First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Johnson, Angela. (2004). First Part Last. NY: Simon Pulse.
ISBN: 978-0689849237
Awards: Printz Award (2004)
Coretta Scott King Award (Author, 2004)
South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee (2005-2006)
ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2004)
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2008.03|What Makes a Family?, 2008)
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers - Top Ten (2004)
Iowa Teen Award Nominee (2006-2007)
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2004)
Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Nominee (2006)
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Teen Pregnancy, Independence, Grief, Love, Family
Genre: Fiction
Annotation: Bobby is only sixteen but his girlfriend, Nia, is going to have a baby. When she becomes too ill to leave the hospital, Bobby chooses to raise the baby on his own. Can a sixteen year old boy do the job of a man?
Summary: Bobby's story is told in his own voice; the voice of a sixteen year old boy with a new baby living in urban New York. Johnson goes back and forth with chapters from "then" and "now". Readers slowly learn the story of Bobby finding out his girlfriend, Nia, is pregnant, wavering on the adoption choice, and finally Nia's lapse into a coma leaving Bobby with the newborn girl. Bobby's parents are strong and supportive, but insist that he do the real work of a father. Bobby constantly must make choices between his child, Feather, and his regular teen life.
Evaluation: I would label this a sweet book. Frightening things happen in The First Part Last, but Bobby is consistently a good person and loving father. While he does make some poor choices, I was left feeling hopeful for him and for Feather. A quick read.