Welcome back, everyone! It’s been a pretty uneventful couple of weeks, so not much of an introduction for this one. One update, for those interested, is that I’m currently at 5/52 books for the year. So, that’s one book ahead of schedule for my goal of reading one book a week! On that note, I am reviewing book #5 The Push by Ashley Audrain this week. And, I’m making a fun cocktail called a Push Pop. Enjoy!
Push Pop Recipe
2oz Mandarin Vodka
0.5oz Creme de Violette*
1tsp Vanilla Syrup
~4oz Orange Soda
*This is an optional ingredient.
In a collins glass, add mandarin vodka, creme de violette, and vanilla syrup. Stir this all together, then add ice and orange soda to top it off.
For my special ingredient this week, I am using creme de violette. I used this ingredient because Blythe’s troubled daughter’s name is Violet. It’s not my most creative special ingredient, but I think it works pretty well and adds a little something different to the drink. I also really like creme de violette in other drinks, so figured this was a safe bet since last week’s drink wasn’t my best work!
Taste-wise, both Tom and I found this drink way better with the creme de violette. Without it, it was good but quite orange-y and the vodka was slightly more pronounced. One of those don’t taste the alcohol on your tongue but feel it in your throat drinks. With the creme de violette, I loved this drink. The flavours matched perfectly and played off each other to make a really delicious drink. So, I promised a better drink than last week and I think I delivered! Definitely recommend trying this one, whether you try it with or without the creme de violette.
The Push Synopsis
(from the book flap)
Blythe Connor is determined to be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby, Violet, that she never had.
But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe doesn’t find the connection with her daughter she expected. She’s convinced something is wrong with Violet—she is distant, rejects affection, and becomes increasingly disruptive at preschool.
Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. Fox doesn’t see what she sees; he sees a wife who is struggling to cope with the day-to-day challenges of being a mother. 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 natural maternal connection she’d always dreamed of. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fallout forces Blythe to face the truth.
Review
“A mother’s heart breaks a million ways in her lifetime.”
The Push is another book that missed the mark for me. Truthfully, I went in a bit skeptical as I’ve seen a lot of bloggers on Instagram talking about this one, both good and bad. Unfortunately, the bad reviews stuck out to me as they came from reviewers I tend to agree with more. So, I was worried going in, but tried to keep an open mind and get into the novel. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. There’s a plethora of reasons why I didn’t love this one, but none are big, glaring NOs. Just a lot of small things that added up to me not being satisfied.
First, I’ll mention what a lot of other bloggers have mentioned about The Push—this novel deals with children’s deaths and some other pretty heavy topics, so trigger warning for reading this one if you can’t handle that. Personally, I wasn’t overly bothered by these dark themes. Largely because the writing didn’t do enough to get me into it, but partly, I’m sure, because I’ve never had kids myself. Although, and I quote my nephew Colby here, I am “the best auntie ever” (p.s. he even says that when I’m not around… it actually has hurt people’s feelings when he tells them that “we just have a special connection”). So, while I’ve yet to have my own child, I do know a thing or two about loving a kid so much you would die for them.
Anyway, back to the review and what I mentioned in passing above—the writing. It wasn’t technically bad writing, but it wasn’t my favourite. I found that a majority of the sentences were short and choppy, which made the book feel repetitive and boring as there wasn’t much differentiation between sentences. These short sentences also didn’t get me into the story. I felt like I was only getting tidbits (that could be due in part to the first person narrative), and like the story wasn’t going deep enough for the sensitive topics it addresses.
Overall, the writing just didn’t draw me in or paint a picture of the world of the story. And, because of all of this, I didn’t feel a connection to the characters or the story at all. (Again this lack of connection could be due, in part, to me not being a mother.) So, the writing style is my biggest turn off for the novel, though I do have some smaller turn offs as well.
My next small negative with The Push is that, despite what the cover says about being “compulsively readable,” it was dull. And though it is a quick read with the short sentences and small chapters, I never felt pulled to read more. I just kept waiting for something big or surprising to happen, and it never came. I mean, technically, big things did happen, but the writing style made them feel small. Not sure if that really makes sense, but it’s how I felt.
Another minor thing that I didn’t care for was the flashbacks. They just felt unnecessary and didn’t add anything of importance to the novel for me. I get seeing some insight into Blythe’s childhood, but why do I need insight into her mother’s bad childhood too? It doesn’t give me any more insight into Blythe’s life or the main story. Speaking of Blythe, the unreliable narrator thing was hit or miss for me, as well.
The synopsis of the book clearly sets Blythe up to be an unreliable narrator. But, she’s not a great one. Having every person except family members agree with her or go out of their way to mention Violet’s troubling behaviour kind of undermines the unreliable bit. Of course, Blythe could be making those conversations up, but it doesn’t seem like it from the story. I think if she had been written differently or fewer people agreed with her about Violet, I would’ve liked the unreliable narration more than I did.
So, all around, another weird review on this one. Similar to Mexican Gothic, I feel like The Push just wasn’t for me, but wasn’t bad enough for me to not recommend. It has a lot of good ratings and it is an interesting story that a lot of people could get into. If you’ve read some of the books I’ve previously reviewed and agree or disagree with me then take that into account with this one. Based on my own review and the other reviews I’ve seen, I think this novel is extremely subjective. So, if you like a quick, dark read that doesn’t bring you all the way in, this book could be for you! But, if you like a deeper, more immersive read maybe pass on this one. No matter what, I hope you try out the cocktail, and if you do let me know what you think!
My Rating:
Thanks for reading! And, if you read the book or try the cocktail let me know in a comment, on Instagram, or in person (if you know me). Also, if you haven’t yet read my previous reviews, I recommend reading My Dark and Stormy Vanessa, Simple Truths I Never Told You, and The Vanishing Half and Half if you liked this one!
Teghann
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