"Firsts" by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

When I first read the plot, Firsts sounded like a really exciting young adult novel about growing up and making mistakes. Getting into a steady reading flow was a little hard for me at first though - for some reason, it was difficult for me to really warm up to the characters, but once I had found a good pace, I became really curious about the main character, her motives and her story. The way the novel started out promised a story similar to Easy A, just that Mercedes Ayres, this book's main female character, wasn't just faking it - she was... actually shagging it. While the feeling of the plot resembling Easy A's remained for a while, it also soon became clear that Firsts went a little deeper - that a girl doing boys (or, indirectly, kinda, other girls) favors wasn't all there is.


At some point, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn lost me. I am not sure at what part of the story it happened, but at some point the story's pace started dragging a bit in my eyes, and I lost interest. Since I, however, am not one to easily give up on a book, I asked myself what I was having problem with - if it had been the story, the writing, a specific character, or just something that had been said along the way that didn't add up in my head. Reading on despite my momentary dislike, I discovered that it was probably my own age that was impacting just how enjoyable I was finding the read, so I tried to finish the novel with my fifteen to sixteen year old self in mind - and I am sure she would have loved the book a lot more than I have now, the only thing to irritate both twentyfour year old me, as well as fifteen and a half year old me, would have probably been the pace.


Towards the end of the novel, Flynn managed to pick me back up and we got back on the same page - towards the end, the novel became more interesting again, the story deeper and thus more exciting, more catching. Personally, I think there was a part of the novel that was just too... long; it dragged on for a while, which was a little disruptive - but disregarding that, Firsts was a fun read, suitable for a younger audience - but not too young, due to the topics it deals with (I'd recommend this read for 15-16 year olds, but it obviously depends on the respective teenager!).

3,5/5

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.

Laurie Elizabeth Flynn writes contemporary fiction for young adults. Her debut, FIRSTS, will be published by Thomas Dunne Books/St Martin’s Press in 2016.

Laurie went to school for Journalism, where the most important thing she learned was that she would rather write made-up stories than report the news. She also worked as a model, a job that took her overseas to Tokyo, Athens, and Paris.

Laurie now lives in London, Ontario with her husband Steve, who is very understanding when she would rather spend time with the people in her head. Laurie can mostly be found writing happily at her desk, with the world’s most spoiled Chihuahua on her lap. Laurie drinks way too much coffee, snorts when she laughs, and times herself when she does crossword puzzles.

Laurie is represented by the amazing Kathleen Rushall of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.



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*** I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! ***