History Literature / YouthInSexualEcstasy

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Deconstructed, Efren says to Dr. Marin that today's young men "train themselves" to satisfy their future partners, and that no man would want to "arrive as a newbie" to marriage, the doctor patiently listens to him and then tears apart his argument, by saying that sex is not about [[DontThinkFeel technique and experience, its about]] ''[[DontThinkFeel feeling]]'', and that in fact past experiences accumulate and can become "garbage" that prevent enjoying sex.

* ReactionaryFantasy: Both books are this against premarital sex and abortion.

* AuthorTract: The novel is one big tract promoting sex until marriage and only by love.

* ButWeUsedACondom: Efren mentions to Dr. Marin the contraceptives as one of the biggest incentives for the sexual liberation. The doctor then points out that there's no 100% secure contraceptive, and some can have side effects that make them impractical for frequent use.

*** Fun fact: There were quite sizable inmigration of Lebanese families to Mexico, Mexico's current richest man descends from Lebanese inmigrants. The characters where probably part of this group.

A sequel/follow-up was written by the same author. On it Efren, now an older man, has to deal with supporting and protecting his college-aged daughter from her abusive boyfriend and dealing with the strange murder of one of her friends, while arming her daughter and her classmates with the ideas of the previous book.

** And the sequel reveals the name of Efren's daughter as Citlalli, an Aztec name.

* HollywoodAtheist: Efren at the beginning was a hedonist type, also Dr. Marin was a "freethinker" before the failure of his first marriage [[spoiler: with Efren's mother]]. After that, in his own words, he "went though a spiritual journey to find the answers for the questions he always thought he had the answer for" before fully embracing the Christian faith.

*** [[JustifiedTrope Which is a relatively common name in Mexico, specially in the capital.]]

* HollywoodAtheist: Efren at the beginning, also Dr. Marin was a "freethinker" before the failure of his first marriage [[spoiler: with Efren's mother]]. After that, in his own words, he "went though a spiritual journey to find the answers for the questions he always thought he had the answer for" before fully embracing the Christian faith.

* IWasQuiteALooker: Further, he imagines that in her youth she must have been extremely beautiful.

The plot is centered on Efren Alvear, a college-aged young man with an active sex life, who on the night's prom he starts a conversation with Joanna, the school's most attractive girl whom he has a long-standing lust for, after a few drinks and dancing he sleeps with her but finds it a hollow experience. Worse, he acquires an STD; while looking for a physician he comes across the card of a specialist on "sexual dysfunctions" called Dr. Asaf Marin. Efren goes to him for his STD treatment but the doctor in his several sessions with him makes him change on his views on love and sex.

* AmicableExes: [[spoiler: Efren's mother and Dr. Marin, it is revealed that they've been in touch for the last years, with Efren's mother providing translations of the doctor's work and him giving her a collection of carbon paintings. By the end of the book the doctor leaves his BigFancyHouse to Efren's mother to live in it]].

* ButWeUsedACondom: Efren mentions to Dr. Marin the contraceptives as one of the biggest incentives for the sexual liberation, the doctor then points out that there's no 100% secure contraceptive, and some can have side effects that make them impractical for frequent use.

* DistantFinale / BookEnds: The book starts when an older Efren asks his teenaged daughter if she wants to have sex with her boyfriend, the epilogue closes that same scene.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: The novel has a strong Pro-Life message: In his backstory, Efren impregnated his old girlfriend Jessica and wanted her to abort, while she pleaded and begged for their baby, Efren gave her the money for the abortion which she took and vanished from his life. Also, Efren mentions to Dr. Marin the abortion as one of the incentives for having sex freely, the doctor then gives him a copy of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_silent_scream The Silent Scream]]. Efren has a HeelRealization after watching it.

* HollywoodAtheist: Efren at the beginning, also Dr. Marin was a "freethinker" before the failure of his first marriage [[spoiler: with Efren's mother]], after that, in his own words, he "went though a spiritual journey to find the answers for the questions he always thought had the answer for" before fully embracing the Christian faith.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Efren after watching ''The Silent Scream'' he thinks about his ex-girlfriend Jessica when he gave her the money to abort his child. And later when he realizes that he has hurt many girls with his past actions of seducing and then dumping them.

* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Dr. Marin's specialty is in "sexual dysfunctions" (aka: sex therapist), yet Efren goes to him for his STD treatment, the doctor later brings this point up; luckily for Efren the doctor has a bio-pharmacist background.

* PizzaBoySpecialDelivery / CheatingWithTheMilkman: Efren's mother when telling him about their past mentions that she started an affair with a repairman who went to fix electrical appliances, the repairman would later become Efren's stepfather who abused him, his sister and his mother.
* OppositesAttract: It is actually said by Dr Marin that if two persons want to join their lives, one factor for them to succeed is to have opposite temperaments, alongside with similar lifestyles and independent realization; Efren and Dhamar agree on this being the case for them.

* SexEqualsLove: Thoroughly subverted and deconstructed, the novel several time hammers down that sex is one thing and love is another, and a that relationship based entirely on sex/sexual attaction is not going to last long; Efren's mother even mentions to him that this was the cause for the distancing between her and his father: "We only spoke the same language when we made love."
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Marietta, unfortunately because of this her stepfather attempted to rape her, also [[spoiler: the picture on Dr. Marin's house shows that she further blossomed into a quite a beauty.]]
* SocietyMarchesOn: When Efren proposes Dhamar to move in together first to test compatibility without getting married, Dhamar refuses by saying that she prefers being a divorced woman, protected by law, than cohabitation with no guarantees. This book was written before some governments started recognizing cohabitation a form of civil union and assigning benefits by law. Also the economic reasons for cohabitation of recent times are never discussed.
* STDImmunity: Averted as mentioned above. Incidentally: [[spoiler: It turned out that it wasn't Joanna the one who infected Efren.]]

* HotMom: Efren considers his mother to be quite attractive for her age.
** IWasQuiteALooker: Further, he imagines that in her youth she must have been extremely beautiful.

* JustFriends: Subverted, Dhamar outright says to Efren that she prefers to be his friend first before entering a relationship with him, Efren is [[WrongGenreSavvy about to protest]] but then he thinks that "True Love knows how to wait".

The plot is centered on Efren Alvear, a college-aged young man with an active sex life, who on the night's prom he starts a conversation with Joanna, the school's most attractive girl whom he has a long-standing crush on, after a few drinks and dancing he sleeps with her but finds it a hollow experience. Worse, he acquires an STD; while looking for a physician he comes across the card of a specialist on "sexual dysfunctions" called Dr. Asaf Marin. Efren goes to him for his STD treatment but the doctor in his several sessions with him makes him change on his views on love and sex.

* JustFriends: Subverted, Dhamar outright says to Efren that she prefers to be his friend first before entering a relationship with him, Efren is about to protest but then he thinks that "True Love knows how to wait".

* AmicableExes: [[spoiler: Efren's mother and Dr. Marin, it is revealed that they've been in touch for the last years, with Efren's mother providing translations of the doctor's work and him giving her a collection of carbon paintings. By the end of the book the doctor gives his nice house to Efren's mother to live in it]].

A sequel/follow-up was written by the same author. On it Efren, now an older man, has to deal with supporting and protecting his daughter from her abusive boyfriend and dealing with the strange murder of one of her friends, while arming her daughter and her classmates with the ideas of the previous book.

* SexEqualsLove: Thoroughly subverted and deconstructed, Efren's mother even mentions to him that this idea was the cause for the distancing between her and his father: "We only spoke the same language when we made love."