Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Push

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The Push by Ashley Audrain

67 reviews

gabforshort's review against another edition

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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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kelly_e's review against another edition

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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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carbs666's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I did not really see the point of this book at all - it felt like the plot was a series of "and then this happened and I reacted this way and I don't know why I did" statements. I understand the devices at play here and the goals of the book, but I don't feel like the book was successful in delivering on them.

I thought the choice of narration was interesting and had the potential to create a lot of tension for readers who could come to see Blythe as unreliable. However, the actions of her daughter were just so egregiously obvious that I never really felt like enough doubt was injected into the narrative to make readers wonder if Blythe was right or crazy.

I'm curious to see how the book could have been different if it incorporated the themes of the psychological and physical horrors of motherhood with an exploration of what to do when your child turns out to be dangerous; I feel that could have made it more interesting for me.

Anyways, the book wasn't bad enough to DNF so that's a point in its favour. The writing is technically solid and there are some evocative moments tucked in here. It's fine.

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her_little_library's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! It's very dark, but I loved seeing how everything unfolded in the end. The writing style was very interesting and kept me engaged throughout. It's a quick read, too, which shorter sentences that flow together well.

I loved seeing Blythe's descent to truly believing her daughter is a cold-hearted killer at 13 years old, and how it might just be all in her head. How everyone around her dismisses her, but comes running to her by the end to say she was right. I just wished this book went down that insanity path. I wanted to see Blythe snap in the end, but I'm glad she found some closure from her son's death.

This was an interesting tribute to the scary, dark parts of motherhood and I'm excited to see what this author does next.

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eeeeva's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

This book....WOW. Okay.

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.

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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75 because I needed just a little more from the ending. Otherwise—WHAT A TWISTY, CREEPY, SICKENING RIDE OF CREATION AND DEMISE.

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.

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