Editorial Review:
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An electrifying first novel that shocks by its language, its circumstances, and its brutal honesty, Push recounts a young black street-girl's horrendous and redemptive journey through a Harlem inferno. For Precious Jones, 16 and pregnant with her father's child, miraculous hope appears and the world begins to open up for her when a courageous, determined teacher bullies, cajoles, and inspires her to learn to read, to define her own feelings and set them down in a diary.
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Reader Reviews for Push:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: I expected more.
Comment: I saw this movie before I read the book. The books usually have more details than the movie which is why I bought the book. I know that Precious is learning to read and write, however, half of the book is filled with mispelled words and you have to try to figure out what she's trying to say. The book had nothing that the movie didn't. I couldn't even finish it. I got relly bored. Amazon also recommends the Darkest Child which is much better. It deserves 5 stars.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sadly realistic
Comment: There are critics of this book who dismiss the story as being too far-fetched and unrealistic.... Some critics have even written this character off as merely an expression of multiple sociological hypotheticals and insist that nobody can have that many dramatic and traumatic problems simultaneously. A long time ago I might have been inclined to forgive such skepticism given the hard to believe "shock factor" of it all. But then I met a teenage girl in the hospital in which I work who was actually living the life of Precious day in and day out. The poverty, the sadness, the abuse....caring for a child fathered by her own father. And then I realized maybe it's not so much that the critics cannot believe this story, but rather they don't want to believe it. The story holds a mirror to the collective face of our country, and shows us all the blemishes we don't want to see or think about.... The vicious cycles that constantly set the stage for so many tremendous misfortunes and injustices to befall so many young and powerless victims. It's nice to see this novel's fame continue to grow, and the fact that it struck a personal nerve with so many people will hopefully help silence some of its excessively sheltered/head in the sand critics. On a more literary note, the general themes echo many of those set forth in Morrison's The Bluest Eye, but the graphic imagery and emotion stand alone.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Really Precious.
Comment: I agree with the other reviewer that said this is a disturbing but great book. It is but it's so moving. Having seen the movie a while back, I was moved to read the book. Having just finished, I was compelled to write a review. This book will stay with you long after you finish reading, so I suggest keeping it near so you can re-read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great but disturbing book!
Comment: This is a great book, once you get past the spelling and wording. I understand it is written how Precious would speak since she is illiterate, but seriously I wanted to break out my red pen and highlight almost the whole book! That aside, it is a good story about a horrible situation. I kept wondering how a parent could do that to a child (but then again, I wondered that through the whole movie). I appreciated the mixed feelings Precious had about her sexual abuse. She goes through the emotions other women have, their body reacting to the act, even if the act is forced, then later feeling like they deserved it or they wanted it. I found it to be very gripping, and also very real and sad to the point of heart-wrenching. This is definitely not a light and breezy read, and you should probably not read if you are easily offended or grossed out.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of a Kind
Comment: Even though abuse and hardship are a major theme in this book, it is ultimately inspirational. Precious has every reason to give up in life, but instead she moves forward and keeps trying to succeed. It was really uplifting to see that even after everything life has thrown at her, she still believes knows she deserves better and can achieve better.
One thing I didn't like about this book was that besides Precious, I didn't really feel like I knew most of the other characters that well. They were there, and even though the details were there, it felt like something was missing. And after finishing the book, a lot of them aren't very memorable.
Also, I will warn that this book is not for children, younger teens or anyone who is sensitive to graphic material. This book is filled with extremely descriptive abuse that is more than a little off-putting. Overall, astounding story, yes, but the book left something to be desired.
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