The Push by Ashley Audrain
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller and for Debut Novel (2021)
“A mother’s heart breaks a million ways in her lifetime.”
Author
Ashley Audrain
Publisher
Pamela Dorman Books
Genre
Psychological Thriller
Number of Pages
307
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Summary
Blythe wanted to be the best mother for her new born girl Violet. She wanted to be the opposite of what her mother was to her – selfish, unconcerned and unloving.
But Violet is not an easy child. And Blythe begins believing that she is turning out to be a bad mother. She thinks having another kid can fix everything, her mother issues and her drifting marriage. Only she could not be more wrong.
Blythe’s worst nightmare comes true. And she can do nothing but watch helplessly as her life crumbles before her.
My Review
The Push has an absolutely unique and amazing plot. The winding and weaving way we are taken through Blythe’s current life and her traumatic childhood with a mother who abandoned her has been written in a very absorbing way.
This is a very dark story and gives readers a peek into a side of motherhood that is usually neither discussed nor portrayed. The term psychological drama suits this book perfectly and it does justice to the genre in an intense but disturbing kind of way.
Blythe was endearing, so was Gemma. I felt nothing special about Fox but his mother was sweet too. But Violet, oh my god Violet, I just cannot say more without giving out any spoilers.
Final Verdict
Definitely my favourite psychological family drama released in 2021. Do read this for the unique plot.
Who Should Read This
If you like gripping, but dark themed stories, you might not want to miss this.
Ashley Audrain
Previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada. Prior to Penguin, she worked in public relations. She lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. The Push is her first novel and has been sold in thirty-four territories globally.
- Top Quotes from The Push -
- “We could have counted our problems on the petals of the daisy in my bouquet, but it wouldn’t be long before we were lost in a field of them.”
- “Marriages can float apart. Sometimes we don’t notice how far we’ve gone until all of a sudden, the water meets the horizon and it feels like we’ll never make it back.”
- “You used to care about me as a person—my happiness, the things that made me thrive. Now I was a service provider. You didn’t see me as a woman. I was just the mother of your child.”
- “You know, there’s a lot about ourselves that we can’t change—it’s just the way we’re born. But some parts of us are shaped by what we see. And how we’re treated by other people. How we’re made to feel.”
- “I don’t want you learning to be like me. But I don’t know how to teach you to be anyone different.”
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