G6: The First Part Last

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster). ISBN: 0-689-84922-2.

Nia and Bobby are in love. They have a baby they name Feather. During the pregnancy, Bobby watches Nia grow larger with their child and affectionately satisfies her cravings for different kinds of food. Perhaps it should be mentioned that Bobby and Nia are in high school, and that this contemporary, realistic story is Bobby’s story of his life before and after fatherhood, divided into alternating chapters entitled “Now” and “Then.” In these chapters, he discusses his relationships with his family and friends both before and after Feather is born. He also spends a lot of time describing what fatherhood means to him and his life, focused on the smaller daily moments with his daughter and the larger questions about his future. At the end of this novel that reads like a diary, he sprinkles in two additional chapters, “Nia” and “Heaven,” each of which adds a bit more understanding to the story of why Bobby and Nia did what they did and what the future holds for each.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Mature young adults will find in this short, powerful and easily accessible book an honest narrator with a strong and natural voice. Johnson captures Bobby well as he tells his story in short sentences with a natural use of slang and an ability to focus on the most important details for the series of short stories he tells. His believability as a character increases as he expresses a range of emotions, reflections and desires.

Due to its alternating chapters describing the past and present, this book does not have a cohesive plot in the traditional sense. The chapters are short explorations of his life before and after the birth of his daughter. Beginning the story with a “Now” chapter shows his reality: he’s got a daughter, and he’s trying to figure out where she fits in his teenaged life. The “Then” chapters tend to build on what first happened after Nia told him that she was pregnant, though they move further into the past to describe his relationship with his friends, J.L. and K-Boy. Once she tells him, the story then moves into predictable areas of informing each set of parents, figuring out what will happen with school, and learning what being pregnant is like. Instead of running, he stays with her.

During the “Now” chapters, Bobby and Feather have a lot of time together, and he has a chance to explore not only what she means to him but also to remind himself of what fatherhood entails. He’s not the kid anymore—even if he still is one—carefree and thinking about going out with his buddies for a slice of pizza or running around New York because they love the city. He is very candid on the need to focus on his daughter, even if he might not be prepared for consistently assuming the responsibility for it. This understanding of doing what’s best for his daughter becomes a reality at the end of the book. He makes the decision to leave his beloved hometown and go to Heaven (Ohio) to live with his brother.

Throughout all of the “Now” chapters and, essentially, the whole novel, one question nags readers: “Where’s Nia?” She appears in the “Then” chapters and is well-drawn as a confused girl who understands the magnitude of the change in her life. Throughout the novel, she is brave whenever she appears, but during half of the chapters she appears very little. Johnson drops hints as to her whereabouts during a scene on page 44 when Bobby talks with his British Literature teacher.

“The mother go to this school?”
“She used to,” I say.

“Did she transfer to another school?”
“No.”

Johnson could have told readers about what happened to her earlier, but in a sense her decision to delay echoes the title. She gives us “the first part” about Bobby and Nia and the circumstances of Feather’s birth during the “last” part of Bobby’s story about having a daughter but losing her mother. Readers can thus understand the pain, loss, promise and hope he has.

To find the voice of a teenaged male, Johnson uses abbreviated spellings, slang (“Moms” as a singular noun and “whacked” as a synonym for “crazy”), ungrammatical language (“…knowing I got to catch up”) and a direct, plain way of speaking. Bobby does not describe a lot, unless he has to, such as when he describes Nia’s beauty. He tells his story and moves along, beginning many of his sentences with “and”. Even in the climactic scene, he does not bog himself down in describing the characters’ emotions or actions or even the setting. He renders the situation in a handful of simple and clipped sentences. Readers can imagine what everything looked like, but for Bobby the important thing seems to be that Nia is gone from his life. The rest of the book explores the repercussions of that critical moment.

One review (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY) suggested that the only “misstep” in the book was the chapter entitled “Nia.” Another (SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL) thought there was melodrama in two places: the chapter where Bobby engages in vandalism, and the chapter where we learn of the “twist” in the story. Sandwiched between chapters where Bobby tells Feather about her mother, and before the climax, the brief “Nia” chapter serves up another hint at her impending fate. This is the first time where any negatives are introduced in the blood she sees and her thoughts on flying and drifting away.

Regarding the other two criticisms, the chapter dealing with the climax (the “twist”) is critical, as noted previously. As for the vandalism, Bobby may be a great guy who sticks by his girlfriend and loves his baby daughter, but he is also a 16-year-old with rollercoaster emotions. His honest appraisal of these emotions and the events that created them leave his readers with an exceptional, worthwhile story. After hearing his voice, all readers will hope for the best for him, not because he deserves it but because he is working hard to better himself.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
--This compelling tale of a teenage father provides a stellar addition to young adult fiction. Bobby makes mistakes, and his life is very difficult, but his courage, love, and hope enable him to carry on. The supportive adults and friends in his life aid him as well. Realistic characters, an honest look at teen pregnancy, and Bobby's thoughts and dreams combine in a wonderful novel sure to appeal to most young adult readers. (VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, June 2003)
--Brief, poetic, and absolutely riveting, this gem of a novel tells the story of a young father struggling to raise an infant. (SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, June 2003)
--As the past and present threads join in the final chapter, readers will only clamor for more about this memorable father-daughter duo-and an author who so skillfully relates the hope in the midst of pain. (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, June 2003)
--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. The great cover photo shows the strong African American teen holding his tiny baby in his arms. (BOOKLIST, September 2003)

CONNECTIONS
--Teens’ Top Ten (TTT), 2003
--Coretta Scott King Book Award, Author Award, 2004
--ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004
-- Michael L. Printz Award winner, 2004

--This book could easily be examined in a high school health class for its topic and theme. For its writing and narrative styles, it would be well-suited for close examination in English class.

--Other books in the HEAVEN trilogy:
HEAVEN. 1998. ISBN: 978-1442403420. Coretta Scott King Book Award, Winner, 1999. (THE FIRST PART LAST is the prequel to HEAVEN)
SWEET HEREAFTER. 2010. ISBN: 978-0689873850

--Other books by Angela Johnson for readers in upper elementary, middle and high school:
A COOL MOONLIGHT. 2005. ISBN: 978-0142402849
HUMMING WHISPERS. 1996. ISBN: 978-1860390999
LOOKING FOR RED. 2003. ISBN: 978-0689863882
TONING THE SWEEP. 2003. ISBN: 978-0780745766. (Coretta Scott King Book Award, 1994)

--Other books on teen pregnancy targeted at young adults:
Bechard, Margaret. 2003. HANGING ON TO MAX. ISBN: 978-0689862687
Draper, Sharon. 2009. NOVEMBER BLUES. ISBN: 978-1416906995. (Coretta Scott King Book Award, Author Honor, 2008)
Hrdlitschka, Shelley. 2002. DANCING NAKED. ISBN: 978-1551432106
Olsen, Silvia. 2003. A GIRL WITH A BABY. ISBN: 978-1550391428