One of all those perfect things at the book is that you can see Lissa and other characters changing and becoming friends with new people. There are also many funny moments and while you are reading them, you mostly can’t help yourself smiling. If you like cheeky characters, you will defiinitely love Chloe, Lissa’s best friend, who’s talking about sex almost all the time and who is always the loudest and the most honest person in the room.

To sum it up, I absolutely love this book as much as the other books by Kody Keplinger. It is very catchy, that’s why I was able to finish it in one afternoon. I think it’s a shame that other Czech people (except those able to read in English) can’t read any of these amazing books because I don’t know  any Czech publisher, who is even planning to publish it.