The First Part Last

Bibliography

Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689849222

Johnson, Angela, Khalipa Oldjohn, and Kolé Kristi. 2004. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Listening Library/Random House Audio. ISBN 9781400090655

Summary

The First Part Last is about a sixteen year old boy named Bobby who becomes a father and decides to raise his daughter, Feather. The story is narrated by Bobby and told in short alternating chapters of “Now” and “Then”. In the “Now” chapters, Bobby describes how he is struggling to raise his daughter. He lives with his mother who is supportive, but refuses to take care of Feather. Bobby struggles with taking care of Feather, going to school, and hanging out with his friends, K-Boy and J. L. In the “Then” chapters, Bobby explains how he found out his girlfriend Nia was pregnant and how they revealed the news to their family and friends. Bobby also describes how they had planned to give the baby up for adoption, but when Nia suffers irreversible postpartum brain damage, Bobby decides to raise Feather.

Critical Analysis

From the first page to the last, Johnson does a wonderful job portraying a teenage male’s point of view about raising a child. Her words are poetic and powerful. “I lay her on my stomach and breathed her in. My daughter is eleven days old. And that sweet new baby smell…the smell of baby shampoo, formula, and my mom’s perfume. It made me cry like I hadn’t since I was a little kid.”

Bobby, a sixteen year old artistic kid who loves hanging out with his running buddies K-Boy and J.L., finds himself growing up faster than he had planned. After hanging out with his buddies on his sixteenth birthday, he comes home to hear news that his girlfriend Nia is pregnant. Bobby struggles throughout the story trying to deal with the fact that he has to grow up. He loves Feather so much, but also wants to just give up because it is so difficult.

“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.”

Bobby describes how his and Nia’s homes are complete opposites. His has “overstuffed pillows and Moroccan rugs and Jacob Lawrence prints all over the walls.” Color and music of jazz, Motown and reggae fill the rooms. Bobby also describes the black and white photos of their family on vacations all around world. “’Cause even though Fred said we were poor, we never were too poor to travel, ‘cause that made your spirit rich.” Nia’s loft was quiet. “Every wall in their loft is so white it almost hurts my eyes. Everything is straight lines and post-modern sculpture backlit.”

By the cover of the book and a few descriptions in the story, the reader is able to gather that Bobby and his friends are African-American. Bobby describes his friend K-Boy having locks that “fall all over his face. He’s mahogany and tall, and can’t walk down the street without everybody staring at him.” Later he describes his neighbor Coco as having the same caramel color as Feather.

The dialect used in the story was typical of a teenager. Listening to the story on audio CD’s even brings more rhythm and passion to the story.

Reviews

2004 Michael L. Printz Award winner

2004 Coretta Scott King Award winner

School Library Journal review: “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.”

Booklist review: “Bobby, the teenage artist and single-parent dad in Johnson's Coretta Scott King Award winner, Heaven (1998), tells his story here. At 16, he's scared to be raising his baby, Feather, but he's totally devoted to caring for her, even as she keeps him up all night, and he knows that his college plans are on hold. In short chapters alternating between "now" and "then," he talks about the baby that now fills his life, and he remembers the pregnancy of his beloved girlfriend, Nia…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.”

Connection

Other books written by Angela Johnson include:

Johnson, Angela. 2000. HEAVEN. ISBN 0689822901

Johnson, Angela.1993. WHEN I AM OLD WITH YOU. ISBN 0531070352

Johnson, Angela. 1994. TONING THE SWEEP. ISBN 0590481428