Bibliographic Information
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication year: 2016
ISBN: 978-1250075963
Reader’s Annotation
Mercedes has taken it upon herself to educate the virgins at her high school on how to give their girlfriends the perfect first time; with hands-on training. But when her best friend’s boyfriend blackmails her for her services, Mercedes might have some explaining to do.
Plot Summary
Between her devoutly religious best friend Angela, Angela’s smooth-talking boyfriend Charlie, Zach, her “friend with benefits” who might want to be more, a mysterious new friend who loves talking about sex, AP classes, college applications, her uninterested mother, and teaching the male virgins of her school to be good in bed with hands-on experience, Mercedes Ayres has filled her senior year of high school to the brim. She doesn’t want anything from the virgins except for them to give their girlfriends what she never had: the perfect first time. The first problem arises after Charlie finds out Mercedes has given lessons to ten virgins and wants to be the eleventh, even though Angela unequivocally wants to wait for marriage. The second problem comes after Mercedes turns Charlie down and he leaks a secret video shot in her bedroom to everyone in school. Mercedes’ life turns more complicated than ever when she has to come clean about her extracurricular activities to everyone involved.
Critical Evaluation
The most important aspect of Firsts is Flynn’s refusal to shy away from the uncomfortable. She brings the reader right into Mercedes’ bed along with the virgins and uses the same amount of detail describing the positive and negative ramifications of her actions. For example, Mercedes is flooded with satisfaction when she hears that Jill, the first virgin’s girlfriend, had a perfect first time thanks to Mercedes’ teaching. But after she refuses Charlie, he broadcasts hidden camera footage of several occurrences in Mercedes’ bedroom, along with her journal entries about each virgin, on the internet for everyone in the school to see. The novel is narrated from Mercedes’ first person perspective, and while the reader understands Mercedes’ emotions, the events of the story themselves are presented in an unbiased manner. This gives the reader the opportunity to form their own opinion of Mercedes’ actions and think about what they might do in a similar situation, a valuable trait in a young adult novel.
Author Information
I’m beyond excited to be a Pitch Wars mentor for the first time this year! My career was greatly impacted during my time as a Pitch Wars mentee, when I was able to work with two amazingly talented mentors (hello, Lori Goldstein and Evelyn Skye!) to strengthen Firsts and get it ready for the agent round. I learned so much and grew a lot as a writer, and I came out of my shell, social media wise (I had previously been a Twitter lurker, but thanks to the welcoming Pitch Wars community, I shed a lot of that shyness). Shortly after the contest, I signed with my amazing agent, Kathleen Rushall, and had a book deal by the end of the year!
So, a little bit about me! I’m a proud Canadian girl and I live in London, Ontario with my husband and my beloved senior Chihuahua (aka the star of my Instagram and basically my life). I’m a former model and lifelong fashion addict. I love walking in the woods, thrift store shopping, wearing red lipstick, and indulging in nachos basically any day, any time. I write YA contemporary books. My debut novel, Firsts, came out in January and was recently nominated as a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. It’s the story of a high school senior named Mercedes who has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy is a virgin. I’m also the author of a series of short stories, the Boys Tell All, sharing the perspectives of ten virgin guys from Firsts.
Source: http://www.laurieelizabethflynn.com/
Genre
Fiction
Curriculum Ties
Health
Sexual Education
Booktalking Ideas
Introduce the characters of Mercedes, Angela, and Zach, and talk about their different thoughts and actions on the subject of sex. Read a passage where Mercedes explains why she performs her service for the virgins. Then give a rating from 1-5 and tell the audience why this is my rating, and take questions.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Publisher’s Weekly: Age 14 and up
School Library Journal: Grade 10 and up
Challenging Issues
Bullying
Language
Rape and Sexual Assault
Sexual Content and/or Nudity
Teen Pregnancy
Preparing for Potential Challenges
http://jeselynsminiyacollection.blogspot.com/p/preparing-for-potential-challenges.html
Why the Item Was Chosen
Because of the realistic but sensitive tone Flynn takes in her writing, Firsts would be an excellent addition to any collection of young adult literature. I included it in mine because each character’s individual opinion of sex represents a legitimate stance on which young adults should be educated. The sexual encounters Flynn describes, from Mercedes’ first time being a rape, to Charlie pressuring a celibate Angela, to inexperienced adolescents making mistakes with protection and becoming pregnant, are situations many adolescents have already encountered. Firsts provides an honest look at the sexual practices of real, modern adolescents and the consequences that come with sexual decisions at any age.
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