Pushing The Limits (series: Pushing The Limits) by Katie McGarry
Review by Dana
Format ARC (received from the lovely Sarah @TheBookLife Thanks so much!)
Published July 31st 2012 from Harlequin Teen Book
“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.”
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Click after the break to read Dana’s thoughts on Pushing the Limits…
Pushing The Limits is a probably my favorite young adult contemporary book. Along the lines of Perks of Being A Wallflower it features characters that are highly broken and flawed. I don't think a book has emotionally affected me since Perks and I don't mean just tears because I cry when I read most books but I was so upset by certain plots in this story. This book isn't just a swoony romance with a tortured bad boy it is so much more than that. Pushing the Limits will put you on an emotional roller coaster that you will never want to get off of. This deals with some hard hitting topics such as mental illness and foster care. Echo's back story is the heavier one though. She hides scars up her arms by long sleeves because something happened to her that she doesn't remember. Though the school things she tried to commit suicide. There is a lot of secrets surrounding what happened. Her story is far more dramatic and soap opera like. Her father remarried Echo's once babysitter, brother died in war, and there is a restraining order against Echo's mother to protect Echo because she is bipolar. Pushing the Limits is told from both Noah and Echo’s point of views. I think Katie did a very good job writing both characters. They both had such amazing voices especially Noah. He added the touch of humor that this book needed.The one con I have with this is that the point of views never really overlapped. They picked up where the other left off and continued on with the story but at times I wanted to see what the other character was doing or thinking. Now I know that can’t happen the whole book because it would be boring but the pivotal moments it would have been great. Even though Echo had a more sympathetic story it was also very dramatic and in a lot of ways very hard to relate to. Where as Noah who is in foster care because his parents died in a fire wants to gain custody of his two little brothers. Even though I can't personally relate to it the love he had for his brothers was so amazing. I definitely think Noah is the better and more appealing character beside the fact that he is a majorly swoon worthy guy. Pushing The Limits definitely had more of a bitter sweet ending because the conflicts were resolved but not how the characters initially wanted. Noah and Echo get their happily ever but at the same time you know that they will always be somewhat broken because of their darker past. I loved that these two characters made each other better people and were able to get over their past together. Pushing The Limits is apart of the series but the series is actually just a bunch of companion novels in essence. Each of the books in this series tells the story of different characters from Pushing The Limits. This makes Pushing The Limits almost a standalone novel. The next book Dare You To is Beth's story, Crossing the Line is Lila's story and Crash into You is Isaiah's story. Katie McGarry definitely chose the best supporting characters for the rest of the books. Lila was probably my favorite character besides Noah but I really want to see Beth and Isaiah have their happy ending as well. If you love young adult contemporary novels but you want something more than the run of the mill fluffy romance then Pushing The Limits is the book for you! There is a reason why this book is really hyped up because it is fantastic!
Did you like Dana’s review? Head on over to her blog to see what else she has been reading!
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