The First Part Last
A Review
The First Part Last is an excellent example of realistic fiction. It tells the story of a sixteen year old boy all on his own struggling, but persevering and raising his baby girl. The author creates relatable characters that people can really get to know as the story continues. This story stars with Bobby's girlfriend telling him, unfortunately on his sixteenth birthday, that he is going to become a father. The chapters in this story alternate between then and now, and shares the birth of his baby daughter, Feather.
The chapters recounting then cover Bobby's life throughout Nia's Pregnancy. They tell the story of a cool teenager hanging out with his friends in Newyork City doing normal things, but also trying to deal with the reality of his situation. Bobby's parents and Nia's are told the news, and Bobby is with Nia throughout her whole pregnancy, going to her doctors appointments, and talking to a social worker, who suggests placing the baby up for adoption.
The “now” chapters deal with the stark reality of being the primary caregiver of an infant, and the then chapters mention Nia's high blood pressure, and in the chapters covering now Nia is no longer there. It isn't until nearly the end of the book that the reader finds out that Nia suffered eclampsia, and I placed in a unavoidable vegetative coma.
I came to admire Bobby even though he clearly is clearly not a perfect human being. He is arrested for spay painting a wall (vandalism), and i arrested the day after. He constantly struggles to stay awake in school, and the descriptions of his daughter Feather, are beautiful and touching, and helps the novel stray away from being a "I did this, and this is exactly why you shouldn't do this" story book.
This novel ends with Bobby moving from New York, a place that he loves dearly. But he moves to a small town with his brother, in order to provide a better life for Feather. Thought the struggle clearly isn't over, the ending of the book, gives the reader hope that Bobby's future is bright and Feather's is even brighter thanks to her loving father.
I read this whole book without putting it down, except for a bathroom break. The book is only 130 pages, so that isn't very impressive, but I don’t think I’ve read a book in such a little amount of time since The Maze Runner came out. I'm sorry this was such a short review. I don’t have much to say other than “This may book may be little but I packs a punch, and IS GOOD!”
This book is especially important, because it is based on a teen father. In this day and age the teen mothers get all the buzz. But there are also fathers who are also raising children alone. They also deserve to have their stories told.
“If the world were 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...” (pg. 4)
This quote shows how Bobby has changed so much from his experience.
"Everything is different if there ain't no love" (10)
This quote shows how much Bobby loves Feather and how he knows his love is the best thing for her.
Carefree
I think this picture accurately represents how carefree Bobby and Nia were before everything happened
Feather
I think this picture shows how much Bobby loves Feather.
Bobby
I think this picture shows how Bobby was just a normal teenage boy
This video shows the story line of the first part last, and grabs your attention.