Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Pushing the Limits, #1
Hardcover, 392 pages
Published July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen
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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 Review:

I never read the description of this book so I had no real idea of what it was about. I just knew it was a good girl hooking up with a bad boy. I had the opportunity to get this for review but I never did request it. I was mad at myself though because it became hugely popular and everyone who read it seemed to have loved it so much. I finally decided to get it from the library and I am so glad that I did. This was nothing like was I was expecting and I loved it. I have grown to love drama filled contemporary novels. This book definitely falls in to that category.  

Pushing the Limits features two different points of view. The first point of view comes from Echo. Echo is in mandatory therapy from the state because her mother tried to kill her. She now has horrible scars up both arms and she has sort of become the outcast of her school. She only has one friend that has stuck by her through it all. Echo is not only kept from her mother do to a restraining order but she also lost her brother to the war. Her father is extremely strict with her and is now married to her former babysitter. To top it all she has no idea how her mother tried to kill her because she can’t remember any of it and nobody will tell her.

I loved her character and the way she handled different situations. She had authority issues at the beginning, meaning she would do or agree with whatever an adult said, but I love how she developed from that point.

The second point of view comes from our bad boy Noah. Noah has been bounced around from foster homes after his parents were killed in a fire. His goal is to be reunited with him brothers instead of just having supervised visitation. One situation has made him look like a bad person and he has been trying to prove he isn’t from then on. His currently living situation isn’t ideal but it’s better than the last one he had. He lives with another foster kid named Isaiah and Beth, the niece of the foster mom. The internal drama he has with himself is very much what it would be like in real life.

The little side story that was going on between Isaiah and Beth was a nice setup for the second book. I would have been surprised if there wasn’t a companion novel written about them. You can just tell that is a book waiting to happen.

I loved the relationship between Echo and Noah from the start, even before anything actually happened between them. The way they both were fighting with their selves about what they thought of the other person and what was more important in their own lives.

I found no faults in this book and it felt great to read a book a really enjoyed. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my own collection if I find it at a good price.

Do I Recommend this Book/Series?

Yes! Read it, read it, read it!

Will I Read the Next Book?

I have it for review and can’t wait to get to it!

My Rating: