Module 5: Other Award Winners
“And then I know I'm being a man, not just some kid who's upset and wants it his way.”
― The First Part Last, Angela Johnson
Book Summary: Bobby is a typical African American urban teenaged boy — impulsive, eager, restless, loves to have fun and hang out with his friends. On his sixteenth birthday, he gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever. Bobby is going to be a father. Overnight his world changes and the things he used to do no longer seem important. He takes responsibility and decides to do whatever it is that he has to do to stay with Nia and help her through this. He goes with her to the obstetrician and a social worker who tries to tell them that they need to put their baby up for adoption. Torn in two by what everyone in his life is telling him to do and what his heart is telling him to do.
Reference: Johnson, A. (2003). The First Part Last. New York, N.Y. Simon and Shuster.
Impressions:
A real book about real life issues that happens all the time. The main character is the young father of a baby girl and all the struggles in life he is learning how to handle. This would make anyone proud of this young man and the choices that he makes for his girlfriend and his baby. He did not leave them, he was not in a gang, he did not sell drugs, he did not force the girl to have an abortion or any of the dozens of poor choices that teenagers make when faced with the same situation. It gave me hope that other kids might not make the same stupid choices when teenage sex produces a teenage pregnancy.
Although teen pregnancy is down, this is still a very real problem with real consequences. Stories like this show that boys can turn into real men and take ownership over their choices and the outcome of those choices. Society and media paint a very poor light on our youth, but more stories like this one can show America that there is hope for the future of our youth.
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The First Part Last, should be made into a movie, with the main character, Bobby, played by Jaden Smith. If there is anyone out there interested in helping to write a screenplay let me know, I'd love to help.
Professional Review:The Lesters review The First Part Last by Angela Johnson.
Adolescents and teens are having sex. Adolescents and teens are thinking about having sex. Adolescents and Teens have always had sex or thought about having sex and always will have sex or think about it. This is the fundamental premise upon which award-winning young adult author Angela Johnson bases her most recent novel. Rather than lecture her intended 12 and older audience about birth control and the physical and emotional safety of abstinence, Johnson offers The First Part Last as a cautionary tale about aborted childhood innocence that results from poor choices that affect not only the too-young-to-be-parents Nia and Bobby but their family and friends as well. The novel is then a litany of how past mistakes forever haunt these young characters' present dreams and future realities.
The novel's effective alternating now/then organizational pattern reinforces the theme that the present and past are inextricably connected on the basis of choices that we make for ourselves, particularly bad choices made by youngsters who knowingly engage in risky behavior. Bobby and Nia are intelligent African-American high school students who have unprotected sex, resulting in pregnancy. The story's format carries the reader back and forth through Bobby's life before, during, and after the pregnancy. He remembers his own childhood and acknowledges to himself that at age 16 he is unprepared for his forced new identity and responsibility as a teen father: "I feel like I'm a baby with a baby most of the time. Just playing daddy until someone comes over and says, 'Hell, kid, time's up. No more of this daddy time for you, and anyway you've been busted'" (p. 128). The truth, according to Johnson, is that parenting, especially as a teen, is serious business.
Telling the story from the perspective of the teen father makes an interesting lens through which to read gender and social constructions of "manhood." Too often we read about the complex situation of young females forced to deal with unplanned pregnancies while the young fathers are either absent or unavailable for any kind of support. To his credit, Bobby is not that kind of new father. From the moment he learns of Nia's pregnancy, he accepts his responsibility for his self-acknowledged "stupid" actions: "I'm going to be this baby's daddy now.... I'm supposed to be her daddy and stay up all night if I have to. I'm supposed to suck it up and do all the right things if I can, even if I screw it up and have to do it over" (pp. 125-126). The novel then shows Bobby's personal struggles with Nia's emotional and physical health, with Nia's parents and their lack of trust in his decision making with their daughter, and with his own parents' disappointment in his bad choices. The daily tedium and enormous responsibility of young single parenting force Bobby to grow up overnight and convinces him that his life as he once knew it will never again be the same. The reality of changing poopy diapers, cleaning up baby vomit, buying formula and diapers, juggling school and child care, forgoing opportunities to hang out with his buddies, and getting very little sleep around the clock is intended to make youngsters think more seriously about giving in to their hormonal urges: "This little thing with the perfect face and hands doing nothing but counting on me. And me wanting nothing else but to run crying into my own mom's room and have her do the whole thing" (p. 15).
Although Johnson's story is a valiant effort to bring us a perspective not often considered that of a young single father fully embracing his new role the story seems at odds with itself. One such instance occurs when Bobby visits Nia late into her pregnancy, and they engage in sex. Their conversation before the encounter has little to do with the gravity of what has led them both to this pivotal moment in their lives acting irresponsibly with their bodies and sexuality. While there is slight mention of their past carelessness-he says to her, "I figure we hadn't used too much common sense lately, or she wouldn't be pregnant" (p. 49)-they nevertheless "head toward her [bed] room." Even though Nia cannot become pregnant again while she is pregnant, one expects there to be more substantive and cautionary dialogue acknowledging how their impulsive decision to be sexually active just because the opportunity presents itself is a very serious matter. Bobby is only interested in whether having sex during her pregnancy will harm the fetus.
Second, while Johnson gives us no cookie-cutter tale of happily ever after-Nia dies from a complication with her delivery, a contrived way to get her out of the initially intended legal adoption plan and to have the biological father exercise his right to keep the baby the story leaves other narrative gaps that don't satisfy. Why does Bobby decide to leave New York and move to Ohio to start anew with his infant? How will he survive in Ohio with no job, no career prospects, no apparent skills beyond his drawings of his new daughter and his illegal spray paintings on public properties? Although his divorced brother and his nephews live in Ohio, why would he leave the support system of his parents, his daughter's grandparents, and his friends? How is raising an infant in rural Ohio any better than raising an infant in big city New York, especially when Bobby shares with us his love for the city-its smells, its sounds, its lights, and its people? Will he be able to finish his last two years of high school and adequately care for his infant daughter without some immediate financial assistance and other communal or familial support?
The novel consciously challenges us to consider different ways of viewing the world. For instance, gender role reversals are underscored-Bobby's father is the emotionally demonstrative nurture rather than his mother; Bobby and his dad cry without concern for what others might think of their "manhood"; Bobby's buddies have no problems spending time and playing with Bobby's new child; the cop who arrests Bobby for his spray painting is female, as is Nia's obstetrician.
It is also important to recognize that Nia and Bobby and their families are neither uneducated nor from low-income homes and lifestyles. Bobby's father owns a successful restaurant, and Bobby and his family frequently traveled y when he was growing up. Nia's parents have expensive art collections. Such details about their economics remind readers that unwanted pregnancies are not class, race, or ethnicity-specific. Engaging in sexual activity can result in unplanned pregnancy, and any pregnancy changes on some level the lives of all those connected with it.
As long as adolescents and teens are thinking about and having sex, this story needs to be read and told. Because Nia and Bobby are sexually active, their lives will never again be the same. Nia and Bobby know about birth control, but they make bad choices. Remaining abstinent then is the only sure way to escape such life-altering results. The title of the novel, The First Part Last, works as a warning, advice, and instruction to young readers. Do first things first and do not put yourself in a situation where you are forced to grow up before you've grown up. There is always time to become an adult but no opportunities to recapture stolen childhood.
This very accessible and easily read novel takes risks. Talking about the realities of sexuality and teen pregnancy is still a source of awkwardness for some conservative parents and teachers. While the novel does not provide graphic details of sexuality or any specifics on how Nia becomes pregnant, it clearly addresses the fact that youngsters are not waiting until they are adults and married to become sexually active. It also responds to the fact that no matter how many parental and middle and high school health class lectures about abstinence, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and now AIDS, youngsters are engaging in risky sexual behaviors. To ignore this fact is to be in denial about young adults' real lives. The complications with Nia's pregnancy and the burdens of Bobby's single teen parenting might well open the eyes of many young curious and confused readers.
Reviewed by Neal A. Lester, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Lester, N. A. (2004). The first part last. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, [Review of the book The First Part Last By Angela Johnson] 47(5), 429- 432. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216915081?accountid=7113
Library Uses:
This book could be used as a part of the Black History Month display in February. I would also post the book trailer on the Library website and Facebook page under the Teen Reads.
The novel's effective alternating now/then organizational pattern reinforces the theme that the present and past are inextricably connected on the basis of choices that we make for ourselves, particularly bad choices made by youngsters who knowingly engage in risky behavior. Bobby and Nia are intelligent African-American high school students who have unprotected sex, resulting in pregnancy. The story's format carries the reader back and forth through Bobby's life before, during, and after the pregnancy. He remembers his own childhood and acknowledges to himself that at age 16 he is unprepared for his forced new identity and responsibility as a teen father: "I feel like I'm a baby with a baby most of the time. Just playing daddy until someone comes over and says, 'Hell, kid, time's up. No more of this daddy time for you, and anyway you've been busted'" (p. 128). The truth, according to Johnson, is that parenting, especially as a teen, is serious business.
Telling the story from the perspective of the teen father makes an interesting lens through which to read gender and social constructions of "manhood." Too often we read about the complex situation of young females forced to deal with unplanned pregnancies while the young fathers are either absent or unavailable for any kind of support. To his credit, Bobby is not that kind of new father. From the moment he learns of Nia's pregnancy, he accepts his responsibility for his self-acknowledged "stupid" actions: "I'm going to be this baby's daddy now.... I'm supposed to be her daddy and stay up all night if I have to. I'm supposed to suck it up and do all the right things if I can, even if I screw it up and have to do it over" (pp. 125-126). The novel then shows Bobby's personal struggles with Nia's emotional and physical health, with Nia's parents and their lack of trust in his decision making with their daughter, and with his own parents' disappointment in his bad choices. The daily tedium and enormous responsibility of young single parenting force Bobby to grow up overnight and convinces him that his life as he once knew it will never again be the same. The reality of changing poopy diapers, cleaning up baby vomit, buying formula and diapers, juggling school and child care, forgoing opportunities to hang out with his buddies, and getting very little sleep around the clock is intended to make youngsters think more seriously about giving in to their hormonal urges: "This little thing with the perfect face and hands doing nothing but counting on me. And me wanting nothing else but to run crying into my own mom's room and have her do the whole thing" (p. 15).
Although Johnson's story is a valiant effort to bring us a perspective not often considered that of a young single father fully embracing his new role the story seems at odds with itself. One such instance occurs when Bobby visits Nia late into her pregnancy, and they engage in sex. Their conversation before the encounter has little to do with the gravity of what has led them both to this pivotal moment in their lives acting irresponsibly with their bodies and sexuality. While there is slight mention of their past carelessness-he says to her, "I figure we hadn't used too much common sense lately, or she wouldn't be pregnant" (p. 49)-they nevertheless "head toward her [bed] room." Even though Nia cannot become pregnant again while she is pregnant, one expects there to be more substantive and cautionary dialogue acknowledging how their impulsive decision to be sexually active just because the opportunity presents itself is a very serious matter. Bobby is only interested in whether having sex during her pregnancy will harm the fetus.
Second, while Johnson gives us no cookie-cutter tale of happily ever after-Nia dies from a complication with her delivery, a contrived way to get her out of the initially intended legal adoption plan and to have the biological father exercise his right to keep the baby the story leaves other narrative gaps that don't satisfy. Why does Bobby decide to leave New York and move to Ohio to start anew with his infant? How will he survive in Ohio with no job, no career prospects, no apparent skills beyond his drawings of his new daughter and his illegal spray paintings on public properties? Although his divorced brother and his nephews live in Ohio, why would he leave the support system of his parents, his daughter's grandparents, and his friends? How is raising an infant in rural Ohio any better than raising an infant in big city New York, especially when Bobby shares with us his love for the city-its smells, its sounds, its lights, and its people? Will he be able to finish his last two years of high school and adequately care for his infant daughter without some immediate financial assistance and other communal or familial support?
The novel consciously challenges us to consider different ways of viewing the world. For instance, gender role reversals are underscored-Bobby's father is the emotionally demonstrative nurture rather than his mother; Bobby and his dad cry without concern for what others might think of their "manhood"; Bobby's buddies have no problems spending time and playing with Bobby's new child; the cop who arrests Bobby for his spray painting is female, as is Nia's obstetrician.
It is also important to recognize that Nia and Bobby and their families are neither uneducated nor from low-income homes and lifestyles. Bobby's father owns a successful restaurant, and Bobby and his family frequently traveled y when he was growing up. Nia's parents have expensive art collections. Such details about their economics remind readers that unwanted pregnancies are not class, race, or ethnicity-specific. Engaging in sexual activity can result in unplanned pregnancy, and any pregnancy changes on some level the lives of all those connected with it.
As long as adolescents and teens are thinking about and having sex, this story needs to be read and told. Because Nia and Bobby are sexually active, their lives will never again be the same. Nia and Bobby know about birth control, but they make bad choices. Remaining abstinent then is the only sure way to escape such life-altering results. The title of the novel, The First Part Last, works as a warning, advice, and instruction to young readers. Do first things first and do not put yourself in a situation where you are forced to grow up before you've grown up. There is always time to become an adult but no opportunities to recapture stolen childhood.
This very accessible and easily read novel takes risks. Talking about the realities of sexuality and teen pregnancy is still a source of awkwardness for some conservative parents and teachers. While the novel does not provide graphic details of sexuality or any specifics on how Nia becomes pregnant, it clearly addresses the fact that youngsters are not waiting until they are adults and married to become sexually active. It also responds to the fact that no matter how many parental and middle and high school health class lectures about abstinence, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and now AIDS, youngsters are engaging in risky sexual behaviors. To ignore this fact is to be in denial about young adults' real lives. The complications with Nia's pregnancy and the burdens of Bobby's single teen parenting might well open the eyes of many young curious and confused readers.
Reviewed by Neal A. Lester, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Lester, N. A. (2004). The first part last. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, [Review of the book The First Part Last By Angela Johnson] 47(5), 429- 432. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216915081?accountid=7113
Library Uses:
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