I think I’m going to give this book 2.5 stars- mainly because I somewhat enjoyed the first half of it, but I skimmed most of the second half before I finally gave up.
I want to start off by saying, as a high school senior myself, I actually found Mercedes extremely unrelatable. I have hardly been in a real relationship thus far, much less have substantial experience with a boy; however Mercedes has slept with 15+ guys just in high school. I found her character intriguing, though, which is why I wanted to pick this book up in the first place, but my opinion of her changed pretty quickly in the story.
She has a male friend named Zach (the only character I liked) who proves to be a loyal companion and dreams of being Mercedes’ boyfriend. But for whatever reason, Mercy never gives him the chance and continues to push him away. Instead, she has a service in which she has sex with random boys for not only the sake of her own pleasure, but also the feeling that she is “giving back” to her peers by sleeping with virgin boys in relationships so that they can give their actual girlfriends a good first time.
As I got to know Mercy better throughout the story, I wanted to sympathize for her, but I couldn’t. She does have a shitty life with a careless mother and an absent father, but she still has a nice car, a luxurious house, plenty of food and nice clothing, and some good friends. You cannot let one bad aspect of your life alter how you perceive everything else- including your personal being. Mercy represents a teenage girl who lets random boys degrade her and lower her self-esteem by carelessly sharing intimate moments with boys she doesn’t even know. Instead, she should be putting in more of an effort to prepare for the nice college she hopes to attend and build a better future. I can’t feel bad for her because she ultimately refuses to help herself. And for that, I was not a fan of Firsts.