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A review by archaicrobin
The Push by Ashley Audrain
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Push is wonderfully written and pulled me in immediately. The novel follows Blythe and her struggles
to find happiness with a daughter she can’t connect with and that begins to show concerning signs of violence towards others. Going further into this alternate look at motherhood, the book has chapters that delve into Blythe’s own childhood and that of her mother’s, showing a pattern of reluctant mothers.
This novel was emotional, terrifying, and addicting. Blythe’s husband is infuriating and refuses to listen to Blythe’s concerns about her daughter leading to many tragedies. This is marketed as a thriller but I feel it also has some horror elements as well. Creepy kids are always scary to me and The Push has one of the scariest kids I’ve seen. It reminded me a lot of the novel We Need to Talk About Kevin, and it had some similar themes. I highly recommend checking this one out!
to find happiness with a daughter she can’t connect with and that begins to show concerning signs of violence towards others. Going further into this alternate look at motherhood, the book has chapters that delve into Blythe’s own childhood and that of her mother’s, showing a pattern of reluctant mothers.
This novel was emotional, terrifying, and addicting. Blythe’s husband is infuriating and refuses to listen to Blythe’s concerns about her daughter leading to many tragedies. This is marketed as a thriller but I feel it also has some horror elements as well. Creepy kids are always scary to me and The Push has one of the scariest kids I’ve seen. It reminded me a lot of the novel We Need to Talk About Kevin, and it had some similar themes. I highly recommend checking this one out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment