Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Series: Pushing the Limits #1
Published by Harlequin Teen (7.31.2012)
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Format: eARC, 384 pages
Source: NetGalley
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No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.
My thoughts
I love a story that can pull off switching points of view. And this one definitely did! I had an ebook from NetGalley, and it failed to decipher where Noah ended and Echo began. It wasn’t even separated into paragraphs. One sentence would be Noah, then it would jump right to Echo. Yet I still knew when the POV changed. I could easily tell the difference between the two and there was no confusion, because Noah and Echo each had distinct personalities.
I liked Echo. She was fiery and even though she had her weaknesses, she still had strength. And she was funny. The banter between her and Noah made me giggle, and some of Echo’s terminology (like the Wizard of Oz references to her step-mother, or her ‘mutant pterodactyls’ instead of butterflies) were very amusing.
Noah was fabulous! He was kind of an ass at times, but he had his sweet moments, too. He had good intentions even if he had a funny way of showing it at times.
This book definitely tackled some tough issues. Divorce, loss, trauma, foster and step parents. Echo’s suppressed memories made me crave answers. What happened?! It had to be some seriously bad shit for her mind to go on lockdown, right? And it was. I can’t imagine going through even half of the crap that she did. Or what Noah did, for that matter.
I didn’t love it quite as much as I hoped, but I still really enjoyed it and it pulled on my heart strings for sure. It was a heart wrenching and emotional book!
Awesome review, I won a copy of this and cannot wait to meet Noah and Echo. So glad you enjoyed this one!
Everybody seems to love this book. I only hear raving things about it and still.. I can’t make myself to read it. There is something about it that totally turns me off. I’m glad that you liked it as much as all the others did!
This book seems to be getting a lot of attention so I chose the book when I won from a giveaway. I can’t wait to read it and hopefully I’ll enjoy reading it too! Thanks for the review!
I am so glad you liked this book. You have no idea how badly I want to get my hand on this book (It’s pretty bad)
I really love Pushing the Limits! It sucked me in from page one and it didn’t let me go. I’m so glad I read this even though it’s a bit on the heavy side because I think this is one of the best contemporaries I’ve read this year. I’m also really amused with the pterodactyls… Hehe!
Great review, Jessi! :D
Love the review :) This is one of my favorites of the year, I really enjoyed it
This is one of the top books on my list. Sounds very emotional but beautiful. Thanks for your thoughts! Love banter between characters too…it just seems to heighten the chemistry!
This is my next-in-line book. I love good banterinng too. Another great review, Jessi! :)
Great review! I’ve heard such great things about this book, can’t wait to get my hands on it!