Review: Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Title: Firsts
Author: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary
Release date: January 5th, 2016
Pages: 320 (ARC)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: Publisher
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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.

Mercedes likes to keep everyone at arms length.  Her father left when she was young, her mother spends most of her time bar-hopping like she's 20 years younger, and she only has one true friend who still doesn't know Mercedes' deepest secrets.   While she's an intelligent girl, she makes some questionable decisions involving over a dozen boys she doesn't know much about, other than their names.  What happens when one of them becomes one of the only people who truly cares for her?  She began these sex lessons for one reason only, but over time, she realizes that she may have been doing it for herself, as well.

This book will be a hit or miss, and I'm not sure if there's much of an in-between.  Firsts really pushes the boundaries without being too inappropriate.  It's interesting to read about a teenage girl who exudes confidence the way Mercedes does.  I know that I didn't at that age.  While boys in relationships seek her out to get their first time over with and learn how to properly woo their girlfriends, it didn't sit wrong with me like the way that other books portray cheating.  In fact, I could empathize with Mercedes, especially the more the author delves into her story.

Zach is my favorite character, because he's so unlike the person I expected him to be from his first scene in the story alone.  When Mercedes is struggling, he's always the one at her side.  He did things for her that no one else would have, and I loved that about him.  Faye, the new girl at school, also falls into the category of awesome people who make Mercedes life better.  The author created so many interesting characters and relationships, which is probably the main reason I was so drawn to this book.

Firsts is so much more than just a controversial book about sex.  It's about a lost girl who comes to terms with her own problems.  It's about the way people often use others.  It's a rocky ride to the end, but an entertaining one, to say the least.  Many people will have a problem with Mercedes sex-positive attitude, but I found her to be refreshing.  This is a great coming-of-age story full of more complex emotions than you would imagine upon first going into it.