Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Publish Date: July 31, 2012
Hardcover {p.392}
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Personal Library
Echo Emerson, Noah Hutchins

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.

I loved this book from page one. It has won a spot among my top 3 favorite YA novels. I really enjoyed how the book rotated between Noah and Echo with each chapter. It allowed a better understanding of each of the characters. Plus, this way both Noah and Echo were the "main" characters, not just Echo who happened to be involved with a guy who too had issues. This way both of their story-lines took center-stage. Both of them just broke my heart with the things they were going through.

The issues Echo had with her father and stepmother were truly difficult, and in my opinion Echo wasn't being had enough on those two. I know right, a teen whose not causing the parents enough grief. I was so pissed with them, I felt she would have been totally justified in acting out against them. Oh how I hated her stepmother on sight. She and Echo's ex-BFF, Grace, ran a tight race of which did I hate most. I never really changed my opinion of those two even though Echo seemed to be okay with them. Lila and Noah's friend Isaiah, were really the only secondary characters that I did like.

Noah and his brothers broke my heart. The way they loved and depended on one another choked me up at times. I was happy with the decision Noah made regarding them. And Mrs. Collins, AMAZING! If only there were more adults like her in the school system. She worked wonders with both Echo and Noah.

This was truly one of the best YA novels I've read in a really long time. Pushing the Limits has earned a spot in my top 3 favorite YA novels.