Genre 6 - THE FIRST PART LAST by Angela Johnson

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN 0689849230

2. PLOT SUMMARY
THE FIRST PART LAST tells the dramatic story of Bobby, a sixteen year old boy growing up in New York City. With great friends and a beautiful girlfriend, Bobby does his best to live a normal teenage life, and he is quite successful until his girlfriend, Nia, gets pregnant. Forced to grow up all too quickly and raise a baby as a single father, Bobby quickly learns that life isn’t what it used to be and that his choices no longer affect himself alone. This brutally honest portrayal of life and difficult decisions warns readers of the seriousness of making “grown-up” decisions and the responsibility that follows.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The hallmark characteristic of contemporary realistic fiction—believability—shines through every page of THE FIRST PART LAST. The honesty of sixteen year old, Bobby’s, life and his personal feelings are at times hard to swallow, yet always relatable and easy to empathize with. Author, Angela Johnson, creates in Bobby, a well-developed character with a history, a present, and a future that play to the modern day teen. The decisions, actions, and consequences that Bobby must deal with are somewhat controversial issues in society, but that does not make them any less present in the lives of today’s teens.

Alternating between “then” and “now,” each chapter describes the moments leading up to Bobby’s new role as a father and the struggles that he experiences with that role. Gradually, readers learn the story of how the situation came to be—the choices Bobby and Nia made, the family adjustments, the heartbreaking outcome of the delivery, and dealing with the loss of a loved one while gaining a daughter. Johnson implements a unique style in the organization of the chapters, and it serves to propel the momentum of the novel forward.

While the topic for consideration is one that is highly controversial, Johnson in no way advocates for premarital intercourse or teenage parenthood. Instead, she presents a truth, an issue that is present in today’s society and is relevant to today’s teens. Depicting the unimaginable love a parent (even a sixteen year old) feels for their child in parallel with the selfishness of simultaneously being a child, Johnson fashions a warning to readers that emphasizes the seriousness of social decisions and the potential outcomes associated with them.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Brief, poetic, and absolutely riveting, this gem of a novel tells the story of a young father struggling to raise an infant.”

Starred review in BOOKLIST: “… 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.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Could be used in correlation with human development courses, health courses, and seminars regarding safe sex and abstinence. (This would, of course, depend on parental and institutional policies.)
*Discuss the various roles of families and how the nuclear family has adapted and changed throughout generations.
*Create a discussion panel or group of guest speakers/single parents to talk about the hardships of single parenting and having children at such a young age. It is important to give a realistic impression to teens about the circumstances surround the issue—do not glamorize.