ASHLEY. AUDRAIN

Mother. Daughter. Angel. Monster? 2021's Most Astonishing Debut

PUSH

Ashley Audrain

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

Ashley Audrain’s second novel, The Whispers, is on sale now

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.

For fans of Verity and We Need to talk about Kevin, The 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.

A Novel

The Push

-initially was not a fan of the writing style but very quickly got over that

- Really well written delving into the kind of an unreliable narrator, not because you can prove that they are wrong but purely because there is no other perspective.

Usman Merchant

-initially was not a fan of the writing style but very quickly got over that

- Really well written delving into the kind of an unreliable narrator, not because you can prove that they are wrong but purely because there is no other perspective.

- Standout book that really makes you delve that much deeper into the psyche of our own parents, forces you to empathise with a character you would otherwise hate, flips the entire script on you and then back again. 

I like the way this whole book was written as a letter. Gripping, kept me reading. But very dark themes. 

Alicia Evans

Angelyn Francis

Haunting way of writing but still quick, breezy and readable. I'm torn between the fact that it's a story that feels like it's been done before and how well this version of it is done. Plot-wise, what you expect to be the climax comes so early that it feels like a story that never has much build, just a consistent, low waveform. Character-wise I never decided how I feel about Blythe, but I enjoyed using the looks back at her mother and grandmother to wonder about how Violet views her as a daughter and how Blythe may be acting but not sharing. Enjoyed the read, but not overall satisfied.

Ryan Mateyk

blythe throughout this book: crazy by gnarls barkley
blythe at the end:(view spoiler)[vindicated by dashboard confessional (hide spoiler)]

i enjoyed this, writing was taut, violet was cuckoo, fun quick read!

Liyah 🤎

This book was AMAZING. I was captivated. A chilling psychological thriller about generational trauma, and the dark side of motherhood. This book had some of the best first-person narration I've ever read which went so well with its unreliable narrator. Seeing things through the main character Blythe's eyes so clearly all while not trusting that she could interpret her own life clearly made everything feel mysterious. I loved the way the first person still gave us a peek into other characters' minds but not in an omniscient way. Blythe read body language, voice inflections, and word choice all of which were highly subjective and added to the sense of "is the narrator crazy or not?!" I never knew if I could trust her. She didn't even know if she could trust her own eyes! 

The emotion in it was raw. Books don't often move me emotionally too much but this one really hurt. It told multiple generational stories through the perspective of Blythe, Blythe's mother, and Blythe's maternal grandmother, and I felt so bad for all of them. Near the end, I was hoping everyone but Blythe was wrong b/c she'd been through so much that I didn't want her pain to have been for nothing. I also loved the ending. It didn't come out of left field but it wasn't too predictable for me, partially because of how well the author made all the "facts" of the book questionable with Blythe's unsure narration that any number of possibilities could've made sense if you discarded the right facts. Would recommend it to friends and would make a great book club book!

armoni mayes

omfg i’m screaming i’m screaming !!! brilliant!!!

'The women in this family, we're different . . .' The arrival of baby Violet was meant to be the happiest day of my life. It was meant to be a fresh start. But as soon as I held her in my arms I knew something wasn't right. I have always known that the women in my family aren't meant to be mothers. My husband Fox says I'm imagining it. He tells me I'm nothing like my own mother, and that Violet is the sweetest child. But she's different with me. Something feels very wrong. Is it her? Or is it me? Is she the monster? Or am I?

This book presented the parts of motherhood that aren't usually acknowledged, i.e. not the fluffy, sweet, magical, fulfilling experience we're told it is. It's brutal, it's exhausting, it's scary and it's not for everyone.

Saffia

Cori

Elisavet Rozaki 

If you liked Verity, you'll love this book!

Caroline

That ending was surely something!


The Push is Ashley Audrain debut novel telling us the story of Blythe who married Fox and then gave birth to a daughter named Violet. The narrative describes Blythe’s struggle with motherhood & with her daughter’s rejection. She is convinced that there is something wrong with her daughter but fails to convince her husband Fox, who repeatedly accuses her of make up things which weren’t happening & that it was all in her head. Then a few year later comes Sam, the son who Blythe adored & loved. However, one devastating accident quickly altered Blythe's life.

Was this book a psychological thriller? Psychological Yes. Thriller not so much but the book was thrilling enough to keep me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next. Was this story about motherhood & postpartum depression? Motherhood heck yes but postpartum depression, not so much in my opinion.

Throught flashbacks, we see three generation of women struggle with motherhood. But were all three women struggle with motherhood similar? No! The only similarity that I saw was that they all disliked their daughters & I’m convinced that if they had sons this story & their struggle with motherhood would be a lot different. So to say, I did find the author to be a bit gender biased in this regard. (But this is completely my opinion)

As for Fox, (the husband) I found his character too fragile to acknowledge any concerns with regards to his daughter & he just did not seem interested enough in family life except that he loved Violet & got along with her well. Not all the characters were loveable, even the main character Blythe, who at times, I wanted to yell at. However, you will still want to know their story, live, laugh & cry through their struggles all at the same time. 

In my opinion, what got this book its 5 star rating is that very last line which made me gasp & left me wide eyed.😳 Just that last line identifies this book as a psychological thriller. The book is also beautiful written in a fashion of a letter that Blythe writes to her husband Fox. It does have short & quick to read chapters which makes its an easy read & a page turner. 

Highly Recommended

Isabella 

Horrifying, but beautifully written. It was so intense, and fast-paced which made me finish it in one sitting. Ashley does an excellent job in showing the crushing weight of expectations for a mother, and the familial trauma. Everything that she witnessed, and happened to her was so heart wrenching, and I deeply emphasize with her for it. There's still a blurred line whether she really is an unreliable narrator, however, I honestly don't see any reason for her to lie especially with her family background. I saw someone say that her paranoia and distrust felt like someone who was constantly encouraged not to trust themselves rather than someone who was legitimately untrustworthy, and I agree with it especially with all the gaslighting that happened to her. I think her shortcomings as a mother was the effect of generational trauma; It was not because of her own delusion. Overall, it was such a creepy read, but I enjoyed it! The characters definitely need therapy, and I need one too after reading this (The thought of motherhood scares me now).

What a wild ride! The overall theme of this book is a very familiar story (woman struggles with motherhood and believes there is something seriously wrong with her daughter and nobody believes her) but something about this particular book felt ~different~. What made it stand out to me was that we get to see different timelines in this book- one told from the main character’s POV, one about her mother, and then one more briefly about her grandmother. It adds so much depth to the generational trauma aspect of this book and how it can affect parenting styles and attachments to children.

Leslie Rieger 

Kendall McClain

This has taught me to not get married and never have kids<3 I love it so much

I read this book in a day. My jaw was on the ground the entire time. I didn’t want to put it down, ever. It shows the dark side of motherhood and what some may think of their children. Truly and utterly addictive. MUST READ. 

Lauren Dale

Elanna Lachaine DeMarchi 

Psychological thriller that keeps you thinking from start to finish. Took me a little bit to get the hang of perspective jumping but turned out to be very insightful once I tuned in.

Elle May

The Push was one of them books that is unexpected, there is a lot to wrap your head around and left me laughing, crying and with so many more emotions

Robi Carballo

That was disappointing. First to most part is dragging (i wouldn't even try to finish if i'm not a mom), then you get hooked as the story progress just to get that ending?

nicole

(posted the same review on literal) i wish id went into this book knowing it works a lot better as a character study detailing the experiences of motherhood, grief, intergenerational trauma etc, instead of a psychological thriller. i think my expectations were set too high especially with the ending :/

edit (05/01/2024): bumping this down to 2 stars because i literally cannot remember anything about this book except for the fact that it was disappointing

This book was hard to read, but I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in two days and it’s all I could think about. It is a psychological thriller, not for the faint of heart. As a parent it will have you questioning yourself and the book the entire time. Truly a tale of generational maternal abuse and I don’t think that’s an idea that’s often explored. I went in blind and had no idea what to expect, so please make sure you check your TW. I am so excited to discuss this at book club.

Syahla Aurel

idk how to feel about this book i mean the twist wasn't really a twist?? it's been there all along so it wasn't really suprising tbh

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK "An intense psychological drama that will be embraced by serious book clubs and fans of Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk about Kevin." —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author "A poetic, propulsive read that set my nerves jangling." —Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone 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.

Arianna

This book was so good. Definitely recommend.

Grace M

Maybe it’s because I’m not a mother, but this book did not seem to hit me the way it hit other readers. Not twisty enough to be a thriller, not scary enough to be a horror novel, the entire book felt staunchly middle of the road to me. While I enjoyed the thematic elements, it wasn’t presented in a way that I hadn’t seen before in books like Baby Teeth or Nightbitch. 
All that being said, it’s definitely a very engaging form of birth control.

Melissa Palmer

I just finished this book and I am not ok. It tells a tale of a creepy child, who is prone to doing very bad things. A mother who definitely comes from a family of mental illness. And the ending! Why? That being said, it kept me hooked the entire time.

Jule

Between 3.5 and 4 ⭐️ 

Review to come

PUSH Mother. Daughter. Angel. Monster? 2021's Most Astonishing Debut

Reviews