Bobby’s a classic urban teenager. He’s restless. He’s impulsive. But the thing that makes him different is this: He’s going to be a father. His girlfriend, Nia, is pregnant, and their lives are about to change forever. Instead of spending time with friends, they’ll be spending time with doctors, and next, diapers.
They have options: keeping the baby, adoption. They want to do the right thing. If only it was clear what the right thing was.
For the seventh book I am reading from Molly Horan’s list of 15 Young Adult Books Every Adult Should Read, I choose to read The First Part Last.
Many of you are not aware of my background and I feel like I should mention it as it effects the way I will review this book. For the last couple of years I have been in school for and now am a practicing health educator. So when I saw this book my first thought is ok this is aimed at teens to show the more realistic side of teen pregnancy. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was on some required reading lists. If it’s not, it will be in my health classes in the future. Having said that I read this book as a health educator, looking for content that might help teens understand the true consequences of having a child.
With that in mind I thought the book was good. The format was slightly confusing as it jumps from past to present a lot but it wasn’t too bad to follow. The book was also short, another good thing if you are trying to get a teen to read it. I liked that it showed a teen dad with the responsibility of raising a child. I feel like this is not portrayed enough in media outlets. I also enjoyed that Bobby’s journey was really hard. And the book doesn’t sugarcoat it. Fatherhood is hard. And the author, Angela Johnson, really shows the struggles he goes through, with wanting to hang out with friends but not being able to, and the sleepless nights, and the selflessness you need to have when raising a child. I thought the way all of the teens acted and reacted were dead on. It’s like Angela Johnson was writing from her own experience.
I wish that Angela Johnson would have gone deeper into the Nia’s (the baby momma) thoughts and actions. For me she was just a mystery, or a background person. But it is important to teach kids about both sides of teen pregnancy. Also her illness was not really explained and could be confusing to teens. If they had never heard of preeclampsia then for them it is a mystery ailment that they don’t have to worry about. The health teacher in me would want that explained (However, it could be worked into a lesson plan involving the book and looking up preeclampsia and prenatal diabetes, ect). Either way I think it is a particularly good book for teens to read. For adults, eh, I don’t really know how much they would get out of it.
3.5 Bards
Moving! 