Chrissy’s Review: First & Then by Emma Mills

First & Then
written by Emma Mills
published by Henry Holt and Co., 2015

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble (Nook) (print), Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book: I did enjoy this book. It was a good YA contemporary book that held my interest from beginning to end.

I love books about Friday Night football. The blurb is correct . . . First & Then is Pride & Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights. That’s a great comparison for this book, and it’s true. Maybe that’s why I truly enjoyed this story. I love P&P and FNL was a great show.

The characters are pretty normal. You have the two best friends, one of which has a crush on the other one. You have the dorky cousin. You have the football star. They all work. I liked all the characters. They each had their own quirks, but they each had a purpose. Were they stereotypical high schoolers? Yeah, a bit. But I liked that. None of them stood out as unique or really different or extra special. I could have gone to school with these kids. I liked that about the story. It was very relatable.

Would I recommend it: Sure! If you like YA contemporary, you should check it out. I’d also check out Uppercase Box as well. It’s pretty awesome! This was the selection in my October 2015 Uppercase Box.

About the book – from Goodreads: Devon Tennyson wouldn’t change a thing. She’s happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon’s cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn’t want them: first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.