Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Push by Ashley Audrain

138 reviews

hanmitche11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

5.0

Wow, what a psychological thriller about how motherhood and trauma affects generations. The writing is so descriptive making it all the more twisted to read. I found myself feeling so many different emotions from tearing up to uncomfortably laughing to being shocked. Would love a second book or last few chapters from Violet’s POV. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

heather_sassenach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage and Self harm

ressicajicks's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I KNEW SHE PUSHED HIM

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Vomit

jaylee_books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

thelibraryofanolive's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THIS BOOK HAD ME CRAZED OMG IT WAS SO GOOD CANT EVEN PUT INTO WORDS HOW INVESTED I WAS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Excrement, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

sammipants08's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

maevebm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I could not put this book down. The Push was complicated, upsetting, honest, and human. The dynamic between Blythe and Violet was intense, often leaving the reader guessing what was true and what was bias. Interweaving the grandmother and mother’s stories helped see the roots of Blythe’s fears and give way to understanding how trauma seeps through generations. More than anything, I applaud this story for showcasing a woman who wasn’t enamored by motherhood without casting her as a villain. Not everyone likes everyone, which includes parents not liking their kids and vice versa, but obviously, there is a duty for parents to parent their children. What Audrain was able to do was show someone fulfilling that duty despite the loneliness and fears that accompanied her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

gabforshort's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Sexual content

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Self harm

marisabenn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

What a debut, holy moly. One of the best opening and ending lines I have read in recent memory. The story is written with the beautiful normalcy of everyday language. It feels like you're hearing a person confide in you about their struggles. You get lost within the world, feeling like you're there experiencing and seeing these stories happen.

Not a 5 star read because I both love and hate the ambiguity. I wanted to know what really happened, but that's not how the story is meant to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Stalking, and Abortion

Minor: Bullying, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Dementia, and Abortion

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

Title: The Push
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." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, and Death of parent

postpartum depression