The First Part Last (Michael L. Printz Award - Winner) - Hardcover

Angela Johnson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689849222 ISBN 13: 9780689849220

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003

Synopsis

This little thing with the perfect face and hands doing nothing but counting on me. And me wanting nothing else but to run crying into my own mom's room and have her do the whole thing.
It's not going to happen....
Bobby is your classic urban teenaged boy -- impulsive, eager, restless. On his sixteenth birthday he gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever. She's pregnant. Bobby's going to be a father. Suddenly things like school and house parties and hanging with friends no longer seem important as they're replaced by visits to Nia's obstetrician and a social worker who says that the only way for Nia and Bobby to lead a normal life is to put their baby up for adoption.
With powerful language and keen insight, Johnson looks at the male side of teen pregnancy as she delves into one young man's struggle to figure out what "the right thing" is and then to do it. No matter what the cost.

About this title

From the Publisher

Winner of the The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and the Coretta Scott King Award.

From the Inside Flap

Bobby is a typical urban New York City teenager--impulsive, eager, restless. For his sixteenth birthday he cuts school with his two best buddies, grabs a couple of slices at his favorite pizza joint, catches a flick at a nearby multiplex, and gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever: He's going to be a father. Suddenly things like school and house parties and fun times with friends are replaced by visits to Nia's pediatrician and countless social workers who all say that the only way for Nia and Bobby to lead a normal life is to put their baby up for adoption. Then tragedy strikes Nia, and Bobby finds himself in the role of single, teenage father. Because his child--their child--is all that remains of his lost love.

With powerful language and keen insight, Johnson tells the story of a young man's struggle to figure out what the "right thing" is and then to do it. The result is a gripping portrayal of single teenage parenthood from the point of view of a youth on the threshold of becoming a man.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0689849222
• ISBN 13: 9780689849220
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144