The Push: A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel)

Ashley Audrain

Jan 2021 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

Don't waste your time or money on THE PUSH. It is a poorly written blatant rip-off of WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, which is original, provocative and current. Do yourself a favor and read WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN!

What an unexpectedly good book! I figured with all of the hype that it got, it would be one of those long yawns. Instead, it was an amazing psychological thriller that kept me engrossed, at least after the first part which was kind of slow paced. It was the story of a mother named Blythe who just could not get along with her daughter Violet, no matter how hard she tried. Since her husband Fox bonded with Violet from the beginning, he has no clue about Blythe’s challenges bonding with Violet and her desperate need to be accepted by her child. That desperation led Blythe to have a second child. Sam became the joy of Blythe’s life, until suddenly he wasn’t. I don’t want to spoil anything that happens because parts of this book are real nail biters. The drama is realistic, the characters are three dimensional and the back story of Blythe is amazingly well written. In fact, the way the book is written with insight into Blythe’s heritage and her current situation was nothing short of awesome! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for good psychological thrillers to read. And I want to urge the readers not to give up after the first chapter or so. The book gets better and it gets intense really fast! Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased a copy of this book on my Kindle and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

I read it in one night.

About the author

ASHLEY AUDRAIN’s debut novel The Push was a New York Times, Sunday Times and #1 international bestseller, and a Good Morning America book club pick.  It has sold in 38 territories, and a limited television series is currently in development. She previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada, and prior to that, worked in public relations. She lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. She is working on her second novel.