Review: Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Publish: July 31st 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Page Count: 383

Synopsis: "I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked. "An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter,  New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series. So wrong for each other...and yet so right. 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.

Review: I'd seen this book popping up a lot, everywhere I looked it was there. It wasn't until a good book blogging friend of mine completely freaked out about how much she adored this book that I decided I'd request it. Honestly I skimmed the synopsis and didn't really think much about it but I was still dying to read it. We're introduced to Echo first and you're instantly faced with the controlling relationship between her and her father, its one you can either relate to first hand or have friends who have parents just like that and this makes Echo seem real she is relate-able. During our first meeting of Echo we're also faced with the "pulling down of her sleeves" which if like me you haven't read the synopsis properly you're probably thinking hmm what's so important about that? along with her new Councillor and step-mom from hell who is baby obsessed to the max. We are then introduced to Noah Hutchins all round bad boy, with a bad boy attitude and hilarious in that bad boy way. It doesn't take long for you to realise the connection/friendship/relationship these two are bound to make and it does make you sit back and wonder is this going to be your every day, bog standard high school romance with the usual issue of underdog likes popular girl, she likes him back but popularity is a must and he gets hurt but in the end they end up together kissing under the stars. It makes you wonder that definitely. But it is in't. Throw down any issues you may have with the usually lame high school romances and pick this book up and read it in one sitting, its worth it. Not only are the characters "complete ends of the spectrum" but they're interesting, the character development of each of them (together and by themselves) is wonderful, there is so much hidden under their skin, troubles and problems they have to face/recall that leaves you guessing (heh unless your brain doesn't like to turn off) until the end, its brilliant. They're such strong characters that you can't help but feeling for them and wanting to help them on their journey and maybe even throwing the book down in anger whilst shouting"THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK NOAH!" out loud. I don't think its possible for me to explain how happy I was with this book, it was so much better than I expected and I think for once it's helped having low expectations for a book, I really couldn't put it down.
Recommend? Yes.

GR

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