Author: Katie McGarry
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 416
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Awards: 2013 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewers Choice Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel
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*NO SPOILERS*
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry is about two complicated teenagers, Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchkins, who's lives intertwine in the most unexpected way. Echo has no memory of what happened one terrible night when she went from popular girl with a jock boyfriend to the school freak with gross scars on her arms. Also, her home life is very complicated. Her mom is bipolar while her dad and stepmom are very strict on her and don't allow her to do what she wants. Noah is the school bad boy who everyone tries too avoid. Noah has a reputation of using girls and being a druggie. One day after an intense session of therapy, Echo is forced to tutor Noah and their relationship builds from there. Noah and Echo go through a journey of self-discovery together and realize that their lives can be healed over time. This book had very well-thought-out characters, touched very deep topics, and a storyline that wouldn't let me put the book down and left me in awe.
First of all, this book had excellent well-thought-out characters. Echo struggles with depression after her brother died and her mom is placed under a restraining order. She has to live through the strict conditions of her dad and stepmom while trying to keep herself happy. Throughout the course of the story, Echo tries to remember what happened to her that awful night. I thought that this part of the story really helped show Echo's character by exposing her determination that she didn't even know she had. I found that Echo was a very insecure character but I liked it because I think that some people will be able to relate to her. Also, Echo competes with her inner conscience to decide whether to stay with her jerk boyfriend from her past or to trust her newfound feelings for the bad boy, Noah. This, I feel, helped build her self-trust and showed that she didn't care what the other students thought of her after hiding in the shadows for so long. Noah has a different, but at the same time similar, situation to deal with. He has a reputation he has to live with at school but he also has to face being a foster child and not being able to see his two younger brothers. This revealed Noah's love of his brothers and his persistence to get his brothers back. He is a very strong character who copes with his own lack of self-confidence as well as the pressure that others put him under. I think that Echo and Noah fit very well together and worked great together to conquer their issues.
Also, this book discusses some very deep and serious real-world problems. For example, Noah had to live with an abusive foster father. I think that issues, such as child abuse, don't get talked about a lot in young adult literature. Also, Echo's boyfriend, on several occasions, tried to pressure into having sex. This was a big issue Echo had to deal with throughout the story. She was conflicted with not doing it , upsetting her boyfriend and staying a virgin forever and doing it just for the sake of satisfying her boyfriend. This happens in the real-world and I don't think that people at such a young age should be pressured into having sex just for "bragging rights".
Lastly, this book had a storyline that hooked me and left me in awe. The relationship between Echo and Noah kept me engaged the whole time. Noah and Echo were an unlikely couple but worked perfectly. They comforted each other through each other's time of need and helped each other other find the secrets to their past. The dual perspectives really helped deliver the full effect of the story. Both Echo and Noah had very different train of thoughts and I really enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives. The beginning of the story was a little slow but it gradually picked up the pace. I think that the pacing of the story worked really well.
Overall, Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry was amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good contemporary novel. I went into this expecting a light fluffy romance, and there was a good majority of romance, but it wasn't completely focused on the romance and more on self-discovery. It still greatly satisfied me!
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