Angela Johnson
The novel alternates the time periods of 16 year old Bobby's life before the novel starts, now, and his life after the novel starts, then. Nia, told him she was pregnant on his birthday, leaving the two lovers confused, overwhelmed and not knowing what the fate of their baby will be. Even so, during Nia's pregnancy, the couple shares heart-warming and happy moments up until Nia is put in a coma due to a traumatic complication at the very end of her pregnancy. Now, Bobby raises his daughter, Feather, while juggling school and struggling to balance teenage life with his new role as a single father. Bobby goes through ups and downs, but ultimately decides to raise his daughter in a place outside the city, Heaven, Ohio.
Impact on me
I was absolutely blown away by the creativity, grit, despair, triumph, and happiness that this tiny book offered. The phenomenal writing style allowed me to read this book in one sitting wondering what would happen to Nia, the mother, since she was not in any of the "now" story, but was such a caring, loving person in the "then" story. I thought that the characters of Nia and Bobby were well-developed and extremely relatable to teens from any socio-economic background. This viewpoint of a teenage father was a tale I have not read about or seen in a movie. Angela Johnson portrayed Bobby with a perfect balance of maturity, immaturity, responsbiility and irresponsibility. Brilliant!
Reviews
Johnson does a good job portraying most of the hardship of being a teenage parent, such as still being young and having to take care of yourself as well as the baby, but she leaves out one critical detail. She does not mention how Bobby gets the money to buy the baby food and diapers. The author does, however, do a good job showing the issues Bobby has concerning responsibility such as when Bobby gets tired of having to take care of his baby and leaves it with the babysitter for too long. This shows that it is very hard for Bobby to deal with the responsibility. I would recommend this book to teens, both boys and girls, because it shows them how hard it is to raise a baby. Because many teenagers can relate to Bobby in that they perceive life the same way he does, the readers will know that if they do not act responsibly and stay away from sex before marriage, this could happen to them.
Blasingame, J., & Lester, N. A. (2004). The First Part Last (Book). Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47(5), 429-432.
...From the first page, readers feel the physical reality of Bobby’s new world: what it’s like to hold Feather on his stomach, smell her skin, touch her clenched fists, feel her shiver, and kiss the top of her curly head. Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short, spare sentences that teens will read again and again. The great cover photo shows the strong African American teen holding his tiny baby in his arms.
Rochman, H. (2003). The First Part Last (Book). Booklist, 100(1), 122.
In this award-winning prequel to Heaven, sixteen-year-old Bobby takes on the responsibility of raising his daughter, Feather.
Hinton-Johnson, K., & Dickinson, G. K. (2005). The First Part Last. Library Media Connection, 23(7), 45.
In the Library
To make sure that young adults are drawn to this book, I feel that the librarian or even selected students should make Book Mosaics to put on the walls of the library. Book Masiacs are big posters that have any number of squares on them, could be 8, could be 20. These squares contain diverse snapshots from The First Part Last: imagined images, a thought-provoking quote, the book's theme, a character sketch, anything he creator wants to add! The end result will create a type of art work that will garner positive attention and rightfully shows the various scenes in the book. Additionaly, I definitely feel a booktalk would be a great time for students to discuss teen pregnancy, growing up too fast and how to deal with tough stuff. Sharing their thoughts and opinions, as well as hearing others is important, especially during middle school and high school years.
Johnson, A (2003). The First Part Last. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
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