The First Part Last | Angela Johnson | haunting and beautiful

The First Part Last | Angela Johnson | The first part last review

books:

The First Part Last

	The First Part Last Angela Johnson Simon Pulse, 2004 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 83 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

haunting and beautiful

This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. The first chapter draws you in immediately, and you can't stop reading until it is over. Bobby explains it all in the opening pages. "...But I already know there's change. But I figure if the world was really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They'd be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end." It's haunting in its honesty. It's beautiful in it's brevity. I knew I had something special when I picked the book up, and I was not disappointed. It's simple. And it's oustanding.
The one scene that left such an impact on me was the one where Bobby, KBoy and JL go to visit Nia in the hospital. I love the way Johnson writes about the simple moment.
"I tell her, I saw your mom today. KBoy told her jokes the she probably didn't hear, and JL played her his new CD and danced around her bed till one of the nurses came in and gave him a nasty look."
That and one other chapter were the most impactful. The final chapter, where Bobby tells he "won't talk about the goodbyes" made me weep.
Angela Johnson amazed me in only 132 pages. As I flew through them, I didn't even feel as I was reading them. It was worth every moment spent reading it.

for more information click here

The first part last review

The First part Last, is a book about a 16 year old boy becoming a parent. The author Angela Johnson does a very unique way of telling the story. She tells the story from two points, Now and Then. And the book starts out when The 16 year old boy, Bobby is starting to raise his own kid.
This book is mainly about how Bobby becomes a father and raises his little girl Feather while living in his moms house and still managing to go to school. There are a few rough times while getting started but he ends up living on his own.
This book is more of a romantic type, Bobby starts out in a relationship with his girlfriend who he loves. But on his birthday she has a big surprise for him that will change the rest of his life. "I never had any cake though 'cause my girlfriend Nia was wating on our stoop for me with a red balloon. Just sitting there with a red balloon looking all lost. I'll never forget that look and how her voice shook when she said, 'Bobby, I've got something to tell you.' " Along the way Nia ends up in the hospital and goes into a coma, she has brain death and eclamsia, she will never walk talk or smile again. "And I have to say irreversible vegetative coma five times, like a tongue twister, to believe it." Bobby had taken it hard, this whole thing came out of nowhere. The baby is delivered through sesection and Bobby decides to keep the baby and names it feather. Now the rest of the story you don't here much about Nia, until he decides to move with his dad after getting into some trouble and goes and visits Nia at the hospital, At the end he ends up moving to Ohio where his brother lives, and he calls this place Heaven.
I like the way the author tells this story. It might seem like its going to be confusing when the other is switching from now to then, but its quite easy to catch on to and you really get to understand the whole meaning of the story. When you read this book the author seems to be reading it in a quiet and calm voice, it isn't the type of book that will make you jump out of your seat it's a very touching book.

for more information click here

Audio Version of Bobbie's Ambivalent Feelings about Teenage Fatherhood

I "read" the audio version of this book and wondered about Mia, the teenage mother throughout most of the book. I would recommend it to any teenager, particularly males, from Grade 8 and up.

With one exception, this story is told and performed exclusively by Khalipa Oldjohn. He gives an excellent performance of Bobbie - a 16 year old lower middle class boy, who is trying to raise his newborn daughter, Feather, virtually by himself. At the same time, Bobbie's continuing to attend school and trying to find some time for his friends in his sleep-deprived life.

I had only one issue with Oldjohn's performance. His acting didn't match the image of Bobbie suggested by the cover art. Oldjohn's voice, tone, and performance was well done. But, he sounded younger, more naive and innocent than the young man in the cover picture. It sounds silly, but I found this distracting and wished they had used changed the cover art. It is also the only reason I gave it four stars, rather than five. If I could, I would have given it a four and three/quarters.

Otherwise, it is a great, realistic, and vivid performance of the book. I particularly like the one scene where Mia finally "speaks." The actress protraying her was just as I imagined and it was probably my favorite scene and performance.
Particularly helpful were the transitional announcements at the beginning of the scenes (chapters): "Now" - indicating that the scene took place in the present; and "Then" - flashbacks to Bobbie's his previous life, including the pregnancy and birth of Feather.

Initially, Bobby's ambivalence about his newfound fatherhood and the related struggles and benefits don't seem very unexpected. The exception was that it is the teenager father, not the upper class mother Mia, who is raising the child. Is this just a predictable tale of how one simple judgment error changed a teen's entire life?

No!!! What makes this teenage pregnancy tale so unique and rewarding is the mystery surrounding the teenage mother that is finally revealed toward the end. When the mystery about the teenage mother is finally revealed in the en - ambiguity/mystery until the end. Only then, does everything make sense.

for more information click here

Amazing Story

The book The First Part Last by Angela Johnson is a story about a teenage boy and his life as a father. In his sixeenth birhtday his girlfriend gives him some new that changes his life forever. The story flips back and forth from present time to the past so you can predict at times why certain things are the way they are. his story seems very realistic compard to what many teenage fathers go through. In the story he finds it hard to balance his school work and taking care of the baby, especially since his parents do not heop much. Finally he ends up breaking down and gets in trouble for it as well. This book shows the struggles of teen pregnancy and what many teen fathers and mothers go through. If you enjoy this book you would probably enjoy the book Hanging on To Max as well.

for more information click here

The First Part Last

The First Part Last is a riveting fiction story about a young sixteen year old whose life changes when his girlfriend tells him she is pregnant. Through a lot of long nights, he is left raising his adored baby girl on his own. Luckily, he has the support of his family and friends. The author, Angela Johnson, makes you feel as though you are experiencing the events first hand. Readers will be recommending this story to all their friends.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

products you might be interested in