First time

Summary: "Meg Tilly has an uncanny ability to capture the teenage voice. Her prose reads like a teenage girl speaks: clipped, matter of fact, distracted and random, sarcastic, and heartfelt. I absolutely loved this book, but found it disturbing to read. It is about something no one wants to think about, but it is--unfortunately--totally believable. With some raw language and explicitly detailed scenes of sexual abuse, I would caution that the book not be recommended to sensitive or less-mature readers. The story is told by Haley, a sixteen-year-old girl whose single mother is dating "the perfect guy". Larry is "smart, funny, rich and handsome. He's the whole package." But Haley feels uncomfortable around him and it turns out that her intuitions are right. When Larry makes lewd advances toward Haley, Haley can't even turn to her best friend Lynn. Lynn is busy with a new boyfriend and Haley must decide--alone--how to handle the horrible secret. The relationships between mother and daughter, mother and boyfriend, 16-year-old girl and best friend are authentic and give great insight into the confusion of growing up. Great for a reluctant reader, First Time features short chapters and a page-turning pace. It's a hard book to put down once you've started it."