The First Part Last- Angela Johnson

Johnson, Angla.2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. NewYork: Simon& Schuster Children’s. ISBN: 068984922
Angela Johnson’s novel,THE FIRST PART LAST, is a great example for young people of how the best laid plans can change forever in the blink of an eye or a moment in the night. Bobby went from a typical high school boy “(skipping) school with (his) running buddies, grabbing a couple slices of pizza and catching a matinee” to celebrate his sixteenth birthday to hearing he is going to be a father in less than 12 hours. Bobby’s girlfriend, Nia tells him the news and nothing is ever typical or carefree again. Bobby and Nia were the couple that was responsible and looking forward to a future that included college. Their future became doctor visits and decisions about the future of their unborn child. Bobby is with Nia every step of the way. Listening to others and making decisions that sixteen year olds should not have to make. Bobby and Nia do come to the decision to put the child up for adoption and try to move forward with their plans. Decisions made, life settled until tragedy strikes and life changes again. Bobby is home with his “daughter “who is eleven days old and he is a single father. He names the child “Feather” and holds on to what he has left of his lost love “Nia.”
The story is told in an alternating “now” and “then” format. Bobby lets the reader know how life has changed for him now and how he got there from “then.” The ending was unexpected. Complications during childbirth are a reality but not one that many teens consider as a possibility. Teen pregnancy affects many young people. Bobby and Nia are characters that are believable and the decisions they have to make are part of the reality of an unexpected pregnancy. Angela Johnson reveals the male point of view and allows the reader to see how a young man can deal with the consequences of a night and the tragedy that occurred. When Bobby is faced with the decision of giving up his child the one living reminder of the girl he loved he makes a decision that changes his life forever. When Bobby is asked “Do you know what raising a baby entails?” his answer is the moment he goes from being a boy to a father. Bobby says “No, I don’t know anything about raising a kid. I’m sixteen and none of those people on the wall look like the kind of family me and Feather’s gonna be. But I’m doing it.” This book is a must read for high school children and possibly even in middle school aged children. It is written in their language and in a young person’s reality. Hanging out, skipping school, knowing you should use birth control and looking to your future are all things middle- school to high school kids can relate to. The book is thought provoking and can create dialogue between male and female students in a way that a teacher or a parent could not. The story leaves the reader wanting Bobby to succeed in all he does in his life and in Feather’s life.
Reviews & Awards
Book Links (A.L.A.) 01/01/09 Publishers Weekly starred 06/16/03
Booklist starred 09/01/03
Coretta Scott King Award/Honor 01/12/04
Horn Book 10/01/03
Booklist starred (September 1, 2003 (Vol. 100, No. 1))
Gr. 6-12. Bobby, the teenage artist and single-parent dad in Johnson's Coretta Scott King Award winner, Heaven (1998), tells his story here.
Horn Book (July/August, 2003)
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.
Kirkus Review (June 1, 2003)
. By narrating from a realistic first-person voice, Johnson manages to convey a story that is always complex, never preachy. The somewhat pat ending doesn't diminish the impact of this short, involving story. It's the tale of one young man and his choices, which many young readers will appreciate and enjoy. (Fiction. YA)
This book is written for grade 7 and up. I am not able to use it directly in teaching first grade but as a teacher I am asked by parents about books for their older children more often than I realized. After reading this book I found myself recommending it to our librarian and her teenage daughter. She in turned told her circle of friends and they read it also. The problem of teen pregnancy is not going away and the uncomfortable times parents have in talking to their children are not going away either. This book allows dialogue between parents and children and peer to peer. I can see this book being used in middle-school and above to bring in a male’s perspective and lessons on character. I do believe this is a must read for our older children who will be facing the choices that “growing up” presents.