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kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Author: Ashley Audrain
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: January 5, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Visceral • Unsettling • Complex
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Blythe is sure she will be the nurturing and comforting mother she never had. But in the midst of the exhausting early months, and incapable of connecting with her newborn daughter, she is convinced something is wrong with Violet. When she shares her concerns with her husband, he dismisses her claims.
When Blythe gives birth to her son, Sam, the situation is very different, and it's everything she always imagined a mother/child relationship to be. When their lives change on a dime, it will force them to face the truth.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The hype had definitely subsided when I finally picked up The Push, unfortunately it stilled influenced my reading experience and it ended up not living up to all my expectations.
What I like:
- I appreciated the honest insight and portrayal of the expectations versus the realities of motherhood, yet as a childless woman I didn't connect to the plot line.
- The plot line of multi-generational trauma
- Written as a letter, I thought the format was clever. And it was obvious that Audrain is a strong writer.
What I didn't like:
- The plot delivers quite a few stereotypes but I don't know that it leaves us a whole lot further ahead in our understanding, but rather upholds stigmas that can be detrimental to mental health awareness.
- I believe I'd have liked it more if the ending was different. For me, the ending felt like it was used for shock value rather than a natural resolution.
At the end of the day, I wouldn't call this a thriller, rather it's a psychological drama that is sure to spark discussion. But because the plot has been so overdone, The Push is easily forgettable to me.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a compulsive read
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"A mother’s heart breaks a million ways in her lifetime."
Graphic: Death, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Miscarriage, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Bullying
Minor: Blood, Sexual content, Cursing, Stalking, Death of parent, and Car accident
postpartum depressionlilacwhisker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Pretty good read and fast paced!!
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Abortion
Minor: Dementia
eeeeva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abortion and Child death
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit and Excrement
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So what I want to say first is that I think going into this book expecting a thriller is a mistake. Even on the inside flap, it says it's more of a psychological drama. *Drama.* Anyone who goes into this expecting jump scares and some mystery to solve is going to be disappointed. I, however, went into it without any real expectations, other than that I knew it would be fucked up because every single person I spoke to who read it told me so. There are definitely horror elements, I would say, but I wouldn't say that it's a true horror or thriller.
The writing was so rich and haunting, it had me horrified even throughout the mundane parts of it, which I think takes a certain skill - a skill that I certainly don't possess. I also really enjoyed the themes within pertaining to generational trauma, found family, and how our parents - even if they want us to be different than they are, sometimes can't help but rub off on us. I also loved reading from Blythe's perspective - what an interesting and flawed character to get to be inside the mind of!!
I don't want to talk too much about what this book is actually about because I think you're better off going in at least partially blind. Be mindful of triggers and take care of yourself as needed.
I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long, long time.
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Abortion, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Rape, Suicide, Gore, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Death, Child death, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Excrement
lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Short chapters made it easy to read.
Emotions were raw.
Writing was gripping.
I read this is one sitting. It's a disturbing read, but worth it. It goes into the unspoken realities of being a wife, but most specifically motherhood. I love an unreliable narrator and Blythe can be categorized as one. This is categorized as a psychological thriller, but I think it's more along the lines of psychological family drama. This is Ashley Audrain's debut novel, and I can't wait for the next books she'll write. I don't want to spoil it and it's better if you go in blind, so here's the last part of the blurb just to be safe:
The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and about what if feels like when women are not believed.
Read it if you haven't already, but as usual, check trigger warnings first.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Self harm, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I was hooked immediately and never let go. The writing was smart and breezy and blunt and chilling, the chapters were deliciously short, the characters were multifaceted and unhinged, the plot was searing, uncomfortable, explosive. Darkly fantastic.
“The Push” refers, specifically, to one tragic incident in the main character’s life, but to me it was also a direct metaphor for all of the different types of motherhood represented in the story. How much children shape our worlds, the very good parts and, in this novel’s case, the traumatic and the sinister.
If you haven’t already, pick this up ASAP. You won’t be able to put it down until the very last page.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Stalking, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Racism, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Mass/school shootings, and Dementia
lindseyjo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Abortion
keijiwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, Stalking, Physical abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Excrement, Abortion, Car accident, and Dementia
genny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Pregnancy, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, and Suicide
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abortion, and Miscarriage
ph_read_be's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Child death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicide, and Self harm
Minor: Abortion, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
Graphic description of child birth, post partum depression