The love that Bobby has for his daughter Feather is apparent by the second page of the first part last. "I lay here on my stomach and breathed her in. My daughter is eleven days old. And when Feather opens her eyes and looks up at me, I already know there's a change."
Bobby is a typical teenager with a girlfriend that he loves and friends who he does practical jokes with and a mother who is, well, a mother. Then, unexpectedly, on his sixteenth birthday his life changes completely when his girlfriend announces that she is pregnant. Though the couple originally decides to give the baby up for adoption, Bobby ends up keeping his daughter and naming her Feather. His days of goofing off and being a teenager come to an abrupt end and are replaced by nightly feedings and doctor’s appointments.
Though Bobby does not realize it immediately, his mom helps him by making him do everything on his own. Bobby has to find a daycare for Feather and is responsible for getting her to and from there while still getting to school on time and staying awake in his classes. However, even through the stress and pressure, Bobby recognized the joy of his daughter, “…I always kiss her, my baby, and look into her clear eyes that know everything about me, and want me to be her daddy anyway” (page 81).
Told in a “Now and Then” format, Angela Johnson weaves a beautiful story about the unconditional love between a teenage father and his baby. Johnson presents the story in glimpses of what is going on “now,” being the time since Feather has been born, and “then,” the time between Bobby finding out about the baby and the birth. By writing in this style, the reader is able to see the changes in Bobby throughout the story instead of waiting until the end. The book can also be read chronologically by reading all the “then” sections first followed by all the “now” sections.
The first part last is an honest, real story about the trials and tribulations of being a single teenage parent with the additional bonus of being told from the father’s perspective. “Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short, spare sentences that teens will read again and again. The great cover photo shows the strong African American teen holding his tiny baby in his arms” (Booklist review).
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