Push by Sapphire (1997, Paperback, Reprint)

I read this book not too long ago and it was amazing. The story is just well written and it actually gets you engaged into it easily. You will find yourself reading this book until its finished without stopping. I had never heard of Sapphire before, but I think that this book does well for her. I think that if you have not read this book yet, you should definitely get yourself a copy.

Now, to the more technical aspect of the book. It is about a teenage girl named Precious who lives with her mom in the ghetto, and who has a child with down syndrome which is hers and her dads because he raped her. Don't worry, I won't spoil anything, this is written at the back of the book. I will not include any spoilers. The entire book is about Precious' life in the ghetto, and how she tries to live a normal life, including trying to go to school and improve her studies because she is illiterate. What you will see is how a teenager has to struggle through an important period through her life without her parents, little friends, no money, and an uncertain future ahead of her.

This book is definitely worth the pickup. The only reason I gave this book a 4 out of 5 is because it is difficult to read at times. Buyers beware that this book is written in the first narrative form of the girl Precious, so it is like a diary. However, this is not the only reason for my rating. I found the novel was a little short and I wanted more out of it because it was so good. I felt that it could have been elongated and more could have been found out, but I am sure it was written like this for a reason. Good job for the written work for the author and enjoy reading this book!

This is disturbing story about a young girl coming of age in a family where incest & abuse are a regular occurance of everyday life. Hard to read sometimes, graphic language, but a story that needs to be told. It is a story of shame, hope, & eventually redemption, that makes the reader long for a sequel to see how Precious fares in her new life. Overall I would recommend this book, but for adults only.

The book is awesome and because it is told in the first person narrative it speaks directly to you and your heart. You hear in her own voice how she is trying to dig herself out of a man-made hell and the uncompromised determination that has to see the job done. The character that Sapphire created in this novel is relentless, tireless, unyeilding, persistent and ruthless in her quest to find self-love, life accomplishments and self worth despite EVERY obstacle in her way. When you walk away from this work, you start asking yourself real life questions and wondering have you done all you REALLY can do to be the best success you want to be. This is a must-read for young and old adults that will invoke self-evaluation.

This book "push" is an outstanding book based on the life of an abused young women living in Harlem. She learns to read and write with the aid of an alternative school. Precious copes with the constant abuse and rape by her mother and father. she gives birth to her second child by her father. Precious fantasizes about becoming more then what she is, and to escape her abusive life. This is a fantastic read,but not for the highly emotional crowd.

This book was a very rough read. The story itself was as expected. The character's story was very difficult to read as it was written in her voice. The author used extreme language that helped flesh out Precious, but was just gross. The book was difficult to follow as paragraphs flip-flopped back and forth without clear transitions. The story was hard to read as there were mispellings all over the place (but was character appropriate and a clear reflection of Precious' confusion, ignorance, and anger). For the small amount of pages, this was a very slow read. I had to pick through the paragraphs in order to follow.

At times my stomach turned while reading this book. If you are not into reading about detailed child abuse, racism, or simple foulness, this book is not for you.

This story left me unsatisfied and I have no clue what I will do with it now. I wouldn't recommend this book.