This is the story of Clareece Precious Jones, a black, illiterate middle-school student molested by her mother, physically beaten and pregnant for the second time by her father. When she is sent to an alternative program for at risk girls she meets a lesbian teacher who teaches her to read and to love herself, and she leaves her abusive family to find a new family with her teacher and classmates. As she learns to read, her tolerance and understanding expand and Clareece-- once classified as mentally retarded-- makes huge gains intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. But, no happy ending for Clareece; she finds out she is HIV positive and the future for her is uncertain.
I loved this book. The language is authentic and flows easily—I can hear her voice! This is not a book to read; it needs to be spoken aloud. It is powerful. I really love contemporary issue books and I especially like the way the text changes with the literacy level of Clareece. It reminded me somewhat of Hesse’s Music of the Dolphins where the language and fonts change with that characters ability to use language. It is a powerful work, already popular with YA audiences; libraries cannot keep it on the shelf. Lots of sex and raw language.
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