Early Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley

Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

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.

The synopsis of PUSHING THE LIMITS is very straightforward, I know it's high on drama and falls on certain stereotypes but I remained skeptical. I. WILL. NOT. CRY. But despite these constants, Katie MgGarry still managed to elicit strong emotions from me breaking my tear-free reading streak! I thought only Nicholas Sparks' books had that power over me but try as I might, I can't hold back the waterworks towards the end, so I let go and allowed Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins comfort me. Their story is a nightmare from a parent's perspective and heartbreaking from an emphatic person's POV.

Adults want us to lie. They expect us to lie. They want to live in their perfect little worlds and pretend we do nothing more than eat cookie dough and watch reality TV.

As a parent I sympathized with the adults in the story, experts can say all they want but there's no fool proof manual on how to raise a child. We do the best we can given the unique circumstances and hope for the finest possible outcome but sometimes we still fail, so we opt for control. Echo's father is controlling but as I moved forward with the story, I think I'll make similar choices in handling Echo's situation, his method isn't perfect but his heart was in the right place. However, I still feel that Echo's parents doesn't deserve her and I am so glad that she and Noah had the funny and emphatic Mrs. Collins for their counselor, if not for her, our lovebirds wouldn't have found redemption.

Guys like Noah Hutchins ticked me off. He used girls, used drugs and had made me feel like crap this morning. - Echo

I love Noah and Echo, they are two broken people made whole by their love and need for each other it's hard not to root for these two. Noah is a rebel with a cause, his personal tragedy is frustrating and even if he has stupid impulsive moments, he managed to stay level headed in the end. His personality both contrast and complement Echo, they might seem to belong in different worlds, him being in foster care and Echo as poor little rich girl, but they had things in common too that kept each other grounded. Noah is defensive and he has signature moves to wall up people but what I loved best was his romance with Echo didn't distract him from finding clarity and reaching his goal.

What's your obsession with her anyhow? Every time that girl comes around you stare at her like you're the Coyote and she's the Road Runner. Either fuck her or move on. You and the ex-populat chick will never be homecoming court material. - Beth to Noah

Echo is the heart of the story. From the start there is a veil of mystery surrounding her concerning a traumatic event that made her spiral down emotionally and mentally. As KMcGarry slowly unveiled pieces of that traumatic night between Echo and her mom, I had a parade of emotions washing over me enabling me to live that night WITH Echo and not just a bystander. KMcGarry made me LIVE that night and I felt the hurt, fear, anger and a host of other feelings Echo had. When everything was said and done I was so proud of Echo, she had a bumpy ride but she focused on herself, on getting better instead of going all angsty and stupid, I giver her props for her tenacity and courage.

PUSHING THE LIMITS has a lot of simple but beautiful and touching moments that will surely tug your heartstrings. The love Noah felt for her brothers and Echo transcended the pages, the words and gestures so subtle it slowly creeps up on you and next thing you know, you're WITH Echo and Noah's journey, wiping your eyes with tears of sadness and joy. Katie McGarry wrote a beautiful and satisfying read you'll be missing a lot if you skip this.

"Normal. We both craved it and neither one of use would ever experience it again."

I'm not even sure how to begin this review. Pushing the Limits is filled with so much emotion, drama, real life issues and heart breaking moments. Told from the perspective of high school seniors, Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins, Pushing the Limits tells the story of the hard road these two had to travel to eventually find their own happiness. Now it's no secret that I'm not the biggest YA enthusiast out there but Pushing the Limits is one contemporary YA read that should not be missed. 

"The worst type of crying wasn't the kind everyone could see - the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort a scar on the part on your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life."

When Pushing the Limits starts, both Echo and Noah start meeting with their new clinical social worker, Mrs. Collins, and really start working on getting some resemblance of the life they once had. It's not something that happens over night and each fight tooth and nail individually and as a couple to fill in the holes within their broken souls and lives. While I was reading this book I found myself feeling as frustrated and hopeless as Echo and Noah. Their situations were just to heartbreaking that as an outsider looking in to their lives I started feeling angry because I just didn't want these two kids to feel so much emotional turmoil especially when the pain was coming from adults who were trusted with their care. 

"I don't want their sympathy and I don't want the worst night of my life up for discussion for the whole school. If I ever tell anyone what happened, I want to be able to tell them the truth, not that I'm some pathetic moron who remembers nothing."

Echo and Noah are polar opposites of each other yet they have more in common than they could have ever guessed. In a normal and perfect world where tragedy hadn't struck, Echo and Noah would have stood as equals in the hierarchy of high school. Echo has been made into a high school pariah after one horrific night, which she's unable to remember and has left her with multiple scars and haunting nightmares. Although she is broken and brought down by some of her peers she still has  a fighting spirit within her thats wanting to come out in order to change her life. Noah is the loner, stoner kid who's suffering through his own personal problems. After tragically losing his parents, Noah has been lost  and carries a lot of anger within himself and for the adults around him. He's build up such a touch exterior and  reputation as a defiant bad boy but that doesn't really coincide with the type of person he really is. Deep down inside he's a boy who's caring, sweet and protective of the people he loves. 

"On TV, teenager were portrayed as happy, carefree. Echo and I would never know such a life. My parents died, I got screwed by a system supposedly in place to protect me. Echo…Echo was betrayed by the person who should have laid down her life to protect her."

I found Echo and Noah to be a great pair and worked really well as a couple. I liked that they'd initial disliked each other at the beginning but when they did start to get to know each other they weren't instantly head over heels in love. Knowing that they both had deep and personal issues to work through I was impressed by how well they really got to know each other. Usually having two broken souls together can be a bit overwhelming to read but I found that Echo and Noah were perfect for each other. They weren't just two kids who immediately jumped on the love boat but had to build a relationship with a solid foundation based on  friendship, trust and honesty. As their relationship progresses they end up teaching each other something that essentially helps make them a stronger person. Echo teaches Noah that he's got to start working harder if he wants to turn her life around and carve out a better future for himself. Noah teaches Echo the confidence she needs to stand up to the people who have been holding her down and that she shouldn't be ashamed of her scars and that she' still beautiful. 

"Growing up means making tough choices, and doing the right thing doesn't necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good."

Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits was a beautiful story about a boy and a girl who are desperately trying to put the pieces of their lives back together after some very tragic events. McGarry's tale of the tortured bad boy and beautiful but damaged girl had me crying and screaming in frustration along with her characters and moved me in a way that very few YA reads have done in the past. Pushing the Limits packs a big emotional punch and carries out numerous themes of family, friendship, trust, loss, and love. Katie McGarry's story will resonate with you even after you've finished reading and you won't be able to walk away from this book without feeling like Echo and Noah have carved a special place in your own heart.