[4] During a July 2019 interview with the Toronto Star Audrain had described The Push as a "psychological drama told through the lens of motherhood."
[8] Kirkus Reviews called it "finely wrought psychological study of motherhood and inherited trauma", and concluded that it is "written for and about mothers but not for the faint of heart; it offers no easy answers."
Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review for the "twisty, harrowing ride to the dark side of motherhood Audrain pilots so skillfully... a sterling addition to the burgeoning canon of bad seed suspense.
It was selected as a Richard & Judy Book Club in Spring 2022 and won the Arthur Ellis Award for First Novel, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada.
According to Book Marks, the novel holds a total "Positive" consensus, based on 4 independent mainstream critic appraisals.