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Title: Push, The
Authors: Audrain, Ashley
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 303
Year: 2021
Language: English
Description: In the great genetic lottery of life, Blythe Connor inherited a maternal history of abuse, neglect and abandonment. She intends breaking the cycle when she has children, but when Violet is born, she seems ... different, and it becomes even more apparent when baby number two, Sam, is born. But if Blythe's husband and father to the children doesn't believe it, why would anyone else? Maybe Blythe has good reason to doubt her ability to mother.

Immersive and perturbing, this is a thought-provoking examination of the nature versus nurture debate and the weighty societal expectations of motherhood.

Categories: Fiction, Grief/loss, Relationships, Suspense/Thriller, 2023 Titles, Larger font

Reviews

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By: DUNED 110 2024-05-01 12:25:05
3.5 
Plenty of discussion about nurture and nature, and repeating cycles of behaviour.

By: CHCH 185 2024-03-04 12:28:23
4 
Three people in our group found the subject not to their liking at all. Others found it a good read. It certainly provoked some interesting discussion.

By: PALMN 001 2023-09-19 13:44:00
3 
Most people found the book disturbing. Violet was a ticking time bomb, manipulative in some ways, caring when she wanted to be. Blythe's relationship with her daughter was odd - we thought a psychologist should have seen Violet and Blythe. Dad was perhaps one-eyed as far as his daughter was concerned.

By: MATAM 004 2023-07-31 12:55:32
3.5 
This was a very interesting read. This is the story of nature vs nurture. There was no bond between Blythe and Violet - where did the fault lie? This raises issues about mothering, suitability, innate qualities that we are born with.

By: AUCK 446 2023-05-18 13:17:30
3.5 
Gripping story that really gets the reader thinking.

By: AUCK 339 2023-05-11 10:09:06
2 
Disturbing content; enjoyed by some.

By: WELL 219 2022-12-19 14:37:08
4 
Gripping read.

By: NAP 034 2022-12-05 19:09:17
3 
Most members agreed the book was easy to read and most enjoyed the short chapters. It did not grab all members and it wasn't finished by all. Even though the group thought it was well written, most did not like the content. We did have some good discussions around intergenerational trauma and the pressure on new mothers.

By: TAUR 062 2022-10-21 12:14:15
3.5 
We found this book very well-written. Very easy to read. Short chapters kept it moving, gripping and believable. Some found it quite harrowing. We would all recommend this book to others.

By: AUCK 122 2022-10-17 13:05:08
4 
Not all enjoyed the book - found it a little disturbing, a few did not finish.

By: WHAKA 020 2022-06-22 13:13:36
5 
Our group found this book particularly harrowing to read. It created a lot of discussion - even though harrowing, you couldn't put it down.

 
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