Module 5: The first part last

Book Summary: A
book about teenagers having babies.  Not
your typical book though.  The father of
the baby is the one taking care of the baby from the day she is born, yet he is
madly in love with the mother of the baby, Nia. 
Nia is just as crazy about him. 
Yet there’s something that keeps them apart, and it’s not their parents.



APA Reference of Book: Johnson, A. (2003). The
first part last. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.



Impressions: At
first, I wasn’t too excited about the book. 
It seemed choppy and I really didn’t like the way it was written.  Had it not been an assignment, I probably
would have put it back on the shelf. 
Once I got about ten pages in, I was slowly sucked in this gut wrenching
story.  I read the book in a couple of
hours because I just had to know what was going on.  I think the writing is different from
anything else I have ever read, but in the end, I liked it.  The story had a major twist that I did not
see coming at all.  My only regret is
that I wish the book was longer and that it would go on to tell me what happens
after.  Really easy to read and the typical
teenager may get intrigued from the word go.



Professional
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. Alternate chapters go back to
the story of Bobby's relationship with his girlfriend Nia and how parents and
friends reacted to the news of her pregnancy. Bobby's parents are
well-developed characters, Nia's upper-class family somewhat less so.
Flashbacks lead to the revelation in the final chapters that Nia is in an
irreversible coma caused by eclampsia. This twist, which explains why Bobby is
raising Feather on his own against the advice of both families, seems
melodramatic. So does a chapter in which Bobby snaps from the pressure and
spends an entire day spray painting a picture on a brick wall, only to be
arrested for vandalism. However, any flaws in the plot are overshadowed by the
beautiful writing. Scenes in which Bobby expresses his love for his daughter
are breathtaking. Teens who enjoyed Margaret Bechard's Hanging on to Max
(Millbrook, 2002) will love this book, too, despite very different conclusions.
The attractive cover photo of a young black man cradling an infant will attract
readers.



Doyle, M., Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M.,
Grabarek, D., & Larkins, J. (2003). The First Part Last (Book Review). School
Library Journal,49(6), 144.

  
Library Uses: I
would have the students predict what happens to this young family in the
future.  They would write a story about it and then share with the class
the ending that they think the next book should have.