Find Another Book

Book details

My First Love and Other Disasters

Francine Pascal - Author

This is a romance-centred coming-of-age story about a girl pursuing a boy and making plans to attract his attention. The summer job brings her into the same setting as Jim, while his girlfriend is also part of the conflict.

More about this book

Someone puts his hand on my shoulder, and when I turn around my knees almost crumble. It's him.Victoria Martin's in a bad way. Falling for Jim, the school hottie, was just the start of it; now she finds herself caught up in major plots to win him over, while at the same time getting rid of his annoyingly gorgeous girlfriend, Gloria. So when she hears that Jim's going to be spending the whole summer on Fire Island, Victoria knows that this is her chance to be noticed and signs herself up for a summer as a mother's helper there. It's "got" to work! But Victoria's about to learn that first love can easily collapse into sheer disaster.

Add to Compare Explore

Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

First loveRomantic rivalryAttention and choice

Consider

Relationships and intimacyRomance

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

first loveromantic rivalryattention and choice

Fiction

Themes in Context

First-love pursuit

Victoria hopes to win Jim’s attention and makes plans that include getting rid of his girlfriend, Gloria.Ambiguous

How the book presents it: Victoria’s confident pursuit of Jim sits alongside the framing that first love can end in disaster, giving the romance a cautionary note.

Talk about: Does Victoria come to recognise how her pursuit affects Jim and Gloria?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

It may prompt conversation about how infatuation can shape someone’s choices, and about the difference between wanting another person’s attention and treating that person or a rival fairly.

What Deserves Attention

Romantic rivalry is part of the premise: Victoria wants Jim’s attention and hopes to remove his girlfriend from the picture.

A Conversation Worth Having

If Victoria’s plans do not work out as she hopes, what could she learn about handling disappointment and respecting other people’s choices?

Reading Approach

Read it together if useful, pausing to compare Victoria’s expectations with what she actually chooses to do. Keep the conversation open to whether her plans seem fair to Jim and Gloria.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

First-love pursuit: The ending and the story’s fuller treatment of Victoria’s choices are not established.

My First Love and Other Disasters - Francine Pascal - Google Books

Limited information

Checked: 1 October 2026.

Relevant to: First-love pursuit

My First Love and Other Disasters by Francine Pascal | Open Library