Push by Sapphire

Or "What Dorothy Said."

Dorothy reviewed this one way back at the beginning of YMR 2.0. I looked back at what she wrote before sitting down to do my own write up, and I couldn't agree more with what she said. Everything from "very quick read" to "disturbing" to "makes you realize what cushy lives so many of us lead" to "want to pick up something light and airy to read next" just gets an AMEN across the board.

I can't remember the last time I had such a hard time reading a book. I didn't see Precious and although I'd heard through the grapevine what a sad movie it was, I really didn't know what to expect. There were passages where it was difficult for me to even look at the words, the story was so visceral and graphic and devastating. The true elegance of Push, however, was that even in the midst of the sorrow and violence and pain, it was full of hope.

Although by no means an enjoyable read, Push is an important one. It is profoundly sad and disturbing and forces its readers to confront realities of the world and of the people in the world that we would rather pretend don't exist. It's an agonizing experience, but a worthwhile one.