The First Part Last

Title: The First Part Last

Author: Angela Johnson

ISBN: 9781442403437

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Copyright: 2010

Genre: Fiction

Age Range: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: The differences between now and then are apparent as teenaged Bobby tries to raise his daughter Feather. 

Plot Summary: The story is centered around a teen named Bobby. Sixteen year old Bobby narrates the story between now and then. He relates how it was before he had a child and the reality he faces now with a child. Put in a linear fashion, Bobby and Nia, the child's mother, are urban upper middleclass African-American teens living in New York. When Nia gets pregnant, the families are angry. Nia decides to keep the pregnancy. Bobby tries to do everything he can for Nia while she is pregnant. As the pregnancy comes close to becoming due, Nia’s family is insistent on giving the baby away to a good home. Bobby thinks that he must do what Nia wants and agrees to it.

            There are complications with the birth and Nia gets eclampsia, a life threatening complication that leaves her in a permanent coma. Bobby is now on his own to make the decision about the baby’s fate. Bobby decides to keep Feather, their daughter. Bobby raises the baby on his own with little to no help from his mother. She does not want Bobby to be dependant on her for help. Nia’s parents wish him well but do not come around. Bobby is tired all of the time. He does not do well in school. Bobby’s brother visits. He talks about life in Ohio and calls it a great place to raise a kid. Bobby decides to move in with his father who helps him some. After a long deliberation, Bobby decides to move to Heaven, Ohio with his brother.

Critical Evaluation: In 2004, The First Part Last won both the Coretta Scott King Award and the Michael L. Printz Award. It is a real peek into the life of a teen pregnancy and the struggles of being a teen parent. There are times where Bobby wants to go out and have fun like a kid but he can’t because he is responsible to another smaller person. Bobby shows the pitfalls and mistakes of being a young father. He also shows that a teen can move forward with being a parent. By having Bobby as the narrator, it shows that teen fathers can step up to be the dads that they need to be for their children to have positive bonds with their parents. Teen pregnancy is a real occurrence in the lives of every person. There is only a slight chance that someone who went through high school did not know someone who got pregnant. Additionally, Johnson’s unique story telling format is interesting to teens. When a teen has read countless stories in school that follow a linear plotline, they can become bored with reading. Johnson’s format is a breath of fresh air for readers who are sick of the traditional story format.

Author Information: Angela Johnson, born June 18, 1961 in Tuskegee Alabama once commented: "I don't believe the magic of listening to Wilma Mitchell read us stories after lunch will ever be repeated for me. Book people came to life. They sat beside me in Maple Grove School. That is when I knew. I asked for a diary that year and have not stopped writing. My family, especially my grandfather and father, are storytellers and those spoken words sit beside me too.

"In high school I wrote punk poetry that went with my razor blade necklace. At that point in my life my writing was personal and angry. I didn't want anyone to like it. I didn't want to be in the school literary magazine, or to be praised for something that I really didn't want understood. Of course, ten years later, I hope that my writing is universal and speaks to everyone who reads it. I still have the necklace, though."

Johnson attended Kent State University and has worked with Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), Ravenna, OH, as a child development worker, 1981-82; and is currently a free-lance writer of children's books. Source - http://aalbc.com/authors/angela.htm

Curriculum Ties: English; Health

Challenge Issues: Teen Pregnancy; Language

Booktalk Ideas: Baby Talk – One could start the talk by listing off all of the things that one needs to carry with them for a baby. After this, one could talk about Bobby’s transition from carrying books to diapers.