Module 5: The First Part Last

Book Summary:
This book is the story of a sixteen-year-old boy who unexpectedly ends up raising a baby alone after his girlfriend is left comatose from the complications of childbirth. There are two storylines running simultaneously: the present, where the baby Feather is already born, and the past, beginning with Nia’s announcement to Bobby that she is pregnant. The reader sees Bobby’s parents reactions, and Nia and Bobby discussing adoption. After the baby is born, we see Bobby’s struggle with sleep deprivation, all the things he needs to remember, and his lack of free time with his friends. It is not until the end that the reader finds out what has happened to Nia, and the reason why Bobby is raising the baby alone.

APA reference:
Johnson, A. (2003). The first part last. New York: Simon & Schuster.

My impressions:
First Part Last is a very well written book. I enjoyed the “flashback” style of writing, with part of the story being flashbacks and part of it being in the present. I was glad to see such an accurate portrayal of what life with a new baby is like. Bobby longs to spend time with his friends, playing basketball like he always has, and one time he makes it all the way to the corner before he remembers about Feather. He has to pack a full diaper bag before going anywhere, and take a long chain of buses to get to her daycare to drop her off so he can go to school. One day, he drops her off with a neighbor and spends the whole day painting graffiti. His emotions: love for his child, frustration for his situation, longing to be free again, are all obvious to the reader. The author did a very good job of getting the reader to identify with the main character and feel what he was feeling. While it was a very serious book, it was also short and not at all difficult to read. It was a thoughtful book and not easy to forget.

Professional Review:
(2003, September). [Review of the book The first part last, by A. Johnson]. Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 57(1), p. 18. Retrieved from http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/

DSJOHNSON, ANGELA The First Part Last. Simon, 2003 131pISBN 0-689-84922-2 $15.95R Gr. 7-12Bobby's sixteenth birthday came with some shocking news: his girlfriend, Nia, was pregnant. Months later he's trying to raise Feather, their baby, without burdening his family any further, without quitting school, without losing touch with his friends, and without Nia. There's been a resurgence of literary teen parents and especially teen fathers lately (such as Horniman's Mahalia, BCCB 6/03), and this tenderly told story is one of the most appealing. There's some sentimentality to the underpinnings (it's finally revealed that Bobby's adored Nia suffered eclampsia that sent her into an irreversible coma, which is what made Bobby decide to raise Feather rather than putting her up for adoption), but that'll please some readers all the more. Even without that backstory, the lyrical expression of Bobby's devotion to his daughter and his fears about his great responsibilities ("She only wants Daddy. That scares the shit out of me") is moving indeed, with Johnson's finely wrought prose breathing intimacy into every line. The story is deepened by realistic portrayals of Bobby's loving but tough mother, who refuses to raise her son's child, and his softer, more forgiving father, but mostly it's the unfolding tale of Bobby and Feather as he tries to find the best way to raise his child, remember her mother, and live his life. Many readers will be drawn by the photograph on the cover (handsome young man tenderly holding a small baby), and they'll find the book well worthy of the cover's promise.

Library Uses:
This book would be a good one to use for a teen book club; it deals with a very intense teen issue in a very realistic way. It would benefit most teens to read this book and think about the serious issues it covers. It could perhaps be introduced in a series of realistic fiction. This is the kind of book that can really make people think, so would be excellent material for book club discussions.