Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

July 25th, 2012 · Harlequin Teen Australia
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 376

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. 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:

Noah and Echo have had more than their fair share of heartache and loss over the past few years. They’re both lost and confused, trying to scrape by, burdened with the feeling that at any moment they might explode from the pressure, sadness and everything in between. Both are drifting through life, trying to cling to any bit of normalcy; looking for something, anything, to pull them back over the edge…and then they find each other and it turns out that hope can not only be found in unexpected places, but people, too.

As soon as I began Pushing the Limits, I was swept up into Noah and Echo’s story. Whilst I didn’t necessarily relate with their situations and everything they were going through, I did connect with their personalities and themselves as a character. Noah and Echo have been through so much, and they’re only teenagers about to graduate from high school. I only wished them a happily ever after to their never-ending nightmare, and that they would find a new type of normal and hope.

“Every time I think I’ve got you figured out, Noah, you surprise me.”

Every time Noah surprised Echo, he surprised me, too. Noah is real; he has his faults (who doesn’t?) but he is also such a sweet guy once those barriers of his are lowered.

Echo is a lost soul. She’s had to face and go through so much, she truly is brave. When most might have given up, Echo continues to soldier on, pushing, searching and continuing down the hard road. She knows that before it gets better, it’s going to get a lot worse…

The romance is beautiful. It’s a slow burn yet it’s also HOT. Though don’t be fooled, Pushing the Limit’s is so much more than a delectable romance. It’s about Noah and Echo’s journey; having the strength to face your problems, willing to sacrifice your own happiness for the one you love, and most of all, moving forward.

Katie McGarry has written a heartbreaking, touching debut that is sure to get under your skin. I must commend Katie for writing POV’S through both Noah and Echo, as not only was it done well but it isn’t seen nearly enough in YA books.

I was so excited for Pushing the Limit’s, ever since I first heard about it. It was a bit different to what I had imagined, a lot deeper and darker, but I can happily say it lives up to the hype.

4/5