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A review by brooke_review
Firsts and Lasts by Laura Silverman, Kika Hatzopoulou
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This isn't the first YA short story collection edited by Laura Silverman that I have read. I love a good theme, and I especially love how these anthologies always revolve around one. In the case of Firsts and Lasts, this coming of age collection explores the first and last experiences of teens as they set off to embark on their adult lives. Divided into two sections - Firsts and Lasts - these stories cover a wide variety of experiences - both those grounded in reality and others sprinkled with fantasy.
As for my personal reading experience, I definitely preferred the "Lasts" collection of stories better than the "Firsts." The "Lasts" stories were more creatively done and explored a variety of experiences, whereas the "Firsts" stories primarily featured LGBTQIA relationships. While relationships are certainly an important part of any teen's life, multiple stories on the same general subject get stale when you are fed them one after another. The stories in "Lasts," however, included everything from dinosaurs, to arena fighting, to purity balls, to murder.
FIRSTS
The First Time I Dated a Vampire by Julian Winters (2 stars) - A gay teenage movie buff who is grieving the loss of his father, finds acceptance, and possibly love, by way of the literal vampire who works at his local movie theater.
Unfortunately, there is nothing entirely memorable about this story. It feels like it was written to check off a social issues checklist, rather than to tell an engaging story.
-----
The First Day of College by Monica Gomez-Hira (4 stars) - A Colombian American college freshman with her family in tow, moves into her dorm and learns about family ties and heritage.
This is a touching coming-of-age story about looking to the future, but also remembering everything we leave behind. Authentically-written, it also includes a vibrant cast of characters.
-----
The First Kiss by Nina Moreno (3 stars) - A witch casts a spell to find love on her birthday (which also happens to be on Halloween), but things don’t play out quite as expected.
I enjoyed the Halloween/spooky vibes of this story, but questioned why Moreno chose to make her female lead bisexual, yet her crushes were all male. Why not just make her straight?
-----
The First Time We Buried a Body by Tess Sharpe (4 stars) - When a teenager commits murder to protect her friend from assault, the two girls are left with a body they need to bury.
This story is engaging and entertaining, but I am a bit worried about how the story is written as if resorting to murder was the only choice in this situation.
-----
The First Breakup by Anna Meriano (3 stars) - A girl navigates her first breakup in the search of something more.
A bit of self-discovery as the main character learns what it is she wants out of life and love is what unfolds in this story. While good, the story is pretty vanilla fare and is not quite memorable enough.
-----
The First Time I Saw the Stars by Shaun David Hutchinson (2 stars) - When an alien lands on a future Earth, it connects with a boy who has been struggling with his mental health.
Despite many readers loving this story, I just couldn’t get into it! I found it confusing to be thrown into an unfamiliar setting right off the bat, and it took me awhile to gather what was going on in this story. There were also a few distasteful sexual references that I didn’t care for.
-----
The First Crush by Keah Brown (2 stars) - A girl grapples with a way to fell her friend that she has feelings for her.
This story is all about friendship, but also falling in love with your friends. Unfortunately, it had to much going on for a short story and I kept losing interest.
-----
The First Job by Yamile Saied Mendez (3 stars) - When her long-time high school boyfriend makes out with her best friend, a girl struggles to navigate her small town on her own before finding her place.
I felt like this story was written with all of the angst and immaturity that scorned teenagers possess. I like that the main character’s first job ends up being a haunted house - it adds a fun Halloween vibe to this story.
-----
LASTS
The Last Dinosaur by Laura Silverman (5 stars) - When a young girl encounters a lone dinosaur while hiking the Appalachian Trail with her family, she makes a friend for life.
I always really enjoy Laura Silverman’s contributions in these short story collections. This story was a breath of fresh air. I was so glad that it didn’t deal with relationships and identity. Just a poignant, yet at the same time, fun, story involving a girl and her dinosaur.
-----
The Last Purity Ball by Joy McCullough (5 stars) - A girl who is attempting to plan a Purity Ball while also juggling her ever-intensifying feelings for her boyfriend, has to juggle both what she wants to do with what she feels is expected of her.
I found this story to be really engaging, and I was entertained throughout. It was a bit stereotypical and predictable, but overall, it contained some good lessons.
-----
The Last Bout by Amanda Joy (5 stars) - Two girls with mystical powers battle it out in an arena event.
This was the first story that I thought would work really well as a full-length novel. I appreciated Joy’s ability to world-build and layer on detail in just a few pages. Didn’t care for the romance side of things, but the battle and character attributes was really neat.
-----
The Last Days in the Only Place That Felt Like Home by Adi Alsaid (4 stars) - A teenage girl with a transient family is tired of always having to start over, but thinks she has found something worth holding onto when she discovers a magical time-warping fountain.
This was a touching story about trying to make a home for one’s self. I really enjoyed the magical element included in the story as well - it added a nice touch of fun.
-----
The (Hopefully) Last Demon Summoning by Kika Hatzopoulou (2 stars) - A group of friends about to diverge on their own paths accidentally summon a demon during their last hurrah.
I almost skipped over this story because I just couldn’t get into it. The characters end up being supernatural beings, which threw me off and just made things confusing. There was too much superfluous detail involved in this story, in my opinion.
-----
The Last Goodbye by Loan Le (3 stars) - A young girl connects with her mother over a drug addiction death in their past.
This story had a bit of a supernatural element to it, which isn’t my favorite. I had a hard time getting into this story, although I do think it was well done.
-----
The Last Concert by Rachel Lynn Solomon (4 stars) - A group of high school friends in a band prepare for their last performance.
This story was fun and nostalgic all at the same time. It gave off good vibes, and I enjoyed the friendships among the band members.
-----
The Last Time I Saw Her Alive (5 stars) - A girl contemplates the last time she saw her best friend alive, before she stole her boyfriend.
Holy plot twist - I did not see that one coming! I had to re-read parts of this story more than once because it completely took me by surprise.
As for my personal reading experience, I definitely preferred the "Lasts" collection of stories better than the "Firsts." The "Lasts" stories were more creatively done and explored a variety of experiences, whereas the "Firsts" stories primarily featured LGBTQIA relationships. While relationships are certainly an important part of any teen's life, multiple stories on the same general subject get stale when you are fed them one after another. The stories in "Lasts," however, included everything from dinosaurs, to arena fighting, to purity balls, to murder.
FIRSTS
The First Time I Dated a Vampire by Julian Winters (2 stars) - A gay teenage movie buff who is grieving the loss of his father, finds acceptance, and possibly love, by way of the literal vampire who works at his local movie theater.
Unfortunately, there is nothing entirely memorable about this story. It feels like it was written to check off a social issues checklist, rather than to tell an engaging story.
-----
The First Day of College by Monica Gomez-Hira (4 stars) - A Colombian American college freshman with her family in tow, moves into her dorm and learns about family ties and heritage.
This is a touching coming-of-age story about looking to the future, but also remembering everything we leave behind. Authentically-written, it also includes a vibrant cast of characters.
-----
The First Kiss by Nina Moreno (3 stars) - A witch casts a spell to find love on her birthday (which also happens to be on Halloween), but things don’t play out quite as expected.
I enjoyed the Halloween/spooky vibes of this story, but questioned why Moreno chose to make her female lead bisexual, yet her crushes were all male. Why not just make her straight?
-----
The First Time We Buried a Body by Tess Sharpe (4 stars) - When a teenager commits murder to protect her friend from assault, the two girls are left with a body they need to bury.
This story is engaging and entertaining, but I am a bit worried about how the story is written as if resorting to murder was the only choice in this situation.
-----
The First Breakup by Anna Meriano (3 stars) - A girl navigates her first breakup in the search of something more.
A bit of self-discovery as the main character learns what it is she wants out of life and love is what unfolds in this story. While good, the story is pretty vanilla fare and is not quite memorable enough.
-----
The First Time I Saw the Stars by Shaun David Hutchinson (2 stars) - When an alien lands on a future Earth, it connects with a boy who has been struggling with his mental health.
Despite many readers loving this story, I just couldn’t get into it! I found it confusing to be thrown into an unfamiliar setting right off the bat, and it took me awhile to gather what was going on in this story. There were also a few distasteful sexual references that I didn’t care for.
-----
The First Crush by Keah Brown (2 stars) - A girl grapples with a way to fell her friend that she has feelings for her.
This story is all about friendship, but also falling in love with your friends. Unfortunately, it had to much going on for a short story and I kept losing interest.
-----
The First Job by Yamile Saied Mendez (3 stars) - When her long-time high school boyfriend makes out with her best friend, a girl struggles to navigate her small town on her own before finding her place.
I felt like this story was written with all of the angst and immaturity that scorned teenagers possess. I like that the main character’s first job ends up being a haunted house - it adds a fun Halloween vibe to this story.
-----
LASTS
The Last Dinosaur by Laura Silverman (5 stars) - When a young girl encounters a lone dinosaur while hiking the Appalachian Trail with her family, she makes a friend for life.
I always really enjoy Laura Silverman’s contributions in these short story collections. This story was a breath of fresh air. I was so glad that it didn’t deal with relationships and identity. Just a poignant, yet at the same time, fun, story involving a girl and her dinosaur.
-----
The Last Purity Ball by Joy McCullough (5 stars) - A girl who is attempting to plan a Purity Ball while also juggling her ever-intensifying feelings for her boyfriend, has to juggle both what she wants to do with what she feels is expected of her.
I found this story to be really engaging, and I was entertained throughout. It was a bit stereotypical and predictable, but overall, it contained some good lessons.
-----
The Last Bout by Amanda Joy (5 stars) - Two girls with mystical powers battle it out in an arena event.
This was the first story that I thought would work really well as a full-length novel. I appreciated Joy’s ability to world-build and layer on detail in just a few pages. Didn’t care for the romance side of things, but the battle and character attributes was really neat.
-----
The Last Days in the Only Place That Felt Like Home by Adi Alsaid (4 stars) - A teenage girl with a transient family is tired of always having to start over, but thinks she has found something worth holding onto when she discovers a magical time-warping fountain.
This was a touching story about trying to make a home for one’s self. I really enjoyed the magical element included in the story as well - it added a nice touch of fun.
-----
The (Hopefully) Last Demon Summoning by Kika Hatzopoulou (2 stars) - A group of friends about to diverge on their own paths accidentally summon a demon during their last hurrah.
I almost skipped over this story because I just couldn’t get into it. The characters end up being supernatural beings, which threw me off and just made things confusing. There was too much superfluous detail involved in this story, in my opinion.
-----
The Last Goodbye by Loan Le (3 stars) - A young girl connects with her mother over a drug addiction death in their past.
This story had a bit of a supernatural element to it, which isn’t my favorite. I had a hard time getting into this story, although I do think it was well done.
-----
The Last Concert by Rachel Lynn Solomon (4 stars) - A group of high school friends in a band prepare for their last performance.
This story was fun and nostalgic all at the same time. It gave off good vibes, and I enjoyed the friendships among the band members.
-----
The Last Time I Saw Her Alive (5 stars) - A girl contemplates the last time she saw her best friend alive, before she stole her boyfriend.
Holy plot twist - I did not see that one coming! I had to re-read parts of this story more than once because it completely took me by surprise.