What do readers think of The Push by Ashley Audrain? Write your own review.

I really love the book.

The author will have all your emotions in the palm of her hand-right up to the last line of the book. If you’re looking for a good psychological family drama that is written with the tension of a thriller, this is your next read.

The Push, which is a debut novel is a psychological thriller that tells the story of three generations of women who have been abused and are passing on their traumas through these generations. The difficult circumstance that Blythe finds herself in is her inability to know what a good mother is or how to become a good mother. She doesn’t have the confidence to trust her own instincts. So, when she finally had her daughter, Violet, nothing seems to be the way it should but how can she truly know. This book makes you think about how fragile mother daughter relationships are and where does the poor treatment …more between them originate. Blythe is trying to change the sequences of abuse, but her husband is dismissive and provides no support. Thankfully she has a clue what it means to be a real mother by her relationship with a neighbor growing up who gave her real love. All I can say is that it has been a long time since the very last paragraph changed the entire book for me. I read this book in one sitting. (less)

Although THE PUSH is an excellent novel you'll want to keep reading, that will be in spite of its subject matter. It is a woman's first-person account of her marriage to her college sweetheart and their evil child. It is written as if it is an explanation she has written for her ex-husband. It is a sad book, and it may even be depressing.

This book is too much like WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. If you haven't read that book, it, also, is about an evil child. As with that book, I found THE PUSH to be maddening and frustrating in addition to sad and depressing.

Even so, you will probably find, as I did, until you …more start reading another book, you won't be able to stop thinking about this one. (less)

The author will have all your emotions in the palm of her hand-right up to the last line of the book. If you’re looking for a good psychological family drama that is written with the tension of a thriller, this is your next read.