Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Push by Ashley Audrain

41 reviews

sighsborg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.25

I finished this in one sitting, I’ll give it that. The Push is a very fast read and a bit of a page turner. The beginning had so much suspense and tension I was wondering where the book would go. However, the farther I got into the book, the less I found myself in suspense. Maybe this book was mismarketed, but to me this isn’t as much as a thriller as it is the analysis and dissection of motherhood and what it means to be a mother. I found myself empathizing with the main character at times and not at all in others. The flashbacks to Blythe’s mother, Cecelia’s childhood, I found unnecessary and really ruined the flow of the book for me. I think some of the wording she chose uncomfortable at sometimes, and maybe that was the author’s intent, however it just didn’t work for me. The ending was a bit of a let down. I think the way the book is narrated is a strength and a weakness of this book at times. All I can say is that at times, I found this to be a weak knockoff of You. Wish we could have gotten the POV of Violet or Fox somewhere in this story in order to give us a breather from this narration.

Not quite sure how I feel about this book.

I found the ‘evil child’ element of this story really weak and a bit… wrong.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

ellilo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

analenegrace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is a withering look at motherhood and the dehumanization and often desexualization of women after they give birth through the lens of a thriller. While I don't usually like thrillers, this book captured my attention in a unique way. 

The only reason it received less than five stars was because I found the descriptions of women's bodies almost hurtful to the story Audrain was telling especially one meant to be a reckoning with the role of mothers. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abortion

juliabb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

drownedinfictionx's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

shingekiyes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

(another library audiobook rental) 

jesus mary and joseph this book was a mindfuck. motherhood is so scary and this book only worsened my fear. this was a thrilling examination of generational trauma and, as the summary says, what happens when women aren’t believed. 

it was admittedly very slow and takes place exclusively in this woman’s mind, so anyone looking for action or plot should not turn to this book. however, i found the internal monologue, paired with the flashbacks, very entertaining. i was on the edge of my seat the entire time, begging for some closure, some truth. 

not my typical read but totally worth it. 

hashtag mommy issues, amirite?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Suicide, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

foshagm's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

I wish I would have seen trigger warnings first. Very fast paced. Well written. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, and Self harm

jaylee_books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

sammipants08's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

her_little_library's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

I really enjoyed this book! It's very dark, but I loved seeing how everything unfolded in the end. The writing style was very interesting and kept me engaged throughout. It's a quick read, too, which shorter sentences that flow together well.

I loved seeing Blythe's descent to truly believing her daughter is a cold-hearted killer at 13 years old, and how it might just be all in her head. How everyone around her dismisses her, but comes running to her by the end to say she was right. I just wished this book went down that insanity path. I wanted to see Blythe snap in the end, but I'm glad she found some closure from her son's death.

This was an interesting tribute to the scary, dark parts of motherhood and I'm excited to see what this author does next. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

This book is very, very dark. There's a lot of horrific things that happen in detail and that come back up over the course of the book.