Contemporary Realistic Fiction_Johnson

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781442403437.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
On his sixteenth birthday, Bobby skips school to celebrate it with his friends. Later that day, he learns from his girlfriend that she is pregnant. The pregnancy alters their lives. Their decisions are no longer about where to hang out, but about doctor appointments and adoption. Bobby’s boyhood antics are traded in for the responsibilities that define a man.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Johnson has developed a prime example of contemporary realistic fiction indicative of teenage pregnancy issues. Through brief chapters entitled “then” and “now,” readers become familiar with Bobby, his family’s dynamics, his girlfriend—Nia, his two closest friends, and his daughter Feather. The language, thoughts, and behaviors elicited by the characters make the story plausible. Confronting their parents with the truth gives you the sense of the parents’ disappointment and Bobby’s regret. In anticipation of his parents response, Bobby plays out the following in his mind, “How did this happen? Where was my head? Where was my sense? What the hell were we going to do?” (13).

The “then” chapters seize moments of Bobby’s youth when it was simple, free of fatherhood, or in his new supportive-boyfriend role. These chapters depict his desire to be carefree and his conscience to do the right thing. “Hell, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Nothing ever is, anymore,” remarked Bobby after an argument with his girlfriend erupts in the obstetrician’s office (27).

The “now” chapters illuminate his inner struggles with his role as a father and the level of maturity that it is going to take to raise his daughter. Johnson does not stop short of illustrating the realities that come with teenage parenting; the “rules” exemplify one aspect. “If she hollers, she is mine. If she needs to be changed, she is always mine. In the dictionary next to “sitter,” there is not a picture of Grandma. It’s time to grow up. Too late, you’re out of time. Be a grown-up” grieved, Bobby during the middle of a night he wakes to tend to Feather
(14).

Johnson’s unique style is evident in the informal dialogue exchanged between the teenagers. Irritated by his friends’ laughter after he confides in them Nia’s pregnancy, Bobby yells, “What the hell is so funny?” K-Boy stops laughing, but J.L. replies, “Hey, Bro, I was just going to make a call for you to 1-800-ISTUPID” (37). Though crass, you witness Johnson’s straightforward, no-nonsense approach style via J.L.’s upfront statement. Readers will find Johnson, her characters, and the conflicts believable.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Winner of the 2004 Coretta Scott King Award (Writing Category)
Winner of the 2004 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Brief, poetic, and absolutely riveting.”
Starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “The author skillfully relates the hope in the midst of pain.”
Starred review in BOOKLIST: “Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short, spare sentences that teens will read again and again.”
Review in CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: “[The First Part Last] teach[es] about life, growth, and maturity.”
Review in KLIATT: “Johnson has a way of getting to her readers’ emotions with few words, creating characters we really care about. Her young people are thoughtful, conscientious, and loving—certainly with failings, but trying to do better.”
Review in KIRKUS REVIEWS: “A story that is always complex, never preachy.”
Review in U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT: “Johnson has carved a niche writing realistically about young people’s issues.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Read the following two books by Angela Johnson to complete the Heaven trilogy:
• Heaven. 1998. ISBN 9781442403420. (Coretta Scott King Award)
• Sweet, Hereafter. 2010. ISBN 9780689873850. (The final book in the Heaven Trilogy)

*If you are open to reading and discussing the teenage issues of guilt and grief checkout the following:
• Johnson, Angela. LOOKING FOR RED. 2003. ISBN 978-0689863882.