The Push was a heart wrenching read about motherhood, stress, and life that I thought did a good job of portraying the sides of motherhood that people normally try to hide. I’m all for a good family psychological drama and this one did not disappoint.

A psychological family drama that is truly unsettling to read. Reminiscent of Baby Teeth, this was suspenseful if not a bit predictable.

The Push is a first person novel of women in trouble, emotional trouble, mental trouble. Three generations of women, Blythe and her mother and grandmother, struggle with their inner demons as they try to raise children and fail. For differing reasons, each woman shows how fragile motherhood is for some women. Blythe, the main character, suffers a form of breakdown when she can't bond with her daughter. As she deals with her own inadequacies, the shadows of her mother and grandmother loom over her psyche. This dark voyage into motherhood offers an alternative to the traditional narrative of how becoming a mother is supposed to be.
As Blythe descends into her own personal hell, we watch, like voyeurs, as she stalks her ex husband and children. They have created a safe happy world without her. Blythe's nightmare has come true--they don't need her. This reality sets up the dark psychological tale that takes you to the darkest recesses of one's mind.
While the novel is suspenseful and does keep one engaged, the main character, Blythe, and also her mother and grandmother are such distasteful women it is hard to feel any empathy for Blythe. I struggled with this book and its message. For others, they may find the story compelling and thrilling. It does have twists and turns and mines deep dark secrets to create a compelling narrative. But, for me, I struggled to finish the book. Usually I read historical fiction so this genre may have been outside my comfort zone.

ᴜɴᴘᴏᴘᴜʟᴀʀ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ:

this just wasn’t for me. the story was great, suspenseful. it’s not the story that i didn’t like… i just didn’t like how the story made me FEEL. i was uncomfortable most of the time reading this.

ugh - my anxiety is already high with thoughts of becoming a mother and this just added to it on a whole other level. i don’t know if it’s because i don’t have children yet & read this book or just the simple fact of me being terrified of theoutcome when having a kiddo - whether it’s postpartum or having an evil child, etc. maybe one day down the road i’ll read this book again & be like, wow what a great story. but today, it’s just a little too cringe for me.

While I personally did not enjoy this book as much as I anticipated, I think it will make a great addition to the library and will appeal to many students. I was personally struck by its striking similarity to We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver.

This book was SO good. The characters were well developed, and the story kept me interested all the way to the end. And that ending! Loved it. This was a book that lived up to the hype - a slow build with a gut punch at the end.

Wow! I could not put this book down. The book kept me guessing on what would happen up until the very last sentence. Audrain has written a psychological drama that will hit at the very nerve of what it means to be a struggling mother. I highly recommend this book!

The Push was a really good thriller! It’s about this women named Blythe who is a first time mother. She wants to be the best mom she could be for her daughter, the kind of mother she didn’t have growing up. Sadly, she is convinced something is wrong with Violet. No one believes her, not even her husband. When her second child is born, things seem to be getting better, until it gets worse. While I enjoyed the story and couldn’t turn the page fast enough, I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style. That is just a preference for me, but it did make me enjoy the story less. Other then that, this was a heart thumping thriller that kept me thinking about it long after I finished.

This was phenomenal, one of the best books I've read in years. The kind that makes you feel bad about giving other books 5 stars. It's such a special feeling when you're reading a book for the first time and loving it and falling deeper and deeper in until eventually you realize that you're reading one of your favorite books. The last book that made me feel like this was Circe, when I received an arc in early 2018 I think. But this was a very different reading experience. Circe was pure pleasure; it had its moving, aching, and even brutal moments, but it somehow remained beautiful throughout. The Push is not beautiful. The writing is sharp, almost electric, like if you could physically touch it, it might give you a jolt. The sections are short and choppy, making it easy to say "oh just one more chapter" and go on devouring it. And for the most part I did, but the subject matter is very, very dark, so dark at a couple moments I actually had to set it down. The portrayal of grief is unflinching and was a struggle to get through sometimes; I found myself shaking my head and taking a minute to just close my eyes or put my face in my hands at some moments. Especially as a newish mom with a [redacted] the same age as [redacted] when [redacted] happens. According to the author's note, she started writing this when her first baby was six months old, and oh my god did she absolutely nail the pain, stress, and feelings of self-doubt that come with new motherhood. And the realness of it made the horrible moments just that much more visceral, more haunting. This book will stay with me for a long, long time.

When reading The Push, I just kept thinking of what it would be like to be in a situation where you don't connect with your child and then don't believe your child is a good person... but no one believes you. The way this book is written makes the reader side with Blythe (mother of Violet) however, because of her history (with her own mother and grandmother) there is also room for interpretation.

I like that it can open up to discussion but I also think it's frustrating the way that Fox (Blythe's husband) doesn't seem to take her seriously. This book flows easily with the short chapters, but is definitely dark.

Glad I got a chance to read this. Buy
copy and start reading it this weekend! ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book pulled me in so many directions. The narrator who sounds unhinged…or are they constantly being gaslighted? What’s real and what is only in their mind? Even the way it’s written to another character kept me a little off-balance, too, which was perfect for this story of a family dissolving in front of our eyes. And the ending was perfect.

My thanks to Pamela Dorman Books, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ashley Audrain was a guest on the Fresh Fiction podcast: https://freshfiction.podbean.com/e/it-s-always-the-mother-author-guest-ashley-audrain/

Recs from ASHLEY AUDRAIN

Ashley’s debut novel, THE PUSH, is now available!

Ashley has two books to recommend (which coincidentally look at motherhood!): THE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO by Donna Freitas and THE SPECTACULAR by Zoe Whittall (out in September)

Like so many of us, Ashley loved THE UNDOING on HBO.

Wearing comfy sweats has brought Ashley immense joy! She especially loves the sweats from Province of Canada.

Ashley’s next book, THE WHISPERS, will be out in 2022!

You can find out more info at https://ashleyaudrain.com/, follow her on Instagram (where she is the most active) and Twitter.

I’m judging the L.A. Times 2020 and 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

I’m just a few pages in and already hooked, I admit I was a bit offput by the second person but then this sentence nabbed me: Your wife slips out of the room and her son’s face follows robotically. I remember that feeling. Of being the needed one.-2

The Push is a psychological thriller that explores the concept of motherhood on all different levels, We experience Blythe's experience with motherhood and how she develops her relationship with her own daughter and son. We trust and distrust her narrative with every increase in tension, not knowing what's the truth and narrative.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. That's the first word that comes to mind. Just so much in this book. Complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, guilt, grief, fear, and more. There was just enough wait time to keep you hooked but not too much to make it unbearable to follow the story. The only issue that I found difficult to follow was that I sometimes got Etta and Cecelia confused, but I don't think that was the author's fault.

This book will keep you up at night and have you thinking about it well after you're finished. The Push takes the natural model of mother and child, flips it over, and sets it on fire. Gorgeously written and an ending to die for. Will be purchasing for the library's collection.

Ashley Audrain's The Push will leave you thinking about it for weeks after. The unreliable narrator does her job so well that you really don't know who to believe or what happened.

PUSH is unlike any other book I've ever read.

Being a mother is supposed to be one of the greatest gifts life can offer a woman. . . right? WRONG.

I can't explain quite how I felt about this book. It was definitely a book I couldn't put down and it had one of the most thrilling stories I've ever read. It was also incredibly disturbing. I think I would try to go into this book knowing as little as possible and having as few expectations as possible. When books get a lot of hype, like this one does, I always expect something different than what I eventually get. So.. my advice.. have no expectations and then be prepared to be BLOWN AWAY!

Wow! This book is all the buzz with my coworkers at the library. Everyone I have talked to about it can't put into words what it exactly is that captivated them yet all said that it is a must read. This book edges toward horror which is not a genre that I usually like to read. I found that the story was a multilayered, complex and chilling family drama. Although it is very dark and unsettling and even depressing sometimes, I was truly immersed and invested in this story and I finished it in 48 hours. I won't be surprised when they turn it into a movie or miniseries.