A review by escape_through_pages
The Push by Ashley Audrain

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

📖 REVIEW 📖

The Push is about the making and breaking of a family. It’s about mothers and daughters. How much of who we are, of who we will be as parents, is inherited? Or learned? Can you override a dysfunctional upbringing with will alone?

The women in Blythe’s family have not taken well to motherhood. Blythe is determined things will be different when she becomes a mother herself. But as her daughter, Violet, grows, Blythe becomes increasingly aware her daughter is not normal. She doesn’t behave like other children. Her husband Fox doesn’t see it; Violet is a normal child and Blythe is overthinking, overreacting. An event happens that ultimately tears the family apart. The question remains throughout the book, how far can we trust the story Blythe is telling us? Can she be right about her child or is her own traumatic upbringing shaping her view and leading to disconnection with her daughter?

This book consumed me from the moment I started reading, I read it in two short days. For someone who thought they were done with thrillers, The Push (and Lullaby) have recently convinced me otherwise. I like my thrillers with a heavy dose of the psychologically unsound, sitting deep in the dark. Complete with cliffhanger ending (what did she do????) that left me both desperate for another chapter but also fearful of what that would reveal, The Push was a thrill from start to finish.