The Push: Mother. Daughter. Angel. Monster?

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• The Push hinges on Blythe’s unreliability and thus her uncertainty about her daughter’s guilt. Do you believe that Violet is a killer? Did your opinion on her guilt change over the course of the novel?
• The Push was Ashley Audrain’s debut novel. Did you enjoy Audrain’s writing style? Why or why not?
• Do you tend to like thrillers? Why or why not? How does The Push compare to other thrillers you’ve read—particularly those that center heavily on women’s experiences, like Mary Kubica’s The Good Girl (2014) or Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2006)?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• The Push suggests that society has unfair expectations of mothers while demanding relatively little of fathers. Do you think this is a fair assessment? How does it reflect real-world family dynamics you’ve encountered?
• On that note, how much responsibility do you think Fox bears for the novel’s events, and why?
• Evil or frightening children appear with relative frequency in the thriller and horror genres. Why do you think readers find this character type so fascinating? To what extent do you think children can be morally responsible for their actions?
• How would you react if you discovered someone close to you had done something terrible? Does reflecting on this change the way you perceive Blythe?
• The unreliability of memory is a major theme in the novel. Think about a particularly vivid memory: How sure are you that your recollection is accurate, and why?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Thrillers featuring unreliable female narrators have become increasingly popular in the 21st century: Other examples include Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl (2012) and Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train (2015). To what extent do novels like these play into stereotypes of women as more prone to mental illness? To what extent do they contextualize mental illness in women as a product of living in a patriarchal society?
• Consider Blythe’s struggles in the aftermath of Violet’s birth. What kinds of social support systems could have helped her? What about after Violet’s behavioral problems began to emerge?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• Discuss Audrain’s decision to structure the novel as a series of letters that Blythe writes to her ex-husband (essentially positioning the reader as Fox). What purpose does this serve? How does it impact the novel’s tone and pacing?
• What techniques does Audrain use to telegraph Blythe’s unreliability as a narrator?
• Consider the significance of the novel’s title. Besides the “push” Violet may have given her brother’s stroller, what other kinds of “pushing” does the novel explore? What is the title’s relevance vis-à-vis the novel’s depiction of motherhood?
• What relationship does the novel posit between systemic sexism and the phenomenon of mothers who abuse their children? How does this relationship manifest across generations in Blythe’s family?

5. Creative Engagement 

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• Suppose you were in charge of a campaign to raise awareness about the kinds of pressures new mothers can face. What would your message be, and how would you communicate it?
• Imagine that you are Fox, reading Blythe’s letters. How would you respond in a letter of your own?

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