Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Push by Ashley Audrain

73 reviews

mommarex1221'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this in less than a day, which is something I've never done before. I could NOT put this down. Enthralling, well worth the read. I absolutely recommend it, although I would suggest that the content warning is reviewed, as there are a lot of triggering topics explored here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Abortion and Alcohol

readsalot's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

A real page turner

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content

piligomez's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual content, and Murder

caties_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.5

MASSIVE TW FOR CHILD/BABY VIOLENT DEATH, CHILD ABUSE, SELF HARM AND GRIEF. Can't possibly overstate how much you should not read this if you are sensitive to any of the above, they're very explicit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

linesiunderline's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

Sometimes you read a book and it is very hard to land on how you feel about it. The Push is one of those books for me. It’s entirely likely my star rating will shift around the more I think about the book as time passes.

What worked:
• It’s compulsively readable. This is a book everyone says you will read in one gulp, and it is. So if you are after that kind of propulsive experience, this will do it for you.
• Audrain is a strong writer. Her prose is sharp and clear and there’s an economy to it that is satisfying.
• There are several genuinely goosebump inspiring scenes - truly creepy. I could see this translating to film or TV (and I imagine it will).
• The feeling of dread and claustrophobia is palpable. I kept thinking about The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, another book that is deeply unsettling and so hard to put down.

Howevers
• I am uncertain about what the author is trying to say. Is it that generational trauma will continue to disrupt lives unless someone is brave enough to see it and name it and initiate a process of healing? Is it that difficult, troubled children exist and that no one wants to see that even when it’s right in front of them? Is it that we need to listen to mothers, and realize that there are many ways to experience and be a mother? I feel like I was reaching for meaning and not sure if I landed where I was intended to. 
• I can’t decide if this is simply another thriller that sensationalizes a difficult female experience. Some reviews have said it shines light on difficult topics around motherhood and mental health, but I’m not sure it leaves us in a greater place of understanding or helps to break down existing stereotypes. 
• The ending definitely felt gimmicky, like the author / editor decided it would be a gasp-worthy conclusion so why not go for it.

So there you have it. One thing I can say with certainty is that this is a book you want to talk about. It’s ideal for bookclubs. And I will want to read more by the author. 

See below for a million content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, and Car accident

emileereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

Thank you PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook!

It's really hard to write a review that encapsulates all that this book is. I can sum it up with this. This is a compulsive read. It intertwined a family backstory with the modern timeline and as things unfold you begin to wonder more and more why. You are given breadcrumbs of information that prove valuable later as you read and things become more complicated. The narrator and main character, Blythe, is complicated and likeable in spite of things she does that are very unlikable. I wouldn't say I loved this book just because it's so dark, but I would say that this book is one that you don't want to put down once you are in it.

It reads a lot like The Woman in the Window as far as the vibe of the book. It is not jam packed full of action, but it keeps ratcheting up the tension until the conclusion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, and Abortion

gm_vak's review against another edition

dark sad 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

nocturnalreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Have you ever imagined that a mother could hurt her child? 

 

Ashley Audrain’s debut, The Push, is dark, nerve-wracking, and unsettling that will send chills to your spine. 

 

The Push is a devastating tale of a mother that explores the darker side, trepidation, and insecurities of motherhood. 

 

The story mainly focused on the relationship between Blythe and her peculiar daughter Violet, who is unsettling, frightening with disturbing behavior. Soon, Blythe starts believing that her daughter is different from kids and has inherited the trauma and is less trusted by her husband and the more she self doubts herself. 

 

The story is narrated from the second POV and in a manuscript style that is vividly gripping and carefully crafted that captures sensitive emotions like depression, trauma, and postpartum experience/depression in a very well manner. 

 

I finished this book in one sitting and didn’t felt that it’s Ashley’s debut novel. The writing style is phenomenal and absorbing. I love the manuscript style, which is short and easy to read, and an absolute page-turner. 

 

It has fulfilled my desire for a gripping thriller. I highly recommend everyone to pick this book immediately. 

 

“I felt like the only mother in the world who wouldn’t survive it . . . The only mother who couldn’t fight through the pain of newborn gums cutting like razor blades on her nipples. The only mother who couldn’t pretend to function with her brain in the vise of sleeplessness. The only mother who looked down at her daughter and thought, Please, Go away.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and Murder

anniepaigespages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Abortion, and Murder

readwithkat's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I was eager to read this after hearing so much hype about it, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. This WAS compulsively readable and I finished it within 24 hours, however I kept waiting for some big reveal or twist that never came. The multiple timelines and change in generational stories could be confusing at times and I'm ultimately not sure how those stories connected to Violet's character. There are LOTS of content warnings for this one: child death, PPD, vaginal birth, childhood abuse, suicide, abandonment, neglect, miscarriage, infidelity, and some others I'm sure I didn't catch. This is definitely not a book I would blindly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, and Blood