Week 3: The First Part Last

• Week: 3
• Book Title: The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
• Book Cover Image:

Copyright 2003, Simon& Schuster

• Book Summary:  This is an amazing story of a young man who finds himself the father and primary caregivier of a baby girl.  He is full of self-doubt and confusion, but keeps trying to do the right thing.  His family pulls for him and supports him, but lets him know that his childhood is over and he is the responsible party.
• APA Reference:  Johnson, A.  (2003).  The first part last.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
• My Impressions:  The way the story flipped from the past to the present sometimes threw me off, but I thought the book was an excellent foray into the mind of a teenage father.  Bobby's self-doubt and guilt are troubling until you find out why.  His friends try to be understanding, but he really is in a place by himself. From free teenager to responsible adult is a big trip and  Bobby wants to escape. I liked the way that race was not an issue in the book. I don't even think it was mentioned, although the cover art made it clear.  This is a good book that I would recommend.  It could be a great wake up call for any teenager in Bobby's position.
• Professional Review:  Angela Johnson’s award-winning The First Part Last deals with an often overlooked perspective on teenage pregnancy and adulthood: that of the boy. Alternating between Then and Now, we follow Bobby, a black urban middle-class 16-year-old teen as he gets to deal with the news that his girlfriend Nia is pregnant. Before (Then) Bobby was just a typical teen, hanging out with his friends K-Boy and J.L. and playing Gameboy. Now, however, playing games and tagging has been replaced by taking care of his baby daughter Feather. The whole process is one of ‘becoming a man’, as one of the minor characters, Just Frank, jokingly states in the novel. As a new father, Bobby experiences all the typical things a young parent also has to deal with: the crying, the fatigue, the dependency, the letting go, …  only Bobby is also a teenager and a single father, the reason of which only becomes clear towards the end of this short novel. More than once, the reader feels what Bobby feels: the urge to escape, yet the strong pull of Feather who almost commands him to take responsibility. In the beginning of the book Bobby explains: “I figure if the world was really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They’d be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end.” As such, this book does not just pull you in emotionally from the get-go, it also serves as a strong wake-up call for anyone who might potentially be in Bobby’s situation. Bobby and the reader are confronted with the grittiest of situations imaginable and it’s no mean feat to come out a man – in Bobby’s case – at the other end.
  Stylistically, The First Part Last is a very strong piece of writing: Angela Johnson writes completely realistic and confident yet equally poetic prose. All this makes the events of the book even more poignant. From a story point of view, however, the novel feels a little incomplete. But, considering that The First Part Last is part of a trilogy, this is probably only a minor squabble.

Ringo the Cat. (2011).  This Cat Can Read Blog. [Review of the book The First Part Last, by A. Johnson]. Retrieved from ringothecat.wordpress.com

• Library Uses:  In a high school library this book would be a good book club read for students about to become parents.  It is also a powerful reality check for students in relationships.  It could be used as a book talk for students who are soon to be parents or are eligible for alternative schools.