Are you ready for summer? Do you have a beach chair, some SPF, and maybe an exorbitantly expensive cooler in which to drag around beer or Capri Sun (depending on the kind of life you're living)? For me, summer is about more than sunburns and sandy feet. It's also about reading lists. The kind you get from school and are told you absolutely must read [insert number] from this list before the first day of school. Then, come September, not a single teacher remembers there was ever a list to begin with. (Yes, I am a nerd.) One of those lists is how I found my favorite book, so I have a soft spot in my heart for them. With that in mind, I've started asking locals for reading recommendations to share with you all.
Today, we start with a recommendation from the most logical place in town: the library.
Jessica Glazier has been in Stafford for 20 years, and she serves the community as a Youth Services Librarian at Stafford Public Library. Who knows books better than a librarian? No one, that's who!
As you might imagine, Jessica reads a lot and has plenty of books to choose from. When I asked what she would recommend, she ultimately settled on "The Push" by Ashley Audrain.
Jessica says, "Of the 22 books I've read so far in 2024 this one has stuck with me. It is a psychological family drama about motherhood and the bonds between mother and child. This book is haunting and makes one question nature vs. nurture."
I (and surely Jessica) urge you to go pick up a copy at the library or use the Libby or Hoopla apps (assuming you have a library card) to get it on your mobile device. You can also use the button below to buy it. Happy reading!
Book Description:
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.
For fans of Verity and We Need to talk about Kevin, The 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.