The V-WordTrue Stories about First-Time Sex

Author(s): Amber Keyser

Young Adult Non Fiction

An honest and poignant collection of essays by women about losing their virginity in their teens. The V-Word captures the complexity of this important life-decision and reflects diverse real-world experiences. Includes helpful resources for parents and teens.

Losing it. Popping your cherry. Handing in your V-card.

First time sex is a big unknown. Will it be candlelight and rose petals or quick and uncomfortable? Is it about love or about lust? Deciding to have sex for the first time is a choice that’s often fraught with anxiety and joy. But do you have anyone telling you what sex is really like?

In The V-Word seventeen writers (including Christa Desir, Justina Ireland, Sara Ryan, Carrie Mesrobian, Erica Lorraine Scheidt, and Jamia Wilson) pull back the sheets and tell all, covering everything from straight sex to queer sex, diving-in versus waiting, and even the exhilaration and disappointment that blankets it all. Some of their experiences happened too soon, some at just the right time, but all paint a broad picture of what first-time sex is really like.

Funny, hot, meaningful, cringe-worthy, gross, forgettable, magnificent, empowering, and transformative, the stories in The V-Word are never preachy, but provide a map for teens to chart their own course through the steamy waters of sex. With The V-Word girls can finally take control, learn what’s on the horizon, and eliminate the fear and mystery surrounding this important milestone.


Product Information

A selection of seventeen womenwriters tell about their experience of first-time sex. The stories reveal agreat diversity in age, situation, sexual orientation, gender identification, and even what counts as first-time sex. The resources section provides abibliography, notes, biographies of all the contributors, and several essays.One essay gives straight-forward advice, empowering young women to be informedand to make their own choice about when and with whom. Kelly Jensen, a formerteen librarian, suggests teen novels and nonfiction that deal particularly wellwith different sexual situations. Parents are also addressed with resources forthem as well as advice on opening an on-going conversation with their daughtersabout their values and experiences around sex. The book serves youngwomen as a kind of rite of passage with a bevy of oldersisters telling it like it is, sharing experiences that are rarely talked about.Given the array of experiences (from wedding night to casual encounter) andidentifications (hetro, lesbian, bi, and trans) some readers may havedifficulties with some of the frankness, diversity, and language. Thetrade-off, however, is well worth it. Thevariety emphasizes how individual it is and how important it is for each youngwoman to make an informed and conscious choice for herself. It turns out theV-word of importance here is not so much virginity as it is finding one s own voice. Elizabeth Matson.--VOYA, STARRED REVIEW "February 2016 ""

General Fields

  • : 9781582705217
  • : Beyond Words Publishing
  • : Beyond Words Publishing
  • : 0.181
  • : January 2016
  • : 21.00 cmmm X 14.00 cmmm
  • : United States
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : 208
  • : 306.7
  • : en
  • : Paperback / softback
  • : Amber Keyser