Name: Firsts
ISBN: 9781250075963

Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes has been secretly sleeping with virgins, letting the boys get their awkward first times over with and only asking they give their girlfriends the perfect first time--the kind Mercedes never had--but when her system falls apart she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart belongs.

A Novel

Firsts

jess

This was a very insightful read into a topic that is rarely discussed, much less in YA lit. Now, I've said before I don't like stories about cheating, or romance, or sex, but the exploration and ownership of sexuality by teenage girls discussed in Firsts is an important one. 

While I do not agree with the actions Mercedes takes throughout the novel, it's written in a way that I just couldn't hate her for what she did. She sleeps with many, many, boys, all of whom have girlfriends. It's awful. Mercedes justifies it in her own way, thinking she's helping the boys. The novel does call it out as cheating eventually. You know that there's going to be a huge fallout. Though I believe that Mercedes deserved some amount of it, I also felt bad for her. 

And yet - it's a coping mechanism, and it unfolds throughout the story to show sex as (view spoiler)[Mercedes' way of coping with a rape and subsequent pregnancy as it gives her the feeling of control - or, hypersexuality as a medical condition. It's destructive and awful to read about, but it's eye-opening. Her character development is good but a bit abrupt at the end, as everything seems to be solved as she comes to the realization that she's losing control over herself. People forgive her too easily, especially Zach. (hide spoiler)]

Though I generally liked how the issues in this novel was discussed, I'm a bit disappointed that (view spoiler)[rape and sexual assault wasn't discussed directly, because there were a lot of situations that warranted a discussion of it. It would have added that much more to the topics Firsts was attempting to explore (hide spoiler)].

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 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 own reputation -and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn's Firsts is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.

Debbi

*2.5 stars*

This is the first time I can't relate to the protagonist in a novel like Firsts. That being said, it was nice to be put into another person's perspective and how she sees and feels the world. I practically breezed through the front few chapters of the book, only when things got interesting mid-way then did I really take the time to read it. I'm not sure how to review this novel, as I had mixed feelings for it. Either way, it was worth the read.

Emir Andrés Ibañez

Una novela ágil y sencilla que trata muchos tópicos sencillos como el amor y la amistad pero detrás de todo eso la trama toca temas fuertes como violaciones, familias disfuncionales, la necesidad de tener el control de cualquier situación, pero sobre todo este es un libro que va sobre lo que se conoce como "slut-shaming", es decir, la estigmatización hacia las mujeres que tienen mucho sexo, por ponerlo en otras palabras.

Mercedes es una adolescente de 17 años que tuvo una primera vez demasiado horrible, entonces decide hacer lo que esté a su alcance para evitar que eso le suceda a alguien más. ¿Cómo? Dándole la oportunidad a chicos vírgenes para que debuten con ella, con el único propósito de que ellos le den una primera vez "adecuada" a sus novias.

Mantener en secreto lo que sucedía en su habitación era fácil. Así que nadie estaba enterado de nada. Ni siquiera Kim, su madre ausente que busca ser joven eternamente; ni siquiera Angela, su mejor amiga, religiosa hasta la médula; ni Zack, su "compañero de Jueves" de laboratorio, que puede que sea algo más que sólo estudio. Las cosas se ponen feas cuando sus sistema se sale de control y su secreto se ve amenzado y las novias de todos los chicos con los que se acostó se enteran de todo, en conjunto con todo su colegio.

Es necesario tener una muy buena prosa para caracterizar a fondo a este personaje porque desde la página uno Mercedes intenta meterse en nuestra cabeza y contarnos firmemente su punto de vista de las cosas, la justificación de sus actos y todo el crecimiento personal que va adquiriendo a medida que la historia va transcurriendo. Vas metiéndote en los por qués de lo que hace Mercedes y terminás "entendiénola". Creo que la autora construyó su personaje muy muy bien.

Es difícil adoptar una posición respecto a si "querer o no" a Mercedes, porque justamente de eso va el libro. Analizar y criticar en primera persona la estigmatización de las mujeres que disfrutan de tener sexo, la obsesión de la religión en poner a la virginidad como una virtud, la doble moral de decirles putas a las mujeres por tener sexo y de la incapacidad de las personas engañadas de enojarse con sus respectivos novios. Sobre como es más fácil enojarse con la tercera cuando en realidad para tener sexo se necesitan de dos personas, pero el balazo va siempre hacia ella.

Además, analiza esta cultura demasiado machista en la sociedad respecto a la "primera vez", y que afecta en mayor proporción a los mismos hombres.

 “La virginidad se supone que tiene que ser algo que una chica entrega sólo cuando está lista y se siente cómoda, algo de lo que una chica habla largo y tendido con sus amigas en ojotas millones de veces antes de hacerlo siquiera. Un chico se espera que nazca preparado para todo esto.
Pero después de Tommy me di cuenta de que no es así. Ellos están tan asustados como sus novias, puede que incluso más porque tienen la carga de tener que ser gentiles, de hacer que dure, de hacerlo memorable."


Cada uno puede tener la posición que quiera. Mercedes sabía que los chicos que la buscaban tenían novias, más allá de que por motivos personales ella creía que estaba "ayudando", ella decía que sí. ¿Se la puede juzgar por eso? Tal vez. Pero ellos también dijeron que sí. El problema es que, se la juzgaba solo a ella. Y, puede que nunca entienda esta cuestión de yanki de humillarse entre ellos hasta el hartazgo y de hacer la secundaria tan difícil, pero sé que es un problema real allá, y afecta demasiado a los implicados.


En fin, es una novela muy bien hecha, con muchos, muchísimos mensajes de trasfondo, y analizada desde TODOS los puntos de vista, es decir que no se pone en una posición de defenderla ni de atacarla al final del día, sino de analizar las situaciones. Eso, y que ademas trata a fondo muchos otros temas aparte del slut-shaming que mucha gente puede tomarlo como una piña en el estómago si son sensibles ante temas como las violaciones y los psicópatas.

Creo que fue una novela debut muy interesante y muy jugada. Aplaudo a la escritora por animarse a escribir sobre tal tema, y está de más decir que estaré al pendiente de sus próximos trabajos.

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Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

As you can tell from reading the synopsis alone, Mercedes obviously has a pretty convoluted look on sexuality at her age, and this was a difficult pill to swallow at times. It is strangely realistic though, as I had a friend with a similar type of outlook when I was in high school. No, it wasn't the same situation by any means... but their sense of worth was pretty similar to Mercedes. Sad, I know. Because of this, Firsts rang especially true to me.

Firsts really surprised me, and in a very good way. When you read the synopsis, right off the bat you know pretty much what you're going to get with this story. Mercedes has sex with virgins so that their "first time" with their girlfriends will be special. She teaches these guys the rights and wrongs of being intimate so that their girlfriends have the perfect first time that Mercedes never had. However, as you can imagine, that means this story also centers around cheating. If that's not something you can look past, walk away now. If you're willing to look past that to see what this story is really about, it's definitely worth a read.

One of my favorite aspects of this story (and the strongest, in my opinion!) is the wonderful emphasis on friendship. It's not all sunshine and rainbows with this group of characters, but what teenage friendship is? With their ups and downs, they learn more about themselves while sticking by each other and being true friends. I adored Faye, the tell-it-like-it-is teen who befriends Mercedes, despite her snarkiness and unwillingness to meet new friends. Zach, Mercedes' "friends with benefits", was one of my favorite characters. He has the biggest crush on Mercedes and wants more, yet she's adamant that she doesn't want a relationship and is constantly keeping him at arms' length. Zach is so adorable, it's impossible not to root for him. 
 

  

 
There were so many strong elements emphasized in this story. Slut-shaming, parental abuse, double-standards, and the especially important message that all actions have consequences. This story was done so well, each issue addressed thoroughly and with sensitivity. Although I honestly don't think this book is for everyone, as some people will be too put off by this character's actions to thoroughly enjoy the story, I do believe it's a story that will benefit many. A raw and very realistic look at sensitive topics, involving sexuality, self worth and respecting oneself above all else. This is a book that I wish was around when I was a teen and I think it's a great addition to the YA genre.
 

  


(Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy!)

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