Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Push by Ashley Audrain

59 reviews

kirkspockreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Self harm, Medical content, and Medical trauma

sarahmalopia's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, and Dementia

rachel7588's review

sad 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Rape, Abortion, and Death of parent

katrinarose's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I really liked this book. It was heartbreaking and honest and raw. I just want to give Blythe the biggest hug and tell her she’s doing amazing. The character development was incredible and very convincing, and I love that it covered multiple generations. I’ve read a few literary fiction novels that covered themes of motherhood but this book discussed darker things - the fears and doubts that nobody says out loud. I did think that this would be more of a psychological thriller than it was, for me it was more of a literary fiction with some dark themes. I was expecting to have more doubt about Blythe’s mental state and thought she was meant to be an unreliable narrator, but I never doubted her for a second. Overall this was fantastic and I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys fast-paced character studies and topics related to generational trauma or motherhood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, and Blood

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Dementia

vnavarro'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

lmf041012's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, Abortion, and Gaslighting

dumbledorable's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

kalynnar's review against another edition

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

pixelited's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This novel was a quick and easy read. How the chapters are formatted make it easy to want to keep going to the next one. The author does an excellent job with setting tense and disturbing tones throughout the novel, while making you question if the narrator is reliable or not.

I enjoyed the uncertainty of whether we could trust the narrator or not. Obviously, we are inclined to see the world through the lens of the narrator, but knowing that the antagonist of the book is a child we think that the narrator then must be unreliable.

That her perspective is truly that of a confused, grief-stricken woman who has lost everything. But, the ending provides clarity and although we have been witnessing everything through the narrator’s perspective, it all seems to be truly confirmed by the ending sentence.

Overall, a great novel that keeps you turning the page and wanting to find out more while keeping an interesting perspective on motherhood and its darker manifestations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

breanneporter's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

This is a hard book to rate; I devoured it, finishing in just over a day, but now that I’ve finished I’m struggling to understand what to take away from it… it follows our narrator, Blythe, as she recounts her experience of motherhood with her daughter, Violet, and her son, Sam, and her tale is interspersed with memories of her own mother as well as her mother’s history with her own mother. It is very dark, so be sure to check content warnings. More than the darkness, it is unsettling. I felt anxious reading it, but was compelled to continue. The pacing is fast, the chapters are short, and it’s very easy to be immersed in the narrative (even as it makes you increasingly uncomfortable).

I kept waiting for evidence of Blythe’s untrustworthiness as a narrator, something to redeem Violet, but I didn’t really get that… and the ending is (horrifyingly) validating to Blythe’s perspective, but there’s no recognition of why only Blythe was seeing this side of her / was the target of her derision for so long…. Idk.

I’m not sure I would recommend or say that it was an enjoyable reading experience but it was certainly an immersive and memorable one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail