The First Part Last

By: Angela Johnson

Summery By: Milady

Robinson1st Period4-25-11

Language Arts

Summary of the Book

The First Part Last is about a young teen boy that has to handle his girlfriend getting pregnant. He has to make s decision to keep his daughter, Feather, or give her up for adoption. He realizes that he has to mature weather he likes it or not so he can take care of his daughter.

Theme of the Book

Theme is the message that the reader gets from reading the book .The theme of The First Part Last would be that, every action has a reaction, and no matter what happens you have to take care of your responsibilities.

Characters in the Book Characters in the Book

1.) Bobby (main character)2.) Nia (Bobby’s Girlfriend)3.) Mary (Bobby’s Mother)4.) Fred (Bobby’s Farther)5.) J-Boy (Bobby’s Friend)

Setting

Setting is where the story takes place. The setting of The First Part Last is in New-York City, at Bobby’s house.

PlotPlot is the sequence of events in the story. The plot of The First Part Last would be:

1.) Bobby finding out that his girlfriend , Nia, is pregnant.2.) Bobby telling his parents that he is going to be a

farther.3.) Nia gives birth to her and Bobby,s daughter, Feather.4.) Bobby is forced to take care of his daughter, do to the

fact that Nia passed away.5.) Bobby has to decide if he wants to give his daughter

up for adoption, or keep her and take care of her.6.) Bobby decides to keep his daughter and take care of

her.7.) Bobby finally realizes that he has to grow up and take

care of his responsibilities and stop acting like a kid.

Climax

Climax is the most exciting part of the story. The climax of The First Part Last would be when Bobby’s girlfriend, Nia, tells him that she is pregnant.

Conflict

Conflict is the problem in the story. The conflict of The First Part Last would be that the protagonist, Bobby, figures out that his girlfriend, Nia, is pregnant with his first daughter. He makes the decision to take care of his daughter, Feather, do to the fact that he did not want to give her up for adoption.

Resolution

Resolution is the the solution to the problem in the story. The resolution to the problem in The First Part Last would be that while struggling to take care of his child and stay in school, he understands that he has to man-up, and take care of his responsibilities.

Style

Style is the way the author writes the story. There are two types of styles, Informal and Formal. The style of The First Part Last would be Informal , do to the fact that the story uses profanity, slang, and dose not use proper English.

Tone & Mood Tone is how the author felt while writing the

story. Mood is how the reader felt while reading the story. The tone of The First Part Last would be confidential and perplexed , do to the fact that the protagonist, Bobby, is very confident to taking care of his daughter, but as well as afraid to grow up and be a man. The mood of The First Part Last would be sorrowful, do to the fact that the protagonist, Bobby, is very afraid to mature.

Author’s Purpose For Writing the Story

All authors have a purpose for the story they wrote. They either want to inform,entertain, or persuade the reader that is reading their story. The author’s purpose for writing The First Part Last would be to inform teens about everyday struggle with teens that go through a teenage pregnancy, as well as to entertain teens with a realistic-fiction like story.

What I Learned

From reading this book, I learned that every teenage father is not a “dead-beat-dad.” I also learned that teenage pregnancy can happen to anyone even though they did not plan it. I also learned that books have informal or formal style.

Would I Recommend This Book??

Yes I would recommend this book to young women and young men, do to the fact that The First Part Last is an excellent book to read, as well as to understand the struggle of young teenage parents that actually wants to be a good parent to their child.

Facts About the AuthorThe name of the author of The First

Part Last would be Angela Johnson. She was born on June 18th, 1961. She began writing in 1989. Angela Johnson has won awards for both her picture books and for her novels. She has won the Correta Scott-King award for three works: in 1999, for Heaven,(which is the trilogy to The First Part Last), in 1994 for Toning the Sweep, and in 2004 for The First Part Last. When I Am Old With You was an Honor Book in 1990 as well as an American Library Associations. The Other Side, The Shorter Poems was also selected as a Coretta Scott King Honor book in 1998. Other honors include the "Best Books" pick by School Library Journal for Toning the Sweep and the Michael L. Printz Award[ for Excellence in Young Adult Literature for The First Part Last.

Other Books By Angela Johnson

Picture Books for Primary Grades (K-2):Tell Me a Story, Mama (1989), When I am Old With You (1990)-

(ALA Notable book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book) , Do Like Kyla (1990), One of Three (1991), The Leaving Morning (1992), Julius (1993), The Girl Who Wore Snakes (1993), Mama Bird, Baby Birds (1994), Joshua’s Night Whispers (1994), Rain Feet (1994), Joshua By The Sea (1995), Shoes Like Miss Alice (1995), The Aunt in Our House (1996), The Rolling Store (1997), Daddy Calls Me Man (1997), Those Building Men (1999), The Wedding (1999), Down the Winding Road (2000), I Dream of Trains (2003), A Sweet Smell of Roses (2004), Violet’s Music (2004), Just Like Josh Gibson (2004), Lily Brown's Paintings (2007)

Chapter Books For Intermediate Grades, 3-5: Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street (1999), When Mules Flew on

Magnolia Street (2001), Looking For Red (2002), Bird (2004)  Novels For Older Readers: Songs of Faith (1998), Heaven (1998), The Other Side, The

Shorter Poems (1998), Toning the Sweep (1993), Gone From Home: Short Takes (2001), Humming Whispers (1995), On The Fringe , Running Back to Ludie (2002), A Cool Moonlight (2003), The First Part Last (2003)

Agencies that Help Teens with Personal Issues

There are 3 agencies and what they do to help teens listed below.

1.) Teen Outreach Pregnancy (TOPS)-They are located in Arizona. This agency helps teens by educating them about parenting.

2.) American Pregnancy Hotline- They do not have a location listed. This is a hotline that pregnant teens call when they need to be informed about teen pregnancy.

3.) Wyman Outreach Center- Their mission is to help teens become successful and informing them about teen pregnancy and how it can ruin your life.