Summary

Push by Sapphire opens with a statement by the 16-year-old narrator and main character, Claireece Precious Jones. She announces that she is pregnant with her second baby, that her first baby had Down’s Syndrome and that her own father is the father of both her children.

She moves on to talk about her difficulties in the school system. She is unable to read, and she has been held back in school several times because of the various issues in her life.

The actual plot begins when Precious is called to the Principal’s office. The Principal, Mrs Lichenstein, tells Precious that she will be suspended because of her pregnancy. Precious is angered by this, and she yells at Mrs Lichenstein before running away.

We learn that Precious still lives with her mother in a poor section of Harlem, in Manhattan. In the evening Mrs Lichenstein comes to their home. They do not let her come in, but through the entry phone Mrs Lichenstein apologizes to Precious and tells her about an alternative school that she believes might suit her. Precious sends her away, but is privately excited about the thought of the new school.

In between these scenes, we see flashbacks that describe the traumatic birth of Precious’ first child, as well as the ways both her father an...