First Love

Author : unknown, possibly Gidget (an164004@anon.penet.fi, see below)
Homepage of author: ?
Date: February 1995 or earlier
Size: 556K, Preface and 48 chapters, 95,800 words, 197 pages

Code : m/f teen rom

Source: http://www.asstr-mirror.org/Collections/Old_Joe's_Collection/Romance/First Love -mf teen rom.txt

Author Information : Here is one of those stories where the author, accidentally or not, has been left unidentified, and after many searches I have been unable to find any definite indication of who wrote it. Finding the author is complicated by the fact that there are at least two other stories entitled "First Love": one by gval7904@flash.net , and another (rather good) one by Christine Morgan ( vecna@eskimo.com ), and available here (the author's website).

The posting of the story archived here is dated 24 March 1995. However, there is another partial edition of First Love, formerly found at http://ww2.dtcomm.com/viperII/0011_f/97/story2.htm, which is dated 23 February 1995. These provide the earliest references I can find to this story. Both posts were made by one Gidget (an164004@anon.penet.fi), and both were "reposts by request". Unlike most reposters, Gidget made no indication whether he/she wrote the story, and so we are left with the possibility, however small, that this is the author of First Love - or at any rate our best lead for finding the author.

Since Penet was 1) an anonymous service by definition and 2) shut down, I have had to search on Dejanews looking for people called Gidget. There are two: lancao@aldebaran.oac.uci.edu and someone who has used both gidget@val.net and gidget@primenet.com. Both last posted in 1996, and all three addresses are invalid now, so my only avenue of inquiry has been closed off. I have examined every posting of First Love, and there is no indication in any of them of who wrote it. Nor can I find mention of any other stories by Gidget in the standard listings. Celeste reviewed this story after it was reposted a year and a half after Gidget's postings. Also, be aware that many copies of this story omit the author's introductory note and other details; make sure you download First Love from this archive or the URL listed above to receive the complete story.

I realise this investigation is inconclusive, but I believe the author of First Love should be given due credit for writing something so good. If anyone has any further details please email me . The author indicates that comments are appreciated; unfortunately, we are unable to convey them.

Celestial Review:

[Also briefly mentioned in CR 122 and 123 ]

From Celestial Reviews 124 - October 9, 1996

"First Love" by Unknown Author. This story presents an interesting
paradox. I don't know who wrote it or how it got posted. I want to
review it and give it some publicity, because it is good. On the other
hand, I don't want to violate the author's copyright privileges. I don't
mind associating with and befriending people who write about topics that
are taboo to "decent society"; in fact I find most of the people who write
for and lurk on this newsgroup to be interesting, intelligent people with
whom I share common interests. But I draw the line at copyright
infringement. The authors work hard on these stories, and they deserve to
receive credit for their own work.

Using simple logic, since I know two people who say they got this story
through this newsgroup, I think I can assume that it was posted here at
least once. In general people who post are willing to have their work
reposted in the same forum; or even better, they'll repost it themselves
if they become aware of the request to do so. Therefore, what I am going
to do is post this REVIEW and let someone else (either a reposter like Red
Dragon, who seems to have an extensive collection, or the author
him/herself) repost the actual story.

After I read the first few lines of this story, I simply could not put it
down. This story is long - real long - nearly 95,000 words long. I knew
I should have been correcting my students' papers and going over the next
day's lesson; but I rationalized by telling myself that this story was
about kids like those I teach, and this story would help me understand
those kids better. Right! That's the ticket! Read this story for its
pedagogical value.

The story focuses primarily on a young girl going through her high school
years and her first sexual experiences. Aside from its interesting plot,
what I liked most about this story was its realistic use of interesting
details and events. For example, without realizing that the answering
machine is recording his entire conversation, Matt brags to his friend on
the telephone about his conquest of Jen. His parents listen to the
recording and have to confront him. Later, Matt gets beat up by Jen's
former boyfriend. When he gets home afterwards, his mother hastily
assumes that Jen had something to do with the beating and angrily drags
Matt off to Jen's house to confront her. It is difficult to predict the
reaction of the protagonists to these subtle but interesting events; and
they greatly enrich the plot as it unfolds.

Jen and the others in the story experience occasional communication
problems - usually arising from moods and an inability to express
emotions correctly. These problems are common among young people going
through adolescence. The author understands these problems thoroughly and
does a good job of setting them up and bringing them to resolution.

What this story actually reads like is a juiced-up Judy Blume novel. I'm
certain it's not, since I have read all of that author's acknowledged
work. Wouldn't it be nice if kids could read and discuss a book like this
in their English classes? They can't, of course, because it talks about
kids having sex and uses words like clit, cum, and cunt. The characters
also engage in ecstatic sex that is a lot of fun and in irresponsible
activities that cause them really serious problems. Of course, since high
school kids don't have sex and don't know the meaning of clit, cum, and
cunt, they shouldn't read a story like this - even if the vicarious
experience might help them deal with some of those problems in their own
lives. They should read "The Scarlet Letter" and "Moby Dick" instead.
The good news is that in schools all over the country we are forcing kids
to read Hawthorne and Melville, and their predominant reaction is to think
those authors really suck. Kids mean nothing personal against those
authors when they say things like that - they have no idea what those
stories are about anyway, unless they read Cliff's Notes. Since the
present story is banned for them, they'll almost certainly read it, enjoy
it, and learn from it. I certainly hope somebody reposts this story soon,
so that the young people who don't lurk on this newsgroup can not read it.

Ratings for "First Love"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

Other Celestial Awards:

#1 on Celeste's Top 15 Stories for October 1996
#2 on Celeste's Top 100 Stories of 1996

Reader Comments:

"To the Unknown Author of this story,

Excellent novella! I groaned at first downloading, seeing you were
honest in your estimate of it's length. But after reading into it a
while, I found I couldn't stop. You captured the flightiness and
chaos and confusion of teen romances and social life quite well, and
quite accurately for those who lead lives like the characters in
"First Love".
Honestly, I found myself relating to and sympathizing for various
characters, truly interested in how they proceeded through 'life' as
portrayed in your fine novella.
Excellently written!

- Patrick McDonald ( caesar@mail.microserve.net )

My Comments:

Absolutely superb. A funny, sad, poignant and extremely realistic portrayal of adolescent love and conflict. Like Celeste, I couldn't put First Love down once I started it. I think this is due to the fast moving plot and the author's ability to keep readers in continual suspense.

In the introduction, the author explains the creation of the story. Its genesis was a short, first person encounter, given now as the "Preface" (although strictly speaking it's a prologue), and apparently the author received requests for more information about these characters. Transformed, this "Preface" becomes the basis for an ambitious account of the emotional development of three teenagers. Celeste says First Love focuses primarily on the girl (Jen), but the two other main characters (Ryan and Matt) receive ample depiction as well.

One of the most widely admired features of First Love is the author's ability to portray teenagers in a realistic way. Too often in literature, they are seen as either adults or children, but the author recognises their own special problems and provides very authentic dialogue and feelings. I can imagine myself saying and feeling exactly the same things in the same situations. The only time this doesn't ring true is with Matt and Erik's phone conversations; the endless "Yeah dude!" and "Hey man!" stuff is too much of a cliche, and their language here is inconsistent with how they talk amongst others. I guess this story is the best example of "typical" teenagers compared to the rather exceptional ones in the rest of this archive.

This is one of those times where the description "story with erotic elements" is more appropriate than "sex story". The sex is tied up with all the other adolescent emotions and activities, and is never used as an end in itself. All characters receive sympathetic portrayals in this respect: Ryan's eagerness and frustration, Jen's concern over her late sexual development, and Matt's guilt and confused emotions for Jen. I view First Love primarily as an extension of the "young adult" genre in mainstream fiction.

Celeste states that First Love reads like a Judy Blume novel "juiced-up". She makes a similar comparison with Blume's work in her review of The Passing of Seasons . The connections between these stories and Judy Blume's novels are worth studying. The themes Blume explores in her work for older readers are very similar to the ones in these stories: the problems of "growing up", love and concern over sex. The Blume novel which probably comes closest to First Love is the controversial Forever (1982), the saga of 18 year old Katherine and her boyfriend Michael. It has been criticized (and even censored ) by the "concerned parent" brigade for its "four-letter words and [talk] about masturbation, birth control and disobedience to parents[!]" (I can't believe these people). Of course, Forever remains popular with teenagers (especially girls) precisely because of this frank approach towards teenage issues.

I would really like to discuss First Love in more detail, but it's impossible to do so without giving the plot away. So I can only say: Read this wonderful book, and read it NOW!

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