Author: Angela Johnson
Illustrator: Jacket photograph by: John Healy
Genre: Youth Fiction
Subgenre: Realistic Fiction
Themes: teenage pregnancy, teenage fathers, relationship between a father and daughter, raising a child, city life, pregnancy disorders
Primary and Secondary Characters: Bobby, Feather, Nia, K-Boy, J.L., Frank, Mary, Mr. and Mrs. Wilkens, Paul and the neighbors
Awards: Coretta Scott King Award Winner 2004, Michael L. Printz Award 2004
Date of Publication: 2003
Publishing Company: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Summary:
Bobby is amazed that he can call himself a daddy. When Feather arrives, she changes everything, but for the better, or Bobby hopes. Bobby and his girlfriend Nia are shocked that they are pregnant, but agree that they are not ready to be parents at the age of 16. So, they decide to put the baby up for adoption once she's born, or at least that was the plan. However, things did not go according to plan as they never seem to do. Nia suffers Eclampsia (though you don't find out what really happens to her until the end of the book) and Bobby can't seem to give up his little girl that resembles so much of her mother. Knowing the task will be tough, Bobby struggles to balance friends, school and raising Feather. His parents are there for his support but believe in the "tough love" approach which Bobby knows that they are not going to do everything for him. But, his connection and relationship with Feather overpowers any hard times that Bobby faces, and realizes that he is the happiest when it's just them two. Bobby's brother Paul lives in Heaven, Ohio and encourages Bobby to make that a place for him to raise Feather. As Bobby realizes, Heaven, Ohio would actually be a better place to raise Feather instead of Brooklyn, NY. So, saying his final goodbyes to Nia (who is in a vegetative state at a hospital) and his family and friends, Bobby travels to Heaven, OH to raise Feather. Bobby hopes that this place is only a small piece of what heaven really is like.
How it will be used in the classroom:
This was such a powerful book and I think I read the book in about 2 hours because I was so wrapped up in it! I would love for students to read this book that are in high school to realize what the reality of having a child at 16 is really like. It's not a fairy tale with a happy ever after ending and I think it's great for students to notice that raising a child is not easy. I feel that students would really be able to connect with this book, as I am sure they know someone or have heard of someone their age living exactly what Bobby went through.
This was such a powerful book and I think I read the book in about 2 hours because I was so wrapped up in it! I would love for students to read this book that are in high school to realize what the reality of having a child at 16 is really like. It's not a fairy tale with a happy ever after ending and I think it's great for students to notice that raising a child is not easy. I feel that students would really be able to connect with this book, as I am sure they know someone or have heard of someone their age living exactly what Bobby went through.
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