Sapphire’s writing-her craft and technique-has leaped forward in breathtaking ways. Two things distinguish The Kid from Push. The Kid, published at the beginning of July 2011, is not a beach read, but it is a stunning achievement for Sapphire. The Kid answers the question “what happened to Abdul?” though the answers are not easy. Like them, I wanted to find out what happened to Abdul. Like my students, I was excited for Sapphire’s second novel. Yet, I return to Push for its characters and language, for the fierce and difficult world it creates, for its unrelenting and unforgiving focus on challenging subjects. I appreciate these critiques of Push and understand the jaundiced eye with which some approach it. I regularly ask myself, as some critics contend, is this poverty porn? My answers vacillate. I teach students from a variety of racial-ethnic backgrounds and from a variety of class backgrounds most of them, however, have not encountered severe poverty. I’m aware of the challenges of teaching Push I’m a white woman living in a comfortable home that I own. Push challenges us to think about what illiteracy means, particularly for African-Americans, and who has a stake in people being illiterate. Some of the best discussions have examined the ways that Precious is literate as well as the ways that she isn’t. More importantly, however, we discuss the important questions Push raises about literacy, poverty, and AIDS. Often we discuss the movie’s fidelity to the novel and where it diverges, thinking about how the two forms of artistic expression work differently. Students enjoy reading the novel and watching, on their own, the film, Precious directed by Lee Daniels, with its major stars. Sapphire’s first novel, Push, is a regular selection for my Introduction to Women’s Studies classes.

Precious book sequel