Blythe meets Fox Connor at college, they become inseparable and later marry. Blythe’s only example of good mothering growing up came from their lovely, kind neighbour Mrs Ellington as her mother Cecilia is neglectful and distant and her grandmother even worse. Can she ever hope to break the cycle, become a good mother herself with those awful childhood experiences? Does she carry a ‘bad seed’ or with the help of Fox can she become the mother she’d like to be? The story is told from Blythe’s perspective, interspersed with background on grandmother Etta and Cecilia.

This is a very well written, powerful and gripping novel about motherhood and how naturally maternal we are. I like how the author shows the impact of daughter Violet on Blythe and Fox’s lives and parts of the storytelling are shocking, examining the nature versus nurture debate. At times the novel is brutally honest, Blythe’s pain and guilt are almost searing in their depth and so it’s an emotional read. Violet is terrifyingly fascinating and you feel the tension every time she’s around. Fox and his mother are interesting characters and you question just how much Fox is to blame when things start to go wrong. This is not an easy read as at times it’s raw but it is also compelling. There are twists and turns, it’s most definitely an intense rollercoaster and there are moments of suspense when you scarcely dare breathe. The end is probably predictable, it’s certainly not unexpected but it highlights how the close the characters were teetering on the edge of a precipice.

Overall, you can’t say that you enjoy a book like this but it’s thought provoking and very much with reading.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph.

I really wanted to love this book, I think it had some really interested & complex themes - I couldn’t couldn’t warm to any character, it felt very grey which I suppose what demonstrably how Blythe felt of her world, but it didn’t make for a great read.

I do commend the storytelling and the central theme - I could have done without Etta & Cecilia, I don’t think they really gave enough to the story, for me.

This novel dives confidently into controversial territory which suggests some people are not fit to become mothers because of their hereditary propensity to fail at it, potentially causing themselves grief and their child possible harm. It’s not an easy topic to explore. The picture is cloudy because the main protagonist, Blythe, is very much in love to begin with.

This makes her hopeful she can grant her husband Fox’s request to start a family. Her pregnancy delights him, yet gives her lingering anxiety and pause for thought. She is determined to bring their daughter Violet up better than she had been herself, but struggles to cope when her daughter clearly prefers being with Fox rather than her.

This is enough to unsettle her soul. As the story alternates between the present day, her own childhood, and the slowly unravelling history of her mother and grandmother as they became mothers themselves, it reveals how confusion still exists between nature or nurture in affecting the maternal response.

She tries so hard to be a good mother, and when they have a son she’s determined to shower him with love and do things differently. However, Violet’s attitude and behaviour towards her deteriorates. It culminates in a push that spins their world on its head with tragic consequences as it brings into question issues of culpability, pure accident or sheer neglect.

Desperate for her version of events to be believed, yet fearing she might have got it all wrong, Blythe loses her husband to another woman. He fails to support her and distrusts her care of Violet. Bereft of husband, daughter and son, she resorts to getting to know the new woman in his life without revealing who she is.

This is a dark, disturbing, challenging but compelling psychological thriller which throws up more questions than answers. The ending suggests Blythe desperately wants to make amends and is not as crazy as she might seem to others. I ached for her throughout. Grateful thanks to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the ARC.

Loved this book! So much so I read in one sitting. The raw sadness and interweaving story lines between the main character Blythe and her childhood keep you turning the pages. The did she didn’t she mystery surrounding Violet keep you guessing to the last page and beyond. Fabulous read.

Wow, this was amazing! I loved it!

I read it in a couple of sittings. Loved the characters and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. I really felt for the main character and was rooting for her.

I was disappointed when it ended - would have liked to have known more, but then that's the hallmark of a great read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read such a wonderful story.

It's no secret I enjoy a good delve into the world of twisted minds, which is probably why this was recommended to me. On the surface it appears very normal. And it is. Because that's where the beauty of the story is hidden.

What's it about? Mothers and daughters. I mean, there are sons in there too, and fathers and husbands and suchlike. But fundamentally the whole thing revolves around inter-generational female relationships. Okay, now it's sounding dry rather than normal... It isn't. It's tense and gripping. Partly because it deals with a fundamental fear - are we normal, or broken?

Blythe takes up the story. She's the hub of it all. Her relationship with her daughter, Violet, is the main thread and it's engrossing. We also skip back to her youth and the relationship with her mother. And, for context, we also go back another generation to learn about her grandmother too. Those sub-threads add context. They give us the background that explains Blythe's thinking. It asks us whether we can ever truly escape our pasts. It's all nicely balanced. Those sub-threads are interesting and bring a nice level of poignancy to the book. But it was the main story that had me enthralled.

Violet is a wonderfully written character. It's hard to get much nuance in a child so young, yet Audrain manages to deliver a carefully sculpted character that plays with your mind. Blythe's narration leaves you guessing at certain points - how literal was what you just read? How much is filtered through the baggage weighing upon the women of this family? We watch Blythe's world evolve as her daughter grows. We see relationships change, we empathise with her struggles. We see the highs and lows of her motherhood, and it is powerful.

It is also beautifully detailed and intricate. Oh, those details... there's no better way to draw me in. The minutiae that make up life lift stories. It's where we connect with a story. Audrain delivers by the bucketful. Small lines entwine you. How can anything bad happen in a world so normal? Which is where we meet the most important detail, the one that is positively shilling and had me craving more. The simple question from the blurb; is it Violet or is it Blythe? Will they break the cycle?

Read this book if you want to connect with superb characters. Or if you enjoy a little shiver down your spine. If you enjoy a careful plot unfolding before your eyes too. And just because it's worth reading.

In the footsteps of ‘We Need to Talk about Kevin’ this debut novel by Ashley Audrain generates an unwelcome feeling of disbelief. How can a mother feel like that; how can a child feel or act like that?

Blythe and Fox are happily married and then their daughter, Violet, is born and Blythe awaits the rush of love that everybody talks about and all the time thinking of all that was lacking in her relationship with her own mother. Like every mother she is full of doubt, will she be a good mother, will she do it right? Meanwhile as she grows Violet is distinctly unresponsive to her mother.

This is heartbreaking; devastating and powerful.

Well-written, great structure and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

The Push completely blew me away - easily one of the best books I've read this year and I've read over 100.

Ashley Audrain tells the story of how the mothers in one family do not behave as we would typically expect them - each has personal issues which affect their daughter and are seemingly passed on to the next generation of women.
At the beginning of the story it can be a bit difficult to keep track of which person's perspective we are reading about, but the more you find yourself engrossed in the story, the easier the novel flows.

At times I was shocked at the characters and their behaviour and actions and the end was truly unanticipated.

An excellent novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for an advanced copy of The Push.

My goodness, what a book this is. I think you know everything you should know about the plot from the blurb and part of the joy of reading this comes from the mystery element.

Audrain's writing is very easy to read, you get swept along with the story and find that a few hours have passed without you noticing. The story carried well and whilst some areas were quite predictable it didn't detract from the overall reading experience.

If you enjoy your literary fiction with a dash of mystery thrown in the The Push is the book for you. I can see this easily becoming a best seller when it is released early next year.

This is a great read which I have been completely unable to put down. I have loved this from start to end and have completely devoured this book in just one sitting.
Full review to follow on Publication day.

Beautifully written, compelling, haunting. This is my first experience of this author, and it's been an unforgettable encounter. Ashley Audrain writes of the worst of a mother's fears with such emotional fluency that I am reminded of 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' as it paces perfectly to the final line, which we feared but hoped it would be different.
Thank you to Netgalley and Michael Joseph for the ARC.

When I read the description of this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it might be an exploration of postpartum depression and similar themes. While I'm sure what was definitely a part of it, what I ended up reading was something upsetting and quite horrific. I can't fault the writing itself, but I found all of the characters bar one very minor character extremely unlikable. Even if in some instances I could understand why the MC acted as she did, that doesn't alter the fact that I could never find myself cheering for her. I do feel this story needs some sort of trigger warnings because some of the things I read I was utterly horrified at and if I'm honest, I wish I hadn't read them.

This wasn't the story for me however I can see why some people would enjoy it. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blythe had a difficult childhood, but now she has Fox Connor, complete with loving mother. Their relationship is wonderful. Then Blythe and Fox have a baby. What sort of mother will she be? Suppose the baby isn't as she'd hoped? The book centres on Blythe's account, with flashbacks to her dysfunctional mother Cecilia and her own still more dysfunctional mother Etta...

A powerful, intense, literary thriller. It is compelling if difficult to read at times. Reminiscent of 'We Need to Talk About Kevin', the book explores motherhood, parenting and relationships with a raw, searing, honesty.

Strongly recommended.

WOW. It isn't often a book leaves me speechless but this book was just absolutely incredible. I've been in a real reading slump and this has pulled me out.

We meet Blythe who had a difficult childhood. A mother who came in and out of her life. As she enters motherhood herself, she questions whether or not she would be a good mother and when the baby arrives, she struggles to feel that maternal instinct.

I have to say I really connected with this book in a weird way. As someone who has just got married, I'm constantly asked when I'm going to have a baby. But I have this looming fear that maybe, thanks to my illness, won't be a great mum. So it was weird to feel such a connection to what is, a very dark tale.

The writing in this is sublime. It is punchy. It gets to the point which I love in a book.

This is half literary fiction with a tiny bit of mystery infused in it.

Overall, a massive five stars. I can see this one being huge when it is released - one to watch out for.

Wow. Just.....wow. An incredible, powerful read. Motherhood but the truth of it, the truth of how we sometimes only know what we know and no matter what, it's impossible to do otherwise.

Blythe and Fox have the perfect relationship. Happy, successful, talented. Blythe doesn't have the most supportive family but that doesn't matter because she has Fox and his family. They get married and then of course, they have a baby. But Violet is not like any other baby and motherhood is not what Blythe expected. Told in present day and with flashbacks to Blythe's childhood and her missing mother - Cecilia - childhood - we see how our childhood experience shape our understand of love and motherhood. But what happens when our child is different and doesn't fit that mold.

Brave, bold, powerful, heartbreaking - this was an incredible read and I can't wait for her next novel.

The publisher’s invitation for The Push made it feel difficult to resist but it lived up to expectation.
This novel is a tense, often harrowing account of troubled mother/daughter relationships over three generations. The second person narration feels comfortable because the writing is good. The characters are tight, authentic enough to allow for taking sides. A child like Violet inevitably recalls Lionel Shriver’s Kevin, and the debate over nature or nurture, but The Push works the long-suffering and tortured mother Blythe in quite a different way.
Is Fox, the husband, really blinded by filial adoration and therefore completely unhelpful, or is he closing his eyes to the truth. Full marks for a very chilling scene close to the end in this difficult to put down read.

The Push was not quite the book I expected it to be - it's more of a thriller than literary fiction. But I found this was actually its strength - the short, sharp sentences and breathless pacing make it all the more compelling.

It's deceptively simple. The story revolves around the core theme of motherhood. But what at first seems straightforward becomes increasingly tangled. The perspective is intimate and disingenous, slipping from first to second person and between three generations of women. While the plot may be a little predictable, the narration is not, and that is what makes it a real page-turner.

Taught and compelling, The Push makes for a compulsive read.

The Push is a gripping family drama. I don't generally like 2nd person narrative but I got used to it so quickly. It felt like Blythe was telling the story to me as if I had been part of it.

I really enjoyed Blythe's narrative, yet when jumping back in time to get the history and a bit of a back story of the women in her family, I didn't enjoy it as much.

Also, the ending was slightly predictable yet left me on a total cliffhanger. I need answers.

3.5/5

I'd definitely purchase a copy for my shelf and recommend to friends.

Blythe isn’t sure about having a baby: her mother left when she was young and she doesn’t want to put her perfect marriage at risk. But her husband persuades her that she’ll be a great mother.
Reminiscent of ‘we need to talk about Kevin’, this fast and addictive thriller is split between Blythe’s traumatic relationship with her child and - back in time - between her grandmother, mother and herself.
Is Blythe a bad mother or is there something bad about her child?
This is a great read: I got through it in a day. It’s the sort of book you read with a sense of impending doom but it’s well-written and insightful.
Thoroughly recommended.

I read this in a day; I just couldn't put it down. It's incredibly pacy and for fans of Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins and Donna Tartt you won't be disappointed. I found myself very invested in Blythe, the protagonist, and her story - it's a frustrating read at times as you discover how she copes and operates, and learn increasingly uncomfortable things about her past.
It's a novel that gets to the heart of what it means for a woman who is forced into motherhood (an interesting read against the backdrop of the latest abortion laws being passed in the States) and also a thoughtful study on how much damage is carried through generations and some behaviour just cannot be unlearned.
I really, really loved it. It's visceral, uncomfortable, thrilling and raw and the last line made my jaw drop. I'm excited for what Ashley Audrain writes next as I know it'll be something I have to read.