the first part last

Johnson, Angela, the first part last, Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2010, 131 pgs.

Summary: Bobby is a teenage single father in New York. The struggles of raising a baby through the eyes of a teenage boy are provided in this novel. Bobby is on his own and his mother refuses to help. Bobby must get his daughter to daycare before school, make it through school without falling asleep, go get his daughter, and help her through the night so he can do it again the next day. A newborn baby is hard to take care of when you are ready and Bobby is not ready. Where is the baby’s mother? Nia had difficulty giving birth to their daughter and is now brain dead on life support in a care facility. Bobby visits her when he can and seeks support from his friends. Through it all he knows he can do it because Feather is his and Nia’s creation and his life is for her.

Evaluation: The perspective through the eyes of a teenage boy is very unique. I felt like Johnson did a good job of showing the struggles of teenage parenthood without glorifying it. The book is a quick read, but won’t make an impact unless the reader is aware of what is being written about. This book can be a very well written tool for librarians, teachers, and parents to highlight to young adults potential consequences to teen parenthood.

Annotation: I can’t tell you want comes next, but I can tell you that my life is all about being a good father for my newborn daughter.

Significance of Book: Books about teenage pregnancy are not unique, but the perspective through the eyes of a teenage father raising a newborn on his own is unique and very well written in this novel. This book also won both the Michael Printz award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award.

Genre/subject: fiction, teenage parenthood

Awards:

National:

• ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: 2004
• Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2004
• Coretta Scott King Author Award: 2004
• Michael L. Printz Award: 2004

State:

• Georgia: Georgia Peach Award Nominees: 2004
• Indiana: Eliot Rosewater Award Nominees: 2006
• Iowa: Teen Award Nominees: 2007
• Kentucky: Bluegrass Award Nominees: 2005
• Michigan: Thumbs Up Award Nominees: 2004
• Missouri: Gateway Readers Award Nominees: 2006
• New Jersey: Garden State Teen Book Award Nominees: 2006
• Oklahoma: Sequoyah Award Nominees: 2006
• South Carolina: YA Book Award Nominees: 2006
• Tennessee: Volunteer State Book Award Nominees: 2006
• Texas: Tayshas Reading List: 2005
• Virginia: Readers' Choice Award Nominees: 2006

Why I selected the book: I was interested to see how the dynamic of a single teenage father would be portrayed.

Price: $7.99