The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Santat, Dan. A First Time for Everything. First Second, 2023.

A First Time for Everything is a graphic memoir written by Dan Santat. It tells the story of a trip he took to Europe after a dreadful junior high experience. The trip occurs the summer before he is to start high school. He explains that his mother has lupus, so he and his parents do not get to venture out much. When they do take trips, they often just go and take pictures, and Santat does not like this, especially because as an only child he usually poses for pictures by himself. Still, his mother encourages him to go on this trip because she had difficulty when she immigrated to the United States because all she had known was life in her village. She wants her son to have more experiences.

The difficult times Santat had in junior high are told in flashbacks throughout the memoir. One of these incidents occurred at a school dance. He saw a girl named Katie who nobody liked. He felt sorry for her and asked her to dance. She tried to kiss him, and he withdrew. This led her to believe that he was dancing with her as a joke, and while he tried to correct her, everybody laughed at and mocked him. Another time, kids told him that a girl named Joy liked him. When he went to ask her out, she told him no and that he is ugly. His most embarrassing moment happened at the end of an assembly. Mrs. Bjorn called him up to practice his recitation of an A.A. Milne poem in front of the whole school. Everybody heckled him, and the adults could not get them to stop.

He also demonstrates his kindness in school, however. One day a girl named Shelley had a menstrual accident. She pulled him into the bathroom and insisted that he give her his sweatshirt so she could cover herself. He obliged. Then he tried to make himself pee in his pants so that she was not the only one embarrassed. He was not able to, but she felt better. Then he offered her a ride home, and when his mom started asking her questions, he told his mom about a bad grade he got to get the attention off of Amber.

Santat boards the plane, and he spends time with Braden and Daryll who become his friends on the trip. When they land in France, Santat does not speak the language, and he irritates an airport employee because he cannot heed his instructions. He meets a girl named Amy when he accidentally takes her bag. The students have time to explore France, and at first Santat is worried about going off with his friends with no adult supervision, but Mrs. Bjork ensures him that he will be fine because they will meet back at the Eiffel Tower which is visible from everywhere in the city. He has a good time with his friends.

The next place they go is Switzerland. There they go to a fondue restaurant, and when he drops his food in the fondue pot, he is told that tradition dictates that he kiss the girl next to him. This is Amy. He tells her that they do not have to kiss, but she insists because she wants to be able to tell her friends she kissed a boy in Europe. He attempts to kiss her on the cheek, but he misses and kisses her on the ear, embarrassing himself. He then hides in the bathroom. In Munich, the students sightsee and then go to a beer house. Santat lies and tells people that he is 14 so he can have a beer. Then he goes outside and a drunk man is trying to pull Amy with him, mistaking her for his daughter. Santat helps her, and the two talk and laugh afterwards.

Amy and Santat cuddle on the way to Salzburg, and while in Salzburg, the students stay with local families. One night, Santat agrees to go out dancing where he sees many of his American friends. He enjoys the experience, and then he walks Amy home but gets lost after dropping her off. When he goes to take a bike to try to find his way back, some punk rock boys chase him. He manages to get away, and this makes him feel like he is invincible. On the way out of Salzburg, Santat tells Amy they should just be friends because he is afraid of getting hurt.

In Vienna, he goes on a ferris wheel with Mrs. Bjork who tells him that both good and bad things will happen to him in life. He has to decide how he will react to them. Later that night he and Amy reconcile. The students’ last stop is in London where Santat tells Amy in front of many people that he is lucky to know her. The two go to Wimbledon and are able to sneak in where they kiss. Amy and Santat agree to write to each other after the trip is over. Santat goes home. There he makes up with Amber. He convinces his friends to go to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert because he wants to have many experiences in life. He is optimistic for high school.