Pushing The Limits

Author: Katie McGarry
Goodreads Rating: 4.34 Stars
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 384
Reviewed by: Nicole

"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.
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.

Another book that I got from my trip to BEA. I got this copy signed by McGarry which is pretty awesome, and I wish she lived closer to me so I could get my hardcover signed as well. I was a little confused about this book because for some reason I assumed that it was paranormal, but let me assure you that it is a contemporary teen book and, probably one of the most real.

I hit supersonic levels while reading this book because I could not stop squealing about the romance. Its been awhile since I've had a book that I didn't even realize I was reading until the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't stop reading, it wasn't that the book had all these cliff-hanger endings, I just couldn't wait to know what was going to happen to Noah and Echo next.

I loved that this book was such a real teen book. There was sex, there was cursing, there were real emotions. I liked that Noah and Echo's relationship came easy and I loved that we got to learn what happened to Echo as she learned what happened to her. Thats one thing that always drives me in books when the narrator knows whats happening before we do, and they always drop clues, I love how artfully some authors do it, but it makes me crazy!

I loved how protective Noah was and how his relationships all intertwined. His love for his foster siblings Isaiah and Beth and his devotion to protecting his brothers. He was devoted to Echo despite the challenges that they faced. Its hard to put into words how amazing they were for each other.

I was annoyed at times by Echo's desire for normalcy, but it was understandable. Her friends were so far less than understanding it was sick. Those girls didn't even deserve to be friends the way that they treated her because of the cuts on her arms. It was infuriating that because of who she liked (Noah) they decided that they couldn't talk to her. They were bitches, and I don't use that term lightly.

I loved how both Noah and Echo were their for each other and I loved the social worker that they both worked with because she really was on both their sides. I felt for Echo and her family as they worked through their recent problems. McGarry did a great job slowly showing us what happened to Echo and I admire her writing skill.

This is for sure a book to check out and I'm so glad that I picked this book up at BEA.