The Push by Ashley Audrain.
Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House, for the finished copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
About The Book
A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.
Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.
But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do.
Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.
Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.
The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.
My Review
The Push had me turning the pages and I read this book in just a little over two days. Once I started reading I didn't want to stop.
I was wondering when I started reading when I would get to the part of the novel where the title makes sense. I won't give anything away and you definitely need to read this book to find out for yourself. All I can and will say is that the author holds it back right until the very end.
I really like books told with alternate points of view and multiple narrators if the book is well written and the author does this style of writing well. Ashley Audrain definitely writes multiple narrators well, and even a narrator whose significance to the plot isn't given to us right away, but held back for a bit of time, which I really liked.
This book explores topics that include grief, motherhood, mother daughter bonds and relationships, and family dynamics. This book is a dark, twisty, suspenseful, immersive, and wonderfully written book with a great ending.
I can't wait to read more books written by Ashley Audrain. The Push is her debut novel. I have learned that The Push has been optioned for TV and film. This is exciting news!
My Rating: 5/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book Details
Author: Ashley Audrain.
Publisher: Viking Canada.
Publication Date: January 5, 2021.
Genre: Psychological thriller. Mystery. Adult Fiction. Thriller. Suspense. Fiction.
Edition: Paperback.
Pages: 320.