I’m gonna rate this how I did “The Push”, as I loved it just as much as her debut. The only thing keeping me from 5 stars is the both of them having very quick endings. 

WOW!!! An incredibly fascinating second novel from Ashley Audrain. I was immediately invested in the deep tangle of suburban domesticity between the three families at the helm of this story, and even the fourth family’s insights sprinkled throughout. Audrain commands your attention with every page, every insane detail that feels hot in your hands, like juicy but disturbing neighborhood  gossip you’re only so lucky to be privy too. Like you are one of the periphery moms, whispering about only the surface of the twisted, mangled iceberg. 

This is as much a novel about marriages and parent-child relationships under pressure as it is a novel of suspense. Which is to say, this isn’t exactly a thriller, but very much so an intense domestic drama that leaves you clutching at your pearls, as they say, as the characters’ lives unravel. A child in a coma, due to mysterious circumstances. His parents, his neighbors, none of them quite who they seem. Rumors everywhere. Lies as abundant as a cup full of sugar. 

I throughly enjoyed this one. I loved the intensity, the explicitness, the shock, every character interwoven into another in the most unexpected ways. This is a deliciously spiraling novel that makes you think a whole lot about the lives of those acquaintances around you that may be entirely different from what you only see from the end of the driveway. Or overheard from an open window…

A suburban drama at its finest! 

What’s said and done behind closed doors isn’t just your secret when you live in a closely housed community. 

It all starts with a fabulous party hosted by Whitney Loverly and her husband Jacob! The guest list includes a few neighbours like Blair and Aiden, Ben and Rebecca, Mara, other moms and many acquaintances. 

The party becomes a standstill when Whitney is overheard screaming atrocities at her son, Xavier. Her non so perfect life is revealed in a startling way. 

Nine month later and Xavier is found outside her bedroom window, as if he’d fallen out. 

Was it an accident? Could Whitney’s rage have gotten the better of her this time? 

It’s natural with any trauma that the family and those close to the family will be asked questions to ensure it was an accident. In a small closely housed community things will have been seen and heard, outside of the outburst that happened at the party… will anyone share what they’ve seen or heard? 

Blair is having difficulties of her own, her marriage isn’t great, her daughter Chloe is devastated about Xavier and she’s convincing herself that her husband is cheating on her with none other than Whitney. 

Rebecca and Ben have been trying desperately for a baby, and has suffered many miscarriages. Rebecca works at the hospital that Xavier was taken to and has kept a close eye on his case. She also knows about that night at the party… should she bring it up? 

She’s keeping a secret of her own right now, after Ben stating he was done trying for a baby. Around that time Ben started visiting Xavier, playing softball but keeping it from Rebecca. 

Mara lives right next door to the Loverly family and Xavier reminds her so much of her own son, with all his peculiar behaviours. They spend time together that’s peaceful and understanding. She gifts him with an old airplane that was once her sons, which Xavier treasures. 

Blair, Whitney, Rebecca and Mara are all neighbours but for the most part that’s the main tie to their relationships. Whitney and Blair are closer but Blair tends to keep her secrets close. 

With heavy character narrative the events surrounding Xavier’s accident are told in a week long timeline with some chapters from the past describing bits of the women’s lives that help the reader understand why they’ve become the way they are. 

Intense. Distressing. Character Driven.