The Kid

By: Sapphire

Narrated by: Sapphire

Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Fifteen years after the publication of Push, one year after the Academy Award-winning film adaptation, Sapphire gives voice to Precious's son, Abdul.

In The Kid, best-selling author Sapphire tells the electrifying story of Abdul Jones, the son of Push's unforgettable heroine, Precious. A story of body and spirit, rooted in the hungers of flesh and of the soul, The Kid brings us deep into the interior life of Abdul Jones. We meet him at age nine, on the day of his mother's funeral. Left alone to navigate a world in which love and hate sometimes hideously masquerade, forced to confront unspeakable violence, his history, and the dark corners of his own heart, Abdul claws his way toward adulthood and toward an identity he can stand behind.

In a generational story that moves with the speed of thought from a Mississippi dirt farm to Harlem in its heyday; from a troubled Catholic orphanage to downtown artist's lofts, The Kid tells of a 21st-century young man's fight to find a way toward the future. A testament to the ferocity of the human spirit and the deep nourishing power of love and of art, The Kid chronicles a young man about to take flight. In the intimate, terrifying, and deeply alive story of Abdul's journey, we are witness to an artist's birth by fire.

©2011 Sapphire (P)2011 Penguin

Waste of a credit

Wish I would have read the reviews this book was not good the storyline was ok but it was very hard to follow at times and the narrator was horrible I definitely would NOT recommend this book to anyone

Waste of a Credit

I only finished this book because I started it. It’s not something I would recommend. I enjoyed Push a great deal, and I had high hopes that this sequel would keep in stride. I was greatly disappointed. Sapphire’s narration was less than stellar at best. The story was just ok, and sometimes very difficult to follow. Some parts seem to have been written for the sole purpose of shocking the reader.

this book is very disturbing

I had to keep turning it off Is way worse then push it made me cry.

Stressed listener

I’m glad I already read this book years ago on paper because I have no idea how anyone can finish the audiobook. This is my only regret credit. The book is disturbing yes. It’s one you’re okay with forgetting yes. It’s one that’s hard to read because it’s vulgar but not hard knowing someone out there’s story is being told.

The problem is sapphire. There’s no way she wrote this book with punctuation because she does not know how to read any of it. I wanted to stab myself in the ears listening to this and I’ve only made it 30 min in in the past year.

Enjoyed it

Its something you would have to listen to your self. This book can go either way. Its just as blunt as "push"......Indescribable

The Kid

I enjoyed this book (it be nice to b a movie)
the beginning was very heartwarming n sad
I love how he was hearing his mom voice ...which meant she was always with him
this is my second time around - the first time a few years back n now
this book has a lot of up n down n crazy omg times
but to me a so so good read
I enjoy watching him grow up lost (it was like never ending dream) in a whole he truly didn't understand n they really didn't understand him This Was His Life ~ His So Called Life

Sapphire you know you were wrong

So I read the other reviews and I figured it could not be so bad. Well it is. Not
so much the story but her performance sucks. She needs not to ever ever ever ever
( in my Smoky voice) ever ever ever read her own books. Please Sapphire stick to just writing. There was times i was so confused about who was speaking. Her voice sounded the same for multiple characters that were talking to each other. Then couldn’t
tell when he was dreaming or if he was in real life at times. I wish I rather just read the book instead of listening. What happened with Mongo? This could have been a good book
but the storylines at times was confusing and not really developed and went no where.

Convoluted

Before listening I read the reviews and thought maybe the low rating was based off of the morbid content. After listening, I’m not sure how to sum up how I feel about this book because it really was that bad. For one, the author has a terrible voice for narration and probably should have gotten someone else for the job. She read paragraphs as if they contained no punctuation and never attempted to change her voice between characters so often, it became difficult to figure out which character was speaking. In some passages throughout the book, the author starts to read as if she’s reciting slam poetry and it got kind of annoying.

I feel like this could have been a very good story. Especially because I did wonder what the backstory was behind Precious’s mother. So much of the book was Abdul’s inner monologue and it took away from the flow and trajectory of the plot. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy listening to this book.

Usually I love Sapphire’s work, but this is a no

Sapphire is generally a good writer. A good narrator, not so much. Some parts of the story she sounds exhausted from reading, other parts full of energy (like when she does animal sounds towards the latter of the book). It’s hard to tell who is speaking because there generally isn’t much change in voice inflection or tone. And it’s difficult to imagine the character as a 6 foot tall 13 year old when his voice is spoken by a woman and sometimes given a high whiny pitch.

I have no idea what’s actually happening and what’s not, characters are introduced, given a story then completely vanish. There’s no redemption, and as much as I tried to like and sympathize and empathize with the main character, it just wasn’t happening.

I didn’t believe the reviews that said not to bother with this book, but I figured this is by Sapphire, it can’t be that bad..... it is that bad.

This Book Made My Ears Bleed

What disappointed you about The Kid?

In a word, horrible This book was poorly written. I had trouble trying to figure out what was fantasy and reality for Abdul. Further, Sapphire couldn't settle on a voice for him. One momenr Abdul is speaking like a pre-teen and the next next like an adult....it confused the hell outta me. In trying to develop the character she kept repeating the same things and spent too much time trying to express what he was thinking. Many times these thoughts did nothing for the story. In truth the book could've been a few hours shorter

Would you recommend The Kid to your friends? Why or why not?

Only if the listener want to know the backstory for Precious' mother and grandmother.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The author read the book and did an ok job.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Dissapont,ent