Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Book #1
Harlequin Teen – July
31, 2012
416 pages – Young Adult,
Fiction, Contemporary
Twitter: @ KatieMcGarry
Facebook: Yes
Source: The publisher via Netgalley
I received a digital
galley, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Summary from Goodreads: 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:
Echo
Emberson has had a traumatic past with a life altering event that she can’t
remember. Noah Hutchinson has lost in
his parents in a house fire and his two little brothers to the foster system. He
wants to get her brothers back and be a family again. Echo wants to remember the night that left her
with so many angry scars. Both want normal - something that they may never have
again.
There were moments where I had to fight back tears,
moments where I relaxed in brief moments of peace. Pushing
the Limits was a roller coaster and
kept the emotions flowing – never settling on one for too long. I am not sure if I can write this review
without gushing. I loved this book!! Usually characters are either good or bad.
They may have tendencies of the opposite, but good guys are good and bad guys
are bad. Happily, that was not the case with Pushing the Limits. Here the
characters were irrevocably human. You
see all of the secondary characters through the eyes of Echo or Noah, so you
are shaded by their opinions and objections of each. Everyone comes to life,
flawed and radiant.
I think it was great seeing others through Echo and
Noah. You don’t have to decide whether or not you like them, but you do learn
to accept them as they are. Something
that Echo and Noah learns to do as well.
Since it’s a given that I love this book, I won’t go
on and on about what I like. I will talk about what works. You meet Echo with a hole in her memory and
scars on her body. She wants to know what happened in the hopes of gaining her
life back. Her parents, police and therapists
all know but refuse to tell her. In a
short period of times Echo loses her brother Aires to Afghanistan and her
mother to the depressive side of bi-polar. Her father, who seems to want
nothing more than to control her life, is too absorbed with his new wife and
unborn child. Echo feels that she needs to be perfect to win his love. All of
this comes together to add an unsettling tension to the story of Echo’s life. Without knowing the whole story of what has
happened to Echo, you are just unsettled reading it as Echo is living it.
Noah is a foster kid with limited supervised visits
with his younger brothers. From his previous experiences, he has learned to not
become attached to anyone and to never
trust adults. He carries the burden of a guilt-heavy secret with his little
brother Jacob. He deeply fears that his youngest brother, Tyler, will forget
him. He does everything he can to fight for the custody of his brothers. Knowing about his family adds another layer
onto Noah’s character and you can’t help but understand and care about what
happens.
Echo and Noah, like magnets, are instantly and passionately
attracted and repelled to each other. Where no one can truly accept them as they
are, they are able to accept each other. Both feel as if they are not worthy of
the other. Neither are completely prepared for the way that their lives ar about to change. But neither
was I.
With everything that Echo and Noah has experienced, I so wanted a perfect happy ending. I got something even better. It was warm and
cozy, yet it was a flawed ending. It was
beautiful, believable and satisfying. Because
I am a pessimist at heart, I am glad Noah and Echo’s story ended where it did.
Any world where Echo and Noah were not together would not be right.
What’s Next? Dare You to (Beth’s Story)
5 Stars *****
A 2012 favorite
Bonus: If you are in the Louisville, KY - Katie
McGarry, Bethany Griffin, Kelly Creagh and Julie Kagawa will be at Barnes & Noble
in The Summit tomorrow from 6:30-8:30!
Always Shine,
Starr K
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