The First Part Last

The First Part Last

By Angela Johnson

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003. 131 pages. Fiction.

ISBN: 9780689849220

Reading/Interest Level: 13+

Curriculum ties: Teen parenting, responsibility

Booktalk Ideas: Walk a mile: Do a before and after. Read two passages, one from before Bobby became a father and was going out and having fun with friends, and the other where he went out painting and forgot to pick up Feather when he should have.

Challenge Issues: Language, sex

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

Bobby was a typical New York teen, but his life changed on his sixteenth birthday when his girlfriend broke the news that she was pregnant. When tragedy strikes, Bobby ends up a single father with no idea now to raise his beautiful baby girl.

Plot Summary:

From the point of view of Bobby, the novel alternates between his past and present, titled “then” and “now” respectively for each chapter. Bobby was a good student and talented artist with a bright future ahead of him when, on his sixteenth birthday, his girlfriend Nia tells him that she’s pregnant. The book depicts the initial shock, the struggle the teens have when telling their parents, and the difficult decisions they have to make as teen parents.

From the start of the novel the reader doesn’t know what happened to Nia, only that she’s not in the picture after Feather is born, and Bobby is raising their baby girl alone. Bobby has a great support system around him, but as a father he is constantly thinking about and worry about Feather. He wants to be the best father he can possibly be, but he’s still a teenager and wants to do things that he used to (and still does) love. However, it’s much more difficult, and different, with an infant daughter to care for as well.

Critical Evaluation:

This is clearly a character-driven novel focused on Bobby. He is very much a likable character and the reader is constantly rooting for him to make good decisions and be the best possible dad he can to feather. Bobby needs all the cheering on he can get because he very clearly doesn’t believe in himself. When Feather wakes up whimpering and Bobby knows that it’s not for any reason aside from wanting her Daddy, he’s terrified. The depiction of his emotions and struggles as he comes to terms with the fact that this infant is entirely dependent on him is also incredibly emotional for the reader.

When Bobby arranges for a neighbor to watch Feather for a short time, but then gets so caught up in spray painting a brick wall that he forgets about Feather and the passing time until he’s picked up by the cops, Bobby’s fears for feather and his disappointment in himself is perfectly clear.

While Bobby is very much a likable character, his flaws are obvious and he serves as a good example of what not to do, but how to take responsibility when you do make mistakes. Overall, an excellent book.

About the Author:

Angela Johnson is an award winning American children's book and poetry author with over 40 books to her credit. She began her writing career in 1989 with the publication of a picture book called "Tell Me a Story, Mama" which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award in 1991. She has won three Coretta Scott King Awards, one each for her novels "The First Part Last (2004)," "Heaven(1999)," and "Toning the Sweep" (1994)."The First Part Last" was also the recipient of the Michael L Printz Award. "When I Am Old With You" was an Honor Book in 1990 and named an American Library Association Notable Book. "The Other Side, The Shorter Poems" was also selected as a Coretta Scott King Honor book in 1998. In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow.

Born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1961, she grew up in Alabama and Ohio. She lives in Kent, Ohio.

-from author’s website-

Justification of Selection:

This book received several positive reviews in professional review journals, and has won both the Michael L. Printz Award and the Coretta Scott King Award for Authors. It is a great story for teens who find themselves parents earlier than they’d planned and shows that others have faced the same problems and situations they’re in.