Precious Ugly by Rae Cline has received praise from authors, critics, literary publications, and readers. Explore reviews, literary recognition, author endorsements, and reader responses to Cline’s debut novel.
Featured Praise & Recognition
“Precious Ugly may be the year’s most powerful debut.”
— Largehearted Boy, Book Notes
“Clementine is a fantastic central character, Cline’s imagery gives the novel a distinct identity…Full Shelf.”
— Justin D. Williams, Imaginative Visions
“A tale rooted in its era and a timeless examination of poverty, addiction, and the everyday marvels of tenacity and resourcefulness.”
— Deborah Goodrich Royce, bestselling author of Best Boy, Providence Monthly, “Top 9 Summer TBR”
Featured in 2026 Books by PEN America Members
— Pen America, 2026 Summer Reading Challenge
“Book Trailer of the day.”
— Shelf Awareness
“A tale rooted in its era and a timeless examination of poverty, addiction, and the everyday marvels of tenacity and resourcefulness.”
— Deborah Goodrich Royce, bestselling author of Best Boy,
Providence Monthly, “Top 9 Summer TBR”
“Clementine is a fantastic central character, Cline’s imagery gives the novel a distinct identity…Full Shelf.”
— Justin D. Williams, Imaginative Visions
“Cline works with a vivid, meticulous prose style to depict a story that needs to be told. A bold and courageous work of fiction that book clubs and readers of all kinds will adore.”
— Matt Bondurant, bestselling author of North Country,
Oleander City, The Night Swimmer, and Lawless
“Readers will fall in love with Clementine as she resourcefully rises from the world of adult hurt thrown at her. This is a vital story, remarkably told.”
— Sara Lippmann, author of Hidden River
“Gorgeous, brutal, and moving, Precious Ugly is a powerful testament to human resilience.”
— Jordan Ritter Conn, author of American Men
and The Road From Raqqa
“Relentless, the writing is a beautiful and precise knife. It carves out a nuanced story that tenderly but honestly shows the reader that overcoming the serial patterns of abandonment that we call relationships is only possible by building our escapes in secret every day.”
— Jessica Lanay, author of am•phib•ian
“Rae Cline’s debut novel, Precious Ugly, does the unexpected. It’s a story about humanity: love, hardship, survival. The reader becomes one with Clementine; Cline brings empathy to the page in so many unique and compelling ways. A must-read. Phenomenal. A masterpiece.”
— Kim Chinquee, author of Contact with the Wild
“Cline’s novel is brave and unflinching, and not to be missed.”
— Vallie Lynn Watson, author of A River So Long
“Brilliant, heartbreaking, and utterly original.”
— Julie Innis, author of Three Squares a Day with Occasional Torture
“Stand back and get out of Clem’s way.”
— Richard Peabody, editor/publisher, Gargoyle Magazine
Author Praise
“Rae Cline’s short stories have been an exciting slow burn, building up to her debut novel, the masterpiece Precious Ugly. A coming of age story like no other, Cline’s sharp prose is daring and lush and makes us question everything we believe in. The rich river setting, the backdrop for this tale of endurance, is the perfect reminder that even though the landscape appears unchanging, it is human nature to always be moving. Cline’s novel is brave and unflinching, and not to be missed.”
— Vallie Lynn Watson, author of A River So Long
“Brilliant, heartbreaking, and utterly original, Rae Cline’s Precious Ugly is a fearless evocation of faith, family, and the power of self-determination set against the failed promise of Reagan’s America. Cline writes with astonishing clarity about belief—how it binds, how it blinds, and how it can be broken, all seen through the eyes of Clementine, a girl growing up in the shadow of prophecy and spectacle, and whose hard-won vision of the world feels like its own kind of miracle.”
— Julie Innis, author of Three Squares a Day with Occasional Torture
“Rae Cline is a gutsy writer to be reckoned with. Her debut novel deep dives into Reagan-era Appalachia, besotted with floods, frauds, faith healers, liars, snakes, zombie flicks, John Brown, Billie Holiday, and one pregnant 13-year-old force of nature named Clementine. If David Lynch directed a collaborative script by Dorothy Allison and Eudora Welty, with a pinch of Harry Crews and a dash of Lidia Yuknavitch, you’d be living here. There are myriad miracles and surprises galore. One chapter even tips a hat to Faulkner’s The Reivers. Stand back and get out of Clem’s way.”
— Richard Peabody, editor/publisher, Gargoyle Magazine
“Rae Cline has written a vivid, harrowing account of a young girl struggling to find meaning in difficult circumstances. Clementine is thirteen, pregnant, and looking for a miracle. Her father claims to know that a miracle is coming. But what they get is something else altogether. Or is it? Cline works with a lyrical, meticulous prose style to depict a story that needs to be told. A bold and courageous work of fiction that book clubs and readers of all kinds will adore.”
— Matt Bondurant, bestselling author of North Country,
Oleander City, The Night Swimmer, and Lawless
“This is a novel that treads closely to a daunting reality, that protection and safety are not guaranteed by the systems we rely upon, in this instance the nuclear, patriarchal family. In fact, Precious Ugly expresses the commonness with which these systems make us available for maximum damage, especially for women and girls. Relentless, the writing is a beautiful and precise knife. It carves out a nuanced story that tenderly but honestly shows the reader that overcoming the serial patterns of abandonment that we call relationships is only possible by building our escapes in secret every day, by imagining—despite what reality trains us to expect—an elsewhere of more.”
— Jessica Lanay, author of am•phib•ian
“Gorgeous, brutal, and moving, Precious Ugly is a powerful testament to human resilience. I could not stop rooting for Clementine, or marveling at her toughness, her tenacity, and her capacity for finding hope and meaning even amid suffering. This is a character, and a story, that will stick with me for a long time.”
— Jordan Ritter Conn, author of American Men
and The Road From Raqqa
“’What if you can’t breathe underwater?’ asks Clementine, the iconic 13-year-old heroine of Rae Cline’s forceful, haunting, and unforgettable debut novel. At once devastating and beautiful, Precious Ugly is an indispensable survivor’s guide through impossible waters. Readers will fall in love with Clementine as she resourcefully rises from the world of adult hurt thrown at her. This is a vital story, remarkably told.”
— Sara Lippmann, author of Hidden River
What Readers Are Saying
About Precious Ugly
“This is, without question, the best book I’ve read this year…Clementine is extraordinary…funny, observant, sarcastic, imaginative, angry, incredibly intelligent, occasionally reckless, and constantly trying to understand the adults around her. ★★★★★“
—Keon Tullius, Featured Fiction & Goodreads
“Rae Cline’s debut is a masterclass in voice and atmosphere… Clementine is an unforgettable protagonist… Much like Demon Copperhead, this novel captures the heartbeat of Appalachia with fierce authenticity. ★★★★★“
— Sharon Fullwood, Goodreads & NetGalley
“The writing was poetic and unlike most of the books I typically read. It was a heart wrenching story and hits hard emotionally. It’s the type of book that will stick with you long after you read it. ★★★★★“
— Jason Lavoie, Goodreads & NetGalley
“An unforgettable story of resilience and courage through the troubled life of one young girl. One of the best debut novels I’ve read in a very long time.”
— Michael Verrecchia, @mav2770
“The writing is lyrical, poetic, and beautiful. I was completely pulled into Clementine’s World. Her voice felt authentic, vulnerable, and incredibly strong. ★★★★★“
— Crystal L., Goodreads & NetGalley
“Precious Ugly is beautifully broken, painfully raw, and deeply emotional. This is not an easy book nor should it be. It is a story that needs to be told, but more importantly, it needs to be read. ★★★★★“
— Teresa Brock, @fullybookedinkentucky, Amazon
“This read was raw, deeply evocative, and breathtakingly honest! A hauntingly beautiful exploration of flaw, vulnerability, and transformation that tugged at every wire of my heart! I cannot wait to read more by this author!”
— Jessica, Amazon
“This is the first time I’ve given five stars to a book I came close to abandoning more than once. Why didn’t I? Because I realised that the very thing pushing me to stop reading was precisely how damn good it was. Absorbing, oppressive… and impossible to ignore. ★★★★★“
— Giggy F., NetGalley
Read Precious Ugly
Precious Ugly is the debut novel by Rae Cline, a work of Appalachian literary fiction exploring girlhood, poverty, family, survival, beauty, and power.
