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A review by nickgalentine
The Push by Ashley Audrain
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow. Just wow. I'm not big on thrillers. I think the last one I read was Verity by Colleen Hoover, and we all know how I feel about her books. Still, I did enjoy the mind-fuck, so when I read the synopsis of The Push, I decided that I could handle another thriller.
Especially one that, for me, is particularly personal. I suffered from post-partum depression with my children to an extreme degree that required treatment. So, on one hand, I loved that there was a story about a mother who felt disconnected from her baby. On the other, I hated that I felt connected in that way, especially since her firstborn did indeed turn out to be evil. Mine is thirteen, and while he does try, he's not very evil. Chaotic good, more like.
Anyway, the book. I loved the way it was written. Every word felt perfectly chosen for the occasion, and every glimpse of the past we got opened up an entirely new perspective of the future. It was gripping, frightening, and at times breath-taking. It's a portrait of motherhood on one hand, and an examination of how women are taught not to believe even themselves and to sacrifice everything on behalf of their children.
At the times it needed to be, it was literary. At the times it needed to be, it was bone-chilling. As mothers, fathers, caregivers of all types, we want to think the best of our children, especially when they're children. But what all are we looking past? What are we capable of forgiving and forgetting when it doesn't align with our view of our child?
Thought-provoking, gripping, a one-sitting read, I highly recommend The Push to anyone who's not afraid of books involving child death and violence.
Especially one that, for me, is particularly personal. I suffered from post-partum depression with my children to an extreme degree that required treatment. So, on one hand, I loved that there was a story about a mother who felt disconnected from her baby. On the other, I hated that I felt connected in that way
Anyway, the book. I loved the way it was written. Every word felt perfectly chosen for the occasion, and every glimpse of the past we got opened up an entirely new perspective of the future. It was gripping, frightening, and at times breath-taking. It's a portrait of motherhood on one hand, and an examination of how women are taught not to believe even themselves and to sacrifice everything on behalf of their children.
At the times it needed to be, it was literary. At the times it needed to be, it was bone-chilling. As mothers, fathers, caregivers of all types, we want to think the best of our children, especially when they're children. But what all are we looking past? What are we capable of forgiving and forgetting when it doesn't align with our view of our child?
Thought-provoking, gripping, a one-sitting read, I highly recommend The Push to anyone who's not afraid of books involving child death and violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Car accident