Mills, Emma. first & then. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2015.

Jane Austen and Devon Tennyson, a very modern YA lady. Could be the perfect storm of a book for this Literature teaching librarian. (And yes, I did mean to capitalize “literature.” If E.D. can do it…)

Devon is a sassy girl, and it’s probably a good thing that she is. Her cousin has come to live with her family after being abandoned by his own mom. Devon is used to being an only child, and Foster is uniquely individual, making his presence in her life a challenge at home and at school. Her best friend, her secret crush, really seems to be crushing on someone else. And Ezra, the very quiet, somewhat taciturn star football player is becoming intertwined in her life in ways that are unexpected, and perhaps unwelcome? But Devon channels her inner Jane Austen and her own brand of sass and takes on her world anyway.

At first, I wasn’t sure about this book, and Mills just lured me in. I thought it was going to be one dimensional. I remember being eager to purchase this because of the allusions to Austen, and then as I started I was a bit lukewarm, but the layers. Foster is just the coolest kid. He belongs in the canon of cool kids in YA literature who are dealing with some level of the autism or asperger’s spectrum. He brings out the best in the folks around him, and just insists on being himself in a way that most young (& old) readers can learn from. I enjoyed getting to know Ezra along with Devon. How can you ultimately not love a young man who will read both Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice in an effort to get the girl.

So, my kids will like that this book is edgy and real. They will like that Devon is real and struggles and doesn’t always do the right thing or even know what the right thing is. They will like the reality of teenage relationships and parties and relationships. They will relate to the struggle of family, the desire to please and the desire to stretch wings. I will like that they will be learning to accept, enjoy, even admire the differences among people. I will like that they are being reminded to look beyond the surface and get to know reality. And I will surely hope that one or maybe event two or three will pick up some Jane Austen to see what Devon what talking about.

I will be focusing on my older girls for this as it seems more suited for them. I can talk about other classic mashups, which I haven’t done a whole lot of before. I have both Jane and Catherine by April Lindner that are retellings, and I know that I can stretch my brain to find some more protagonists who admire a classic novelist...why I love, just love my job!