Push

Few debut novels are as assured and accomplished as Sapphire's Push. The story of a young, African-American girl's coming-of-age in the Harlem projects in the era of AIDS, it is a searing indictment of a society that would rather forget its poorest citizens. The book follows Precious, an obese teenager that is trying to navigate hope and a future between being a teenage mother against her will and abusive parents that are keen on destroying her. Despite the odds, Precious breaks free to make a life of her own within the system but without it's baggage, but unfortunately by then it's too late for her to correct the past she's left behind.