Mercedes helps virgins make their first time with their girlfriends, by showing them the ropes herself. She has no qualms sleeping with them as long as long as she helps give their girlfriends the first time she never got. And in the meantime, this situation gives Mercedes all the control. And soon she'll be on the way out to MIT, not that her absentee mother will notice. But things start spinning out of control for Mercedes, what with a rising virgin count, a new girl, and a lab partner/ Wednesday hookup that wants to be more. Add in a religious best friend Mercedes is trying to hide her activities from, and the best friend's boyfriend who wants Mercedes help, and things are about to get a little chaotic. 
 I really wanted to like this book, because it seemed like it was going to be a fresh, candid take on teenage sexuality. Maybe make girls not as afraid of their bodies, but also be honest about sex: both the good and the bad. And I did love the acknowledgement that yes, often teenage guys don't know what they are doing and this can impact things. Because this is something I've not often heard articulated. 
 But I don't know guys. I liked the writing. The pacing and tone were good. And the author could make me feel for the main character. Mercedes was completely sympathetic when it would be so easy for her to be a villain. I mean, she's sleeping with other girl's boyfriends. On purpose. And the wants to explore a lot of the big ideas like slut shaming and positive sexuality for women. But, at it's heart it's not as positive as it wants to be. Because Mercedes is trying to overcome something. I won't get too much into it because of potential spoilers. But while this is a choice Mercedes has made, it's in reaction other events, and I think it impacts some of the autonomy of the decision. Also it feels like we get so much about random partners, and we see quite a few of them in not so many pages, that it feels like filler keeping us from exploring and expanding on bigger things in the novel. It doesn't even feel developed well. We get more shock value than emotional honesty. 
 And where are all the adults? I understand Mercy not having someone she thinks she can trust, but someone should have been contacting some adults. Angela may have at the end. But the way the final third of this novel was handled didn't really work for me. And the way that Faye and Zack "solved" Mercy's problems was utterly ridiculous. There are some other plot developments through the second half of the novel that are frustrating, and sometimes don't feel completely tied to reality. I do recognize my experience differs widely here and that I am only coming at it from my point of view. While I want these novels to be realistic to the teenage experience, I also don't want teens to think it's all on them. If we want to teach sex positivity, also teach about how to get help. I am afraid of spoilers again, but really. 
 This book is worth a peruse, but it is not a lighthearted teenage romance. There's a lot of issues at play here. Needless to say if the idea of teenage sexuality, or a very sexually active teenager freaks you out, you should probably skip this one. But really, you should probably read it. Because I want to talk about it. So, in many ways, I guess this book succeeds. I just wish I didn't have as many issues with the last third. 
 Review on Tea and Tomes