"An inspired and inspiring debut, a The Color Purple for the nineties" (Vogue)"Sapphire's vibrant, unindulgent first novel has you cheering the awesome Precious on until the last page: her voice is true and the book is cool" (Mail on Sunday)"A harrowing but ultimately uplifting book which stays in the mind long after the final page" (Daily Telegraph)"A powerful cri de coeur, part wishful prayer, part manifesto, mingling poetry and humour...her novel, while heavily weighted with adversity, is buoyant, cresting wave after voluble wave of splendid, turbulent, bracing language...its voice demands attention, perseverance and concentration, then its music takes you over, its story grips, its current and undercurrents mesmerise, depress and then uplift... A voice to remember" (Scotland on Sunday)"Harrowing yet hilarious...packs a powerful punch... The powerful writing makes the book a cracking read... A tour de force" (Guardian)

This is the story of Precious Jones, a sixteen-year-old illiterate black girl who has never been out of Harlem. She is pregnant by her own father for the second time, and kicked out of school when that pregnancy becomes obvious. Placed in an alternative teaching programme, she learns to read and write. This is Precious's diary, in which she honestly records her relationships and life.