Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
3 out of 5 stars.
Expected publication: January 5th 2016 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Goodreads Description: Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself. Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed. When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, FIRSTS is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.
“It’s scary not knowing what comes next. But not knowing might also be the best part.”
I was given an opportunity by the publisher via NetGalley to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
The description of Firsts sounded really interesting, so I knew I wanted to check it out. Honestly, at first I really wasn’t sure why it was categorized as YA. There was a lot of talk about sex (which I’m sure you can tell just by the description), so that made me question it. I guess because Mercy was 17 and still in high school. It kind of seemed a little unrealistic at times, because really, what teenage girl in high school is having sex with 14 different guys? Maybe high school has changed since I’ve been there.
Anyway! There was some bullying and shaming in this book and that really made me angry and sad for Mercy. You can tell right off the bat that she was going through her own issues and that was a big part of the reason why she decided to sleep with all of these virgins in her school. That was obvious from the start, but you don’t find out exactly what happened until closer to the end of the book. The bullying and shaming was very much realistic and I’m sure happens every day in high school still. A lot of teenagers may be able to relate to that.
There were a few times that I thought the book was going to end, but another chapter started again. It could have properly ended a few times, so I think it went on a little longer than it had to. There were times that I really did enjoy this book though and it was pretty easy to read. I really loved that Mercy had some pretty amazing friends. She probably wouldn’t have gotten through everything without them. I really liked Mercy herself as well and she was a pretty strong person.
Overall, I did enjoy it for the most part. It could have been better and it was a bit weird at times. It was interesting and different, so I definitely give it that. If you’re not really into reading about sex, then this book isn’t for you. It’s not too bad on that front, but it is mentioned quite a bit (which is to be expected) and sometimes there are some detail, but not super crazy with it.
Have you read Firsts? If so, what did you think? If not, do you think you will? Let me know! 🙂
I’ll be posting my December recap and my 2015 end of survey on my blog soon, so be on the look out for those posts! 🙂
I hope you have a happy New Year!
socially awkward bookworm. 
I loooooved this book, myself–gave it 5/5. Mercy was just such an interesting, entertaining, and endearing character. I felt for her the whole way through. 🙂 Great review! Thanks for sharing!
After reading this and our little discussion of it last night I’m kind of intrigued to read it lol.
I’m so glad you thought it was a little unrealistic, at first, too. I felt the same way, actually. High school isn’t that far away, yet I felt like a girl having SUCH a…well, this kind of sex life in high school, was kind of crazy. Then again, she’s not an ordinary girl, I guess. You’re so right about the friends part, that’s what I enjoyed the most about this book, the friendships 😀
Yeah, it was definitely crazy to think about a girl that young and in high school doing these things. I could tell from the beginning it was because something had to have happened to her. I loved the friends aspect of the book the best too. 🙂
I read it and thought it was just okay. I had the same thought — has high school changed this much? I thought the premise was interesting, but reading Firsts was depressing and almost uncomfortable to read at times –and I have no problem with the sex part. I wanted more resolution for Mercy’s past. But I did think it had a great message about watching what you put out in writing, texting or online.
It was a little weird for me that this was happening in high school. It just seemed a little too crazy. Yeah, they didn’t give too much resolution for Mercy’s past. I think it was missing a lot of things in the book. The message was there though, so that’s good for young readers.
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