CULTURE 2

THE FIRST PART LAST

Bibliography
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN 0689849222.

Plot Summary

This is the story of a teenage dad named Bobby. The story unfolds in a dramatic way. The chapters are labeled Now and Then. When the story begins Bobby is talking about his baby, Feather. As the chapters go back and forth we see how we are starting with the story of how Feather came to be, and we keep going back and forth between the present and the past. We see how Bobby struggles with so many things, and how his parents are supportive, but do not take over parenting for him. This tough love turns Bobby into the parent that they know he can be. We find out through the flashbacks that Bobby is a single parent because the mother of Feather, Nia, is in a coma due to complications during birth.

Critical Analysis

This is a very realistic portrayal of single parenthood. Many times we see the girl as the single parent, but in this story it is the teenage boy who is the single parent. The way that the story unfolds keeps the reader turning the pages. It is written almost poetically. Most of the language sounds like how real teenagers talk. They speak politely to adults and then they use slang language with their friends and peers. Much of the book centers on what is going on inside Bobby’s head. His thoughts and feelings are all put out there for us. The way he loves his baby is so absolutely touching and so very real. We also see him struggle with the day to day routines and sleep deprivation that come with being a new parent. I loved how since his mother didn’t take over complete care of the baby that Bobby knows it and feels it when “Feather only wants Daddy”. He can fix her, not grandma. Here is one bit of poetry from the story:
“The rules. If she hollers, she is mine.
If she needs to be changed, she is always mine.
In the dictionary next to “sitter,” there is not a
Picture of Grandma.
It’s time to grow up.
Too late, you’re out of time. Be a grown-up.”
I love it that it is Bobby’s dad who is like a mom. Bobby’s father is very loving and nurturing. Bobby’s parents are divorced and at one point Bobby takes Feather and goes to live with his father who meets them at the door with a blanket for Feather in one hand and a cup of coffee for Bobby in the other. The only illustration in the book is the front cover. It shows an African American teenage male holding a baby. It is a modern representation. The hairstyle and clothing look representative of our current society. It received the Coretta Scott King Award and the Printz Award.

Review Excerpts

From School Library JournalGrade 8 Up-Brief, poetic, and absolutely riveting, this gem of a novel tells the story of a young father struggling to raise an infant. Bobby, 16, is a sensitive and intelligent narrator. His parents are supportive but refuse to take over the child-care duties, so he struggles to balance parenting, school, and friends who don't comprehend his new role. Alternate chapters go back to the story of Bobby's relationship with his girlfriend Nia and how parents and friends reacted to the news of her pregnancy. Bobby's parents are well-developed characters, Nia's upper-class family somewhat less so. Flashbacks lead to the revelation in the final chapters that Nia is in an irreversible coma caused by eclampsia. This twist, which explains why Bobby is raising Feather on his own against the advice of both families, seems melodramatic. So does a chapter in which Bobby snaps from the pressure and spends an entire day spray painting a picture on a brick wall, only to be arrested for vandalism. However, any flaws in the plot are overshadowed by the beautiful writing. Scenes in which Bobby expresses his love for his daughter are breathtaking. Teens who enjoyed Margaret Bechard's Hanging on to Max (Millbrook, 2002) will love this book, too, despite very different conclusions. The attractive cover photo of a young black man cradling an infant will attract readers.Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library


Horn Book Magazine(July 1, 2003; 0-689-84922-2; 978-0-689-84922-0)(High School) Feather's birth has completely changed sixteen-year-old Bobby's life. He and his girlfriend, Nia, had planned to put up the baby for adoption, but Feather becomes impossible to relinquish after, as the reader learns at book's end, pregnancy-related eclampsia leaves Nia in an irreversible coma. What elevates this scenario above melodrama is Johnson's unique storytelling strategy: she follows the arc of Bobby's consciousness in alternating short chapters labeled ""then"" (before Feather's birth) and ""now."" This allows the reader to measure how far sleep-starved single dad Bobby has fallen, psychically--and how far he's come. While this prequel to the Coretta Scott King Award-winning Heaven isn't bereft of humor (Nia's parents' home is ""so neat and clean you could probably make soup in the toilet""), what resonates are the sacrifices Bobby makes for Feather's sake. Copyright 2003 of The Horn Book, Inc.

Connections

Teen parents can be discussed and researched.
Discuss the Author Angela Johnson, noting that she is a three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner.
Read HEAVEN and LOOKING FOR RED by Angela Johnson.