Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Push by Ashley Audrain

32 reviews

abrasieve's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Gaslighting, Self harm, Blood, Car accident, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Excrement and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, Cursing, and Vomit

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

---

Content Warnings

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

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

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

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." 

---

Content Warnings

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 depression

eeeeva's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Child death

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit and Excrement

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

keijiwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense

• 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

---

Content Warnings

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

dark 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

4.0

I appreciated the gritty depiction of motherhood (it made me question whether I truly wanted to experience it for myself in the future...) and generational trauma. I'm not sure whether or not I liked the ending.

I had started to believe that Blythe was only projecting her trauma onto Violet. I suspect that was the author's intention, for even the readers to question Blythe's reliability and to side with everyone else who thought she was crazy...the ending was like a bitter "I told you so". I did feel validated for Blythe in a way, even though it's obviously a horrible thing for another child to get hurt.

It's been a while since I finished this and I didn't take down any notes, sadly, so I can't give a more insightful review. I liked it, overall!

---

Content Warnings

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

reddeddy'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Abortion, Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Dysphoria, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Body horror, Child death, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Car accident, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Alcoholism, Confinement, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Incest, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Dementia

sunsetcity's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Abandonment, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Bullying, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Murder

philomathean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Abandonment, Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide and Medical content