The book, “first & then” by Emma Mills is an intriguing representation of teenage life. It is about a senior in high school who is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She isn’t involved in many extracurricular activities and sticks to what is comfortable for her. In the early chapters, the author is working on just showing the reader her daily routine. Emma Mills goes through and makes sure that her readers can feel some kind of connection with the main character, Devon, whether it be through her own personal life or through those involved in her life.

Devon spends a lot of her time reading Jane Austen books, and in doing so she fantasizes about the different relationships in her own life. Devon also takes the time to put herself in Jane’s shoes a lot, “I wish it could have been more like it had been in Jane’s time: ordering a carriage, wearing a gorgeous gown, having your name announced when you walk into the room. Real dancing to real music. Some sense of decorum” (p 34). In doing this, Emma Mills sets up Devon to be a very unique character. She loves being a part of things at school, yet her love of the novels help her see life through a different lens. Ironically, she has a hard time seeing things from other people’s perspectives who are already right there with her.

Her cousin, Foster, has just recently moved in with her family. All she wants is for him to he ‘normal’ yet, time and time again he refuses to follow what the world says. While learning to deal with her own problems, she now has to take on his as well. This is hard for her because while being an open book, he rarely ever talks about his past life. “Foster had lots of secrets, and as much as he jabbered, he was good at keeping them. He went to therapy once a week, and what he talked about there was a secret” (p 56). Devon is happy to keep her distance, but wants to be more understanding at the same time.

Emma Mills presents a pretty big conflict in the initial pages of the book. While struggling to make her life fall into place, Devon’s biggest challenge so far is her unknown crush on her best friend Cas. They have been friends forever, he says that she’s like a sister to him, but all she wants is the chance at more. “He grinned. ‘I love you.’ I got into the car, half wanting to tell him not to say stuff like that and half wanting to say it back” (p 42). She says there is no way that she’ll ever admit it, but looking at how much she compares her own life to Jane Austen’s novels, there’s no way the Mills doesn’t have a big reveal planned for later in the book.