The First Part Last

Reader reviewed by Shannon

  The First Part Last was an amzing book, it showed how tough it is too be a single parent, yet alone a single teen parent. It has it's ups and downs and is a rollercoaster of emotions. In one moment it was happy and cheerful and then it was sad and depressing. The coolest thing about this book is that every other chapter is before/after. So In the book , The baby, Feather , is born. So one chapter will be after her birth, and the next one will be before her birth. So it mixes the book up, but keeps it interesting. You get to see the challenges a single teen father has, rising his daghter in the projects of Brooklyn. When the mother goes braindead, he is left t take care of her. All though he sometimes wants to quit, Feather's smile always shows him why he does what he does. All though Feather's grandparents dont agree with what Feather's father has done ( take on a responsibility of raising a child) they cant get away with how cute and adorable Feather is. This book is a great book, its very short, I read it in an hour or two, but the message of love is phenominal. This book is a 5 stars!

Reader reviewed by Sami

This is a great book for any teenager to read. It brings in a sense of reality, knowing that anything can happen to you. Hearing the story of what a teenage father goes through after his love passed away through birthing complications, will make any teen be responsible. This is a great book.

Reader reviewed by TruBlu93

Ive read books about teenage pregnancy but none like this before. In this outstanding novel, author Angela Johnson shows to us the side of teenage pregnancy yet to be revealed by other authors. She writes this particular book form the males point of view.

Bobby is your average teenager. He spends his time hanging out with his friends, going to parties and trying to survive high school. But his life is suddenly changed on his 16th birthday. When walking home to school, his is surprised to find his girlfriend, Nia, on his stoop holding a red balloon. Shes pregnant. Now, Bobby has to change his was and prepare for his upcoming baby. Something that is completely and utterly new to him. It seems the only way for him and Nia to ever lead a normal life again is if they give up their baby for adoption. After lots of trips to the social workers office, they make up their mind. But their plans are suddenly changed after the tragic incident. Bobby refuses to sign the adoption papers without Nia and is now forced to raise Feather, their baby, on his own. This is more than he bargained for but he is willing to make it work and do whatever he feels is the right thing to do.

This is a very amazing book that I would recommend to teenagers all over the world. At some points, it became very sad and bought tears to my eyes, but it was worth every drop. Angela really does a great job of developing the characters in the book that the reader will feel like they have known them all their lives. I really enjoyed how the book was written in segments of Now and Then where Angela tells us what happens now that Feather is born and then before Feather was born.

Reader reviewed by Venicha

i love this book i finsihed this bok and 3 days cause i was doing school work.. i couldnt read it and one day but i couldnt and i was telling all the boys who go a baby u should read this book and they did and they step and be a man so it was a really go book and now everybodi reading this book....

Reader reviewed by wwegurl

This is a great read! I finished it at school in 1 day!
It tells about a boy named Bobby. His girlfriend Nia is pregnant. He has to deal with telling evryone and what his friends might think. And when something happens to Nia, he has to take care of Feather all by himself. This is a great story about a16 year old boy who needs to be aman to survive with his newborn daughter

Reader reviewed by Sammy

The First Part Last is the story of teenager Bobby Morris, a guy who likes to hang out with his friends K-Boy and J. L.; they're typical boys who want to shoot hoops, buy a slice of pizza in a New York City neighborhood, or play with a Game Boy. But things are never the same when Bobby gets Nia pregnant; she's flipping out about this baby developing inside her belly, and Bobby is learning all too fast what it takes to be a daddy and a man.
Bobby narrates the story, explaining all the feelings he has for his new baby daughter called Feather. It seems everything he does these days must be done in consideration of his daughter. Bobby and Feather are irrevocably tied together and Bobby is trying his best to cope with the joys and challenges of his new role.

The First Part Last may serve as a realistic wake-up call for teenagers who are experimenting with sex and who think pregnancy, motherhood, or fatherhood cannot happen to them. The book describes a lot of what being a parent entails and teens may think twice about what they'd want for their own future; being tied to a baby, or maybe having better alternatives about the direction for their lives.

One thing missing from the book is intensity. The narrator's voice is mild throughout the story so you never feel like anything explosive is about to happen. But maybe that is the writer's intent - that the reality of parenthood is explosive enough. The First Part Last is a brief and important book for teens to check out, and perhaps their parents too.