Firsts and Lasts

16 Stories from Our World...and Beyond!

By: Laura Silverman - editor, Julian Winters, Tess Sharpe, Anna Meriano, Shaun David Hutchinson, Keah Brown, Joy McCullough, Amanda Joy, Adi Alsaid, Kika Hatzopoulou, Diana Urban

Narrated by: Various

An exciting fiction YA anthology that celebrates the new experiences and final moments teenagers face on their journey into adulthood from editor Laura Silverman and a cast of spectacular contributors.

From first breakups and romantic vampire encounters to last band performances and the deadly end of a friendship, Firsts and Lasts is an anthology that is just as unpredictable as being a teenager. While each of these stories span different genres and styles, they all perfectly capture the big emotions—confusion, joy, uneasiness, and anticipation—that many teens experience as they grow up.

Whether you are hopelessly in love and not sure how to tell your crush, going through loss and can't fully process it, or just trying to figure out where you belong in the world, this collection of sixteen stories has something for every reader.

Stories written by: Adi Alsaid, Keah Brown, Monica Gomez-Hira, Kika Hatzopoulou, Shaun David Hutchinson, Amanda Joy, Loan Le, Joy McCullough, Yamile Saied Méndez, Anna Meriano, Nina Moreno, Tess Sharpe, Laura Silverman, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Diana Urban, and Julian Winters.

Critic reviews

Praise for FIRSTS AND LASTS:

"Each story flows nicely into the next, almost like new friends swapping stories. Alongside each milestone’s potential universality, each short story revels in specificity to create glimpses of fully realized characters. The entries that are rooted in trauma or sadness, especially, demonstrate the fictional adolescents’ incredible resilience and maturity as they process these novel experiences. Beautifully sentimental and utterly relatable."—Kirkus Reviews


"Perfectly balanced anthology that embraces diversity across the board…The strength of the whole lies in compelling juxtapositions. Give this to readers with an eclectic taste or those looking for something outside their usual choices, as they will surely find it here."—BCCB