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A review by jenstarkey
Firsts by L.E. Flynn
3.0
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 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.
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.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.