The First Part Last

 
Image courtesy of Library Thing

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003. Print.

Awards:

Coretta Scott King Award, 2004

Michael L. Printz Award, 2004

Annotation: When 16 year old Bobby is suddenly thrust into the role of father, he must face the challenges that come along with raising his daughter Feather and himself simultaneously.

Book Talk:

“I used to laugh at this old dude, “Just Frank” from the corner, used to ask me if I was being a “man…” I laughed ‘cause I didn’t consider him much of one, a man, hanging; on the corner, drinking forties at ten in the morning. He was joke. Always has been.

Two day after I bought Feather home, Just Frank got killed trying to save a girl in the neighborhood from being dragged unto an alley by some nut job…I went to the funeral at Zion AME, then walked home and held Feather for the rest of the night, wondering if I would be a man, a good man.”

The First Part Last, is the story of just that, where 16 year old Bobby faces tests that will ultimately determine if he is a man or not. Faced with the unimaginable challenge of raising his infant daughter Feather, while still struggling with normal teenaged pressures; Bobby is about to find out what he is made of. If you have wondered if you have what it takes to be a good man or  woman, then join Bobby on his journey in The First Part Last.