I had a hard time getting into it, at first, but it was definitely worth it. What a great character development there! Full review coming closer to publication date :)

3.8

https://bookwormlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/firsts-by-laurie-elizabeth-flynn/

The book starts off with a bang, jumping right into Mercedes’s morally questionable sex life. Once the first chapter was over and my curiosity was satiated about what being a sex tutor might look like, I stopped and asked myself…what’s next? And the scary part was that 8 pages in, I didn’t really care. It felt like slowing down to check out a car accident. You’re curious, but you’re not going to pull over to the side of the road for hours to see what becomes of it.

“Firsts” was the equivalent of watching a car wreck. I was 20 different kinds of disturbed by the premise going into it AND picked it up for that same reason. It’s not often, or ever that you see a mature YA. I was excited. I was welcome to anything crazy the author threw my way. But a normal crazy. Not a plot that halfway through feels soap opera-y and is a strong candidate for the next Lifetime movie. Of course, going into it, you expect Mercedes’s sexcapades are going to royally blow up in her face, but the use of bland and poorly crafted secondary characters as the catalyst for it threw me off, especially when there were so many organic conflicts that story had already constructed–all of which could have been easily used instead...

Find full review here: https://bookwormlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/firsts-by-laurie-elizabeth-flynn/

Actual rating 4.5/5

Review to come later

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay. So. Here's the thing.

1) There is a character in this book who should just go die in a fire.
2) The honest depictions of sexuality in teenagerdom were refreshing and honest.
3) The slut shaming that goes on is really, really tough to read.
4) Zach is the cutiest cutie pie that was ever adorable.

Okay, so that's four things.

Firsts was good, but not *great*. I could feel while reading that with careful editing, the book would have risen to another level, so I do think some pruning would be advisable. The book is about three chapters too long.

Firsts is about Mercedes, a girl with a rather odd hobby. Mercedes de-virginizes guys so that their girlfriends will have good first times. You see, Mercedes had a terrible experience when she first had sex, so she's trying to make sure that doesn't happen to other girls... yeah, it's as bizarre as it sounds. She's also having no-obligation Wednesday sex with her lab partner, hiding her secret life from her psychotically religious best friend (who made me roll my eyes on more than one occasion) and flirting with her new buddy Faye, who rolls into town with all the finesse of a Mack Truck.

As you can imagine, none of this ends well, and Mercedes is

Spoiler

pressured into having sex on more than occasion, which I found very upsetting. Not to mention, Charlie threatens to rape her unless she does what he wants. There really isn't much exploration of the illegality of this and I think it's a missed opportunity.

He's quite possibly one of the biggest douchebags in all of YA history, and I dearly wish the book had ended with a better comeuppance.

Regardless, I enjoyed this one. It's wonderful to have a YA novel that doesn't sugarcoat sex, or assume teenagers aren't having it / obsessed with it. Likable writing - and like I said before, I do think that the book would bump up another star with editing - it's way too long.

A note as well: I've heard Mercedes called a lot of things by GoodReads reviewers (nice slut shaming, btw) but in my opinion, she's a lot like a regular teenager. Fairly self-centered, confused, lots of feelings down below, not a lot of smarts. I know I was a total headcase at that age. Mercedes is typical, and that's why she's largely unlikeable - because teenagers are assholes, in case you've forgotten.

Picked this up by chance and read it in one sitting. I was curious about the premise and where it might go.

Second book I’ve read by this author, “The Girls Are All So Nice Here” was really dark and enjoyed it.

Let me just say first: I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought it was compelling, awful in parts, with an unconventional narrator who, against the odds, evokes sympathy. It also succeeds where many other YA books have failed: portraying a realistic criticism of and challenge to slut-shaming and double standards.

What would you think of someone who deliberately slept with other girls' boyfriends? I know a lot of my friends here are sex-positive and open-minded, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about.

It's one thing to have sex with loads of guys, it's one thing to wear short skirts and enjoy flirting and dancing provocatively, but it's another thing entirely to seek out guys who have girlfriends, isn't it? Especially when the person knows some of their girlfriends and are trusted by them. Could you like a person like that? Could you learn to understand them and feel sympathy for them? Before reading this book, I would have said no.

It takes an author skilled with characterization to take such a person and make them not only understandable, but likable. To honestly convince the reader that they are worthy of sympathy. To make the reader sad and angry for them. [b:Firsts|23480844|Firsts|Laurie Elizabeth Flynn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1434053866s/23480844.jpg|43071738] does that.

Flynn is fantastic at drawing on underlying pain and making you understand how it affects someone. She also creates fascinating characters and relationships. This book shows the complex relationships Mercedes has with her mom who wishes she was younger, her absent dad, her religious best friend, her "Wednesday friend" who might be something more, the guys whose virginity she takes, and the girlfriends they all have.

It's such an interesting book with lots of hidden depth. It explores the way Mercedes uses sex to regain control and how she justifies her actions to herself. Mercedes' inner narrative is so convincing that it's hard not to completely "get" her.

I think the book portrays a respect for choice above all else. Pointing out the double standards sexually active girls face in high school, whilst also respecting Angela's desire to wait until marriage. It also does a great job of looking at the virginity double standards that put pressure on teen boys:

“Virginity is supposed to be something a girl gives up only when she is ready and feels comfortable, something a girl discusses at length with her friends and flip-flops over a million times in her mind before actually doing it. A guy is expected to be born ready.
But what I realised after Tommy is that they’re not. They’re just as scared as their girlfriends, maybe even more so because the onus is on them to be gentle, make it last, make it memorable.”

My only criticism is that sometimes the messages get a little mixed because of the author's decision to write about this particular character. Unlike some of [a:Siobhan Vivian|800187|Siobhan Vivian|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1447441386p2/800187.jpg]'s books or Mlynowski's [b:Ten Things We Did|9266810|Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have)|Sarah Mlynowski|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1293821561s/9266810.jpg|14147661], I still felt like I knew exactly where this author stood and what she wanted to portray, but it was risky trying to write a sex-positive, anti slut-shaming book about a character who has an unhealthy sex life.

The plot demanded that Mercedes' actions be questioned and addressed, at the same time as the "message" was one about the freedom for teen girls to enjoy sex. But, overall, it was engaging and well-written enough to work just fine. And, I should warn you, it packs an emotional punch and could be a trigger to those sensitive to rape/attempted rape.

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While it did not blow my mind or ripped my heart out or anything, Firsts turned out to be a pretty good and quite original YA Contemporary. It was exactly what I wanted but never exceeded my expectations.

Firsts is about Mercedes, who helps boys in getting their awkward first times over with. All she asks in return is for the first time with their girlfriends to be perfect, the kind of perfect first time Mercedes never got. But things get complicated when her best friend Angela's boyfriend finding out about her services, while Angela herself is uber-religious and wants to wait until marriage to have sex. She also didn't count on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

The negatives for this book are kind of minor and personal to me so I'll get them over with. I wasn't really comfortable with Mercedes's "services". It felt like she encouraged guys to cheat and I don't like that. It was really uncomfortable to me. I also felt that, at times, there was a bit too much drama and those who've read my reviews before, know I'm not a big fan of books that are heavy on the drama. Unless it's really necessary for the plot, which wasn't always the case in this book.

As for the positives, I actually really liked the plot (aside from what I mentioned before), as it felt really original. I like the realistic take on teenagers and sex in this book. It was nice change of pace and felt very fresh. Teenagers have sex and I feel like a lot of YA authors shy away from that way too much. But where this book really shined for me where most of the characters.

I loved Zach, Angela and Faye. The latter really stood out to me in the later half of the book, she was just plain awesome. Zach was so wonderful and perfect for Mercedes. I liked Angela, even though I couldn't really relate to her points of view, but I loved that she and Mercedes were best friends even though they were complete opposites for the most part. I also really liked the main character Mercedes and how confident she was with her sexuality. But I also liked seeing her vulnerable side when her world started to crumble around her. The romance was very sweet and Mercedes and Zach are perfect for each other.

Firsts is a sweet, realistic and quite original YA Contemporary you should read when you get the chance. I recommend it to all fans of YA Contemporary books and fans of the movie Easy A, as this book reminded me of that one a lot while I was reading!

What the heck do I say about this. I disliked it vehemently. I disliked it so much that I'd rather not even get into my issues.

If you liked it, you may be interested in our Group Review in the link below.

Group Review feature at Badass Book Reviews!

a delicious and sickening alternate universe autobiography