A Midsummer’s Nightmare (Kody Keplinger)

Title: A Midsummer’s Nightmare

Author: Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Poppy

Length: 304 pages

Rating: 4/5

Whitley is really excited for the summer spent with her divorced father before she starts college. But turns out her father had moved towns and gotten engaged to a woman with a perfect country club family. And the best part is that her future step-brother is the guy Whitley slept with on graduation night.

Kody Keplinger has yet to let me down. She’s created another great novel with a troubled girl narrator that you can’t help but love even though she’s a mess. This page-turner’s got family drama, partying, and romance. It’s like my life, minus all of the above…except maybe family drama- we’ve all got that.

But really, how could you not love a novel with that hilarious hook? It should be noted (in case it’s not obvious from the hook) that this book is PG-13 and geared toward an older audience. I don’t think younger me would have liked it quite as much. But both versions of me would have appreciated that Whitley has to learn to trust other people and herself before she goes off to college.

And finally, while the step-brother/step-sister relationship thing gave me slight reservations, I got over it in this movie, so we’re all good:

The DUFF (Kody Keplinger)

Title: The DUFF

Author: Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Length: 280 pages

Rating: 4/5

When hot, obnoxious Wesley calls Bianca the DUFF (the designated ugly fat friend), she knows he’s right. Bianca loathes Wesley and his man-slut ways, but things aren’t going so great for Bianca at home, and one night, she kisses Wesley, and likes it. Hooking up with Wesley becomes the only way Bianca can escape her problems, until her secret hook-ups become a problem. 

Warning: this book is rated PG-13. It’s also funny, honest, and doesn’t romanticize teen life or teen relationships. Most people think they’re the DUFF, and can relate to Bianca- she’s cynical, loyal, and hilarious when she relates to hooking up to Wesley as getting her drug fix. And in a refreshing twist, Wesley is not the perfect guy (although he may be perfect for Bianca- you’ll have to read and find out). I liked that about this book.

The book gets a little preachy/teen-special at the end, but it’s a good message about not letting other people label you. And the term DUFF will definitely stick with you after this fun read. (completely unrelated) Especially if there’s a pitcher on your baseball team named Duffy.

Shut Out (Kody Keplinger)

Title: Shut Out

Author: Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Length: 273 pages

Rating: 4/5

Sports and YA books? My two favorite things!

Here is a summary of the book from the mouth of the author (from her blog): SHUT OUT is a story about Lissa, a senior in high school, who decides to put an end to a decade old rivalry between her school's football and soccer teams after her quarterback boyfriend ditches her a few too many times on behalf of hazing the other team. Her plan is to start a sex strike - gathering the girlfriends of all the players of both teams and agreeing that none of them will hookup with their boyfriends until the rivalry is over. What follows is an all out battle of the sexes as the girls begin to explore issues of teen sexuality and the boys attempt to seduce the girls into breaking their oath. Lissa is determined to win, but she never expects the sexual tension that rises between she and Cash Sterling, a member of the soccer team and leader of the boys' side.

I like that this book doesn’t shy away from anything. It openly discusses double standards, sex, peer-pressure and more. And not in a preachy way, but in a girls chatting at a slumber party kind of way. And it’s all part of a funny story where a group of girls team up to get their boyfriends to behave. And of course, there’s some great sexual tension thrown in there too. Lissa is a little obnoxiously controlling at times, but she has to learn to loosen up a little in life. I'm willing to forgive my narrator because she does grow some in the end. 

You'll learn, you'll cringe, you'll celebrate, and with a hot guy named Cash involved, how could you not enjoy this book?