Review of "First & Then"

“How's your new brother?"

     In Emma Mills’ First & Then, change is in the air. High school senior Devon Tennyson is perfectly content with her unextraordinary life. She has an amazing best friend/crush, parents who love her, and just enough friends to get by. Then comes Foster. Smart, dorky, and a freshman, Foster is only supposed to stay with the Tennysons until his mom recovers from her addiction. At least, that was the plan. Now he’s living in her house, going to her school, and generally embarrassing her. That is, until the day his stunning kick draws the eye of Ezra, the high school football star, who takes Foster under his wing. As Devon is drawn ever further into Foster’s world, she is forced to reconsider everything she thought she knew about her eccentric cousin, herself, and what she wants out of life. School may be coming to a close, but it’s not too late to make something of herself, if only she has the courage to try.

     There’s a quality to the writing that makes Devon’s narrative instantly compelling. From the first page, when we meet her school counselor and the impending college problem, Mills’ writing sweeps away everything except the words on the page. Devon is incredibly authentic without trying to seem witty or unrealistically sage, and this bleeds through into the narrative. Though she’s occasionally unreliable, this is played off well; the reader is unlikely to see through all of the red herrings and misleading conversations simply because both author and protagonist are wickedly smart. With minds like theirs weaving the web of the story, figuring things out before the characters do isn’t simply difficult. It’s nearly impossible—and satisfyingly so.

     When it comes to these characters, “dynamic” is the name of the game. From Devon and her friend group to the football team and class pretty girl, every last name that appears is backed by a complex personality with its own internal arc of change. Voices are distinct, actions influence each other, and everything and everyone plays its own critical role in the plot. They are a mixed bag of likeable and despicable, with a broad range in between, and it’s this diversity that makes the setting so believable.

     For a high school girl-meets-boy, the level of questionable content is relatively low—as is the cheese factor. The latter is mitigated primarily by Foster, whose sudden appearance in Devon’s only-child life provides plenty of drama on its own. It also helps that Devon takes a no-nonsense approach to romance, recognizing how unlikely it is that Cas likes her back and minimizing as much of her disappointment as possible. There is a little kissing and conversations about more between various characters. Foul language consists primarily of F-bombs, with a small splash vulgarity thrown into the mix here and there.

     I would recommend this book to anyone in their late tweens or older who is looking for a clever YA romance featuring an incredibly sharp protagonist with equally smart love interests. The love triangle is minor and the cast is strong, set against a plot that deeply examines every kind of love. Foster is a wonderful point of conflict and a person in his own right, as fleshed-out as any of the others on the page. Ezra has hidden depths, and Cas is exactly the kind of friend Devon needs. Together, these four create a tale of love, acceptance, and family that is sure to strike a chord in almost any reader. Emma Mills’ First & Then is a stunning debut worth five stars.