History Literature / TheKid

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Both in-universe, with the modern dance routines, and the difficult writing style used to tell the story.

* ButNotTooBlack: Subverted. While this was a source of angst for Precious, Abdul likes his dark skin tone.

* AngryBlackMan: Abdul, of course. Some of the younger boys from the orphanage will grow into this, as well. In some ways, this is TruthInTelevision, as Abdul is one example of the many "lost boys" who get absorbed into the foster system and ultimately forgotten.

* AnachronismStew: Precious' death and funeral take place in 1997. The first scene in the book mentions Google and [=BlackBerry=]. Google was registered as a domain in September, 1997 but didn't gain popularity as a search engine for several years, and [=BlackBerry=] was still in the pager stages at the time.
* AngryBlackMan: Abdul, of course. Some of the younger boys from the orphanage will grow into this, as well. In some ways, this is TruthInTelevision, as Abdul is one example of many "lost boys" who get absorbed into the foster system and ultimately forgotten.

* RaisedByGrandparents: Subverted. After they sort out the paperwork, Abdul is moved into Toosie's care. He only stays there a short time, however. Once she tells him about her DarkAndTroubledPast , he can't take it anymore and leaves. A straighter case with Precious' first baby, Mongo. However, it's never clear what happened to Mongo. It's possible, even likely that she died, but Toosie's an even more unreliable narrator than Abdul.
* RapeAsDrama: Or, almost as ButForMeItWasTuesday.

* BlamingTheVictim: Toosie, while speaking to Abdul, admits this attitude towards Precious, as she doesn't believe Carl could have impregnated her twice if she didn't want him in some way.

* TrueArtisIncomprehensible: Both in-universe, with the modern dance routines, and the difficult writing style used to tell the story.

* AnachronismStew: Precious' death and funeral take place in 1997. The first scene in the book mentions Google and BlackBerry. Google was registered as a domain in September, 1997 but didn't gain popularity as a search engine for several years, and BlackBerry was still in the pager stages at the time.

* RapeAsDrama: Or, almost as ButForMeItWasTuesday, which introduces some DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.

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* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother : Precious was only 17 when she had Abdul (and much younger when she gave birth to Mongo, her first ChildByRape). Mary was 16 or so when she gave birth to Precious, and her mother Toosie was only 10 when she had Mary.
* AnachronismStew : Precious' death and funeral take place in 1997. The first scene in the book mentions Google and BlackBerry. Google was registered as a domain in September, 1997 but didn't gain popularity as a search engine for several years, and BlackBerry was still in the pager stages at the time.
* AngryBlackMan : Abdul, of course. Some of the younger boys from the orphanage will grow into this, as well. In some ways, this is TruthInTelevision, as Abdul is one example of many "lost boys" who get absorbed into the foster system and ultimately forgotten.
* AngryDance : Both Abdul's expressing himself through dance and the underlying themes in My Lai's routine.
* ButNotTooBlack : Subverted. While this was a source of angst for Precious, Abdul likes his dark skin tone.
* ChildByRape : Abdul and Mary both.
* DancingIsSeriousBusiness : Abdul's study of dance seems to be the one thing that keeps him from spiraling into mental illness and addiction.
* DepartmentOfChildDisservices : They start by putting Abdul in a foster home where one of the other children beats him senseless. Then they lose his paperwork, so instead of being temporarily placed at the orphanage, he gets placed there semi-permanently. It gets worse from there.
* DepravedBisexual : Abdul comes across this way sometimes.
* DoorstopBaby : During the rehearsal sequence, we find out this is My Lai's back story. She was found on a church doorstop on Christmas Eve.
* MightyWhiteyAndMellowYellow : Subverted rather horribly with the character My Lai. Her adopted name is Noel, but she takes her stage name from the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre massacre]].

* OrphanageOfFear : Zig-zagged. While there is terrible abuse going on, Abdul also receives a decent education and encouragement in his classes.
* PedophilePriest : The brothers, particularly Brother John and Brother Samuel.
* RaisedByGrandparents : Subverted. After they sort out the paperwork, Abdul is moved into Toosie's care. He only stays there a short time, however. Once she tells him about her DarkAndTroubledPast , he can't take it anymore and leaves. A straighter case with Precious' first baby, Mongo. However, it's never clear what happened to Mongo. It's possible, even likely that she died, but Toosie's an even more unreliable narrator than Abdul.
* RapeAsDrama : Or, almost as ButForMeItWasTuesday, which introduces some DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.
* TimeSkip : From section to section. The first skip takes us from Abdul being nine to age thirteen. The second from thirteen to seventeen. The third could be two years or could be twenty-one days, as stated in the text.
* TrueArtisIncomprehensible : Both in-universe, with the modern dance routines, and the difficult writing style used to tell the story.

* WhereDaWhiteWomenAt : Subverted. Abdul, having grown up masturbating to Britney Spears and the white girls in porn, finds he doesn't really like it when he sleeps with a white woman.

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother : In this case, Abdul's ''great-grandmother'', Toosie. She was only ten years old when she gave birth to Mary, who was sixteen when she had Precious, who was barely seventeen when she gave birth to Abdul (her second ChildByRape). If the math here is correct, that makes Toosie fifty-six when Abdul comes to live with her.

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother : In this case, Abdul's ''great-grandmother'', Toosie. She was only ten years old when she gave birth to Mary, who was sixteen when she had Precious, who was barely seventeen when she gave birth to Abdul (her second ChildByRape). If the math [[TropersCannotDoMath here is correct]], that makes Toosie fifty-six when Abdul comes to live with her.

* AngryDance : Both Abdul's expressing himself through dance and the underlying themes in MyLai's routine.

* RapeAsDrama : Or, almost as ForMeItWasTuesday, which introduces some DarknessInducedApathy.

Tropes found (and frequently subverted) in the book include:

* StartsWithTheirFuneral : In this case, the funeral of Precious, the main character from ''Literature/{{Push}}'', making this not a sequel in the sense that it's a continuation of the same story, but a story about one character who was mentioned in the original novel. Precious, however, as a PosthumousCharacter, still has a minor role as a voice of love and reason to Abdul.

* AngryBlackMan : Abdul, of course. Some of the younger boys from the orphanage will grow into this, as well. In some ways, this is TruthInTelevision, as Abdul is one example of many "lost boys" who get absorbed into the foster system and ultimately forgotten.

''The Kid'' is a nominal sequel to ''Literature/{{Push}}'' by Sapphire. Published in 2011, the novel received mixed reviews from readers and critics alike. The story follows Precious Jones' young son, called Abdul by his mother (his name changes several times through the story), from the ages of nine through eighteen as he navigates Harlem's corrupt and nightmarish foster system.

Tropes found in the book include: