Read this now

I have decided that I need more hobbies and more social interaction with people who share common interests. Thus, I am joining/forming a book club. Our first pick: Push, the novel Precious is based upon.

Push takes the reader on a crazy emotional ride. You will feel like crying, feel indignation for the injustice Precious endures, you will experience her joys with her, and your heart will break for her.

Chick lit is all good and fine but I believe literature ought to have a purpose: to make the reader think and question. And that is what Push does. It is provocative. Working at a social service agency, I can't help but wonder how many Preciouses I encounter on a daily basis. I know that I can be a spoiled brat sometimes but, right now, after reading this novel, I feel grateful for even the shitty parts of my life.

I have yet to see the film. For anyone who hasn't yet seen it but is considering watching the movie, I suggest reading the novel first. This is powerful stuff. The descriptions in this book are so vivid and are sometimes so unimaginably terrible, I don't imagine that they would translate well on film.

Sometimes Push hits you over the head with its message. But nothing about the main character's life calls for subtlety. Push doesn't shy away from radicalism. Sapphire has a message and she wants to light a fire in her readers.

One person alone can't change the system. Maybe the system will never change. But working together, as a circle, as a community, we can effect real, meaningful change on a personal level.