Book Review Pushing the Limits by Katie Mcgarry


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.
     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…


My rating: 7/10 
Goodreads average rating: 4.09/5 stars
     I read this book a few months ago and HAD TO write a book review for it. Katie Mcgarry is probably my favorite author ever. I have read all of the books in her Pushing the Limits and Thunder Road series. Pushing the Limits was published on July 31st, 2012 by Harlequin Teen. Harlequin Teen happens to be one of my favorite publishing companies because of the quality authors they support. Pushing the Limits is a decently sized book at 392 pages and not one of those pages disappoint.
     Echo and Noah are the two main characters. The book switches between their points of view for every chapter. Their relationship starts off with a mutual hatred and attraction that neither can deny. As they start to learn more about each other, they begin to fall helplessly in  love with each other. However, they still have a lot of issues to overcome with others that inevitably effect their relationship. Will they be able to heal each other, or will they only manage to complicate each other's lives more?
     This book has a lot of interesting characters who show up all throughout this series. One of them being, Mrs. Collins, a school therapist who attempts to help Noah and Echo with their issues. What I loved about Mrs.Collins was she had two different sides to everything she did. First, she blackmailed Noah into attending their sessions. Next, she was completely gentle and coaxing with getting Echo to open up. It is amazing how she seems to have a different personality that suits each of her patients. 
     Other characters include Noah's foster siblings, Beth and Isaiah. They are probably my two favorite characters in this book. That might be because they are who the next two books in the series are about, but I choose to ignore such facts. 
     Pushing the Limits is a book that explores the minds of two people who have been crushed by circumstance. I INSIST-- not recommend, not suggest, but insist-- that everyone reads this book and any other Katie Mcgarry book they can get their hands on. Below I choose a few lines from my favorite scene in this book to give any readers an idea of how amazing this writing is.

 Noah and Echo's Hallway Scene:
After school, I spotted Echo weaving through the crowded hallway. She swung into the main office seconds before I caught up to her. Tuesday was my only night off and I’d planned on shooting hoops with Isaiah. I slammed my fist into the locker beside me. Now I had to wait for some stuck-up head case to be done with her therapy appointment.
I wandered the halls before settling across from Echo’s locker. She hadn’t had her backpack or coat with her, so I figured she’d have to come get them before she left for the day. Forty mind-numbing minutes later, I was questioning my decision. Echo had coat issues. Waiting by her car would have been smarter.
Heels clicking against the linoleum floor signaled her approach. Echo’s red spiral curls bounced with each step. Clutching her books tight to her chest, she kept her head down. Every muscle in my body clenched when she walked past. I’d tolerated her ignoring me during school, but to flat-out diss me in an empty hallway was beyond  cold. With her back to me, she tried the combination on her lock. The metal locker lurched open.
“You are the rudest damn person I have ever met.” I shoved off the ground. Screw her, Mrs. Collins and tutoring.  I’d find a way to bring myself to speed. “Give me my damn jacket.”
Echo spun around. For a second, pure pain slashed her face, but then another storm brewed in her eyes. A storm  that required hurricane warnings and evacuations. “No wonder you need tutoring. You have the worst vocabulary of anyone I know. Have you ever even bothered learning anything beyond four-letter words?”
“I’ve got another four-letter word for you. Fuck you. You got back with your boyfriend and couldn’t stomach  giving me my stuff in front of other people.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know crazy when I see it.” The moment the words flew out of my mouth I regretted them. Sometimes when you  see the line, you think it’s a good idea to cross it—until you do.
For the second time since meeting her, Echo looked as if I’d slapped her. Water pooled at the bottom edges of her  eyes, her cheeks flushed red and she blinked rapidly. She’d succeeded in making me feel like a dick … again.
She reached into her locker and flung my jacket at me. “You are such a jerk!” She slammed shut her locker and  stalked off.
Dammit. Just dammit. “Echo!” I ran after her. “Echo, wait.”
But she didn’t. I caught up to her, grabbed her arm and turned her toward me. Dammit all to hell, tears poured down her face. What was I supposed to do now?
She sniffed. “I didn’t know you were waiting for me. I didn’t see you.” She wiped the tears with the back of her hand. “I should have given you your jacket back yesterday, but …” Her slender white neck moved as she swallowed. “But I wanted normal and for a few minutes that’s what I was. Like two years ago … like before …” And she trailed off.
If I’d had the thinnest chance at normal again, I would have burned the damn jacket. I was sure she wanted her brother back as much as I wanted mine. To have a home again, and parents, and dammit. Normal.

I took a deep, pride-eating breath. In the wise words of Isaiah—poof. My muscles relaxed and my anger disappeared. Lowering her head, Echo withdrew into her hair. I would never understand why this girl made me grow a conscience. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
-Pushing the Limits page 78-80


 Works Cited
McGarry, Katie. Pushing the Limits. Ontario: Harlequin Teen, 2012. Print.
<https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10194514-pushing-the-limits?from_search=true>.

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