The Push: A Novel by Ashley Audrain is yet another book that has been on my tbr list for quite some time. I remember when I originally requested it for review, I was very intrigued by the synopsis. Now that I’ve finally sat down to read it, I remember why I was interested in it in the first place.

While I’m not a mother myself, I have always found myself fascinated by stories of motherhood. Particularly those stories of motherhood that don’t match up to the traditional picture that we as women have typically sold our entire lives. The picture that the baby makes you forget about the pain of childbirth; that breastfeeding is easy; that you can sleep when the baby sleeps; that all your fears of something being wrong with your kid are normal. I have always been terrified of having kids and something being wrong with them; not medically wrong with them; but wrong with them at their core as a person. The Push as a novel is all of my fears put onto paper, and it’s terrifying.

Utterly raw, captivating, heartbreaking, and frustrating is this picture into this journey of motherhood for which there is no manual. The Push: A Novel by Ashley Audrain explores complicated mother and child relationships that will leave you trying to figure out if it is nature or nurture that shapes us into the people we are.

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an e copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review**

This novel is hauntingly truthful about motherhood, and relationships. It was frustrating to read at times, and achingly beautifully written. It tells of the generational trauma felt when people who didn't want to be mothers, were forced to do so, and the effect that can have on them and their children. It is also a tale of a new mother who only wishes to please her husband by giving him the family that he wants, even though she has doubts about her own ability to parent as she never really had much of a role model herself.

I read this book in one sitting, I could not put it down. I felt so much for Blythe and her struggles, wishing that honestly what she saw in her family, in her daughter, wasn't the truth. Parts of this novel made me intrinsically sad. Blythe was such a sad character, I just wanted someone to believe her, to help her. [ I wanted Jemma to somehow be the one, the one to pull Blythe out of her grief and misery, but that didn't happen. (hide spoiler)]

So many times I was angry with her husband Fox for gaslighting her in to denying her intuition, and making her feel like she wasn't mentally sound, or that she was less than for having certain thoughts and feelings. [ It made me so angry on behalf of Blythe that she was left alone by her 'husband' after Sam's death, and that he got to basically start over with a new family, while she was still stuck in Sam's house - "I hate you for leaving me alone in Sam's house" - heartbreaking. I do know he obviously grieved as well, but it just seems like he didn't even try to be there for Blythe (hide spoiler)] You're left not 100% sure what the truth is, up until the very last line of the book, and then it just ends. I kind of love that, it leaves you a bit shocked, and also wanting to know more.

This novel doesn't shy away about what happens during and after child birth, and has some heavy stuff happen within, so please check your trigger warnings prior to reading if you feel you need to. I for one am happy that it doesn't shy away from the nitty gritty details, because I feel more people need to see motherhood from all sides to make the best decision for themselves.

Considering everything, I do recommend this book. It is so well crafted, the past and present chapters so well laid out, and the ever niggling doubt always in the back of the reader's mind.

I receive the ARC for this book from net galley and the publisher for a candid and honest review.

This is an amazing book club book, it has a lot to discuss. Postpartum, physical and mental abuse and mental illness are all themes in this book which help with the discussion.

The story of this family makes this a great book and pulls you into the story of the mother and daughter relationship.

This story delves into the past which is a dark and depressing place, which the author describes and portrays well. The author isn't afraid to show you the reality that makes it uncomfortable and eerie as I was reading the book.
This is one of the books that I think about after I have finished it. I find myself constantly remembering and reflecting on this story.

This is a human interest story, and a most upsetting one in many ways. Having a child is a traumatic experience, but having a unusual child is also very traumatic. It turns first-time mothers into someone else, often a person who the mother herself can't identify. This is a frightening book, and one that makes first-time mothers very reflective on what responsibilities they now have.

Honestly I don’t have an interest in reading this book anymore and I want to be more selective with what I request.

This book was equal parts terrifying and exciting. I could not put it down. I absolutely loved this book.

I really enjoyed this title. I liked the twists and turns and the writing style is nice and smooth. The story flows well and kept my attention. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. I will be recommending this one to friends.

This book will stay with me for a long long time. Disturbing in all the right ways and a tale that needed to be told. It’s Dark, heartbreaking but so well done. Fantastic writing

I really enjoyed The Push, it was a thrilling read that shed some light on the dark side of parenting. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out if our main character was a reliable narrator. The suspense really pushed the story forward. It was a heavy read and I would provide trigger warnings, most of my friends with small children would skip this one.

Ended up listening to the audiobook and what a creepy listen. So hard to tell if you should believe the main character or not and what a vivid description of motherhood that I feel you rarely hear about.

This was a heavy book to read. The story shone a light on maternal depression, generational mental illness and trauma. I had a bit of a hard time keeping up with the different story lines and time periods as the story of 3 generations of women were told.

It pained me to read about how much Blythe was struggling as a new mom and how challenging it was to connect with her baby. So often we're told about maternal instincts and how as women we should automatically bond and nurture our children. There are so many challenges, emotional rollercoasters and hormonal changes that we go through that aren't spoken about and discussed.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book and to the author for writing an incredible story about a very difficult topic.

This is one of those psychological suspense stories with a narrator you can’t be sure you trust. The prose is serviceable—nothing fancy—but the story unfolds at a breakneck pace (it might be all those two- or three-page chapters; this reader just kept turning pages helplessly!). Blythe comes from a line of women who seemed unable to love their children: her grandmother was a depressive, and not only didn’t love but was abusive to her daughter, Cecilia, while Cecilia, Blythe’s mother, was cold and unloving and permanently left (without another word to her daughter) when Blythe was 11. So when Blythe and her loving husband have a daughter, Violet, and Blythe just can’t attach, you wonder if Blythe has had all maternal instinct trained out of her—or whether there’s something wrong with Violet. Blythe feels early on that Violet is strange, but she’s kind of bullied to believe by her increasingly impatient husband that it’s all in her head, and the reader is left uncertain. If Blythe’s observations are to be trusted, Violet’s a little psychopath. But nobody wants to believe that about their own kid, right? Then a son, little Sam, comes along and Blythe’s maternal instinct kicks into overdrive. But Violet takes a dislike to her baby brother...

Insanely readable commercial fiction that keeps you guessing until the very end.

This is in an interesting book. I enjoyed it but there are also parts I hate (but I think you're supposed to hate those parts, so good job). This is an exploration of motherhood and responsibilities. But also about mental health and expectations. It was painful watching Blythe go so unsupported when she was clearly struggling as a new mother. It was also painful to see her not try to get the help for her daughter that she so desperately needed. Maybe this book also explores the birth of a psychopath?

Overall, the book is disturbing and, in many ways, hard to read because of the content. I liked the going back in time and acknowledgement of generational trauma. But the content is heavy and sometimes repetitive.

TW: abuse, murder

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

Similarly to how most feel about this book, I was drawn in from the first page and couldn't put the book down until I was finished.

This was some disturbing novel. I could not put it down. I actually wish it lasted longer. I loved the characters. The disturbing way violet acts... read it

An excellent book deserving of the hype. A well written, provocative take on motherhood. The raw honesty of new motherhood is laid bare and it is both chilling and refreshing to see in print.

This story took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. Some parts were hard to read, but, as a mother I could understand how Blythe felt. This is a story of the making and the breaking of a family. There are triggers that many women have felt, but the ending was a shocker. I certainly did not see it coming. I would highly recommend it. I received a copy of this book for free and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

This is the book everyone is talking about lately! It took me a little while to get into it as the beginning seemed a little too stalkerish mom to me. You definitely need to keep reading! I still get chills thinking about it! Great story!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read and review this book!

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This was a twisty psychological thriller! I loved it when I got to the end. However, it took me a few tries to get through this book. As a new parent with a toddler at home, I found the content in this book was giving me anxiety and unpleasant thoughts, so I out it down a few times. I did finally pick it up and I read it in less than 24 hours. I am not sure who I would recommend this for but I feel like it did need some trigger warnings at the start of the book for new parents. I do not usually require trigger warning but the way the book builds suspense left me anxious at times.