Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Review & Giveaway: Pushing the Limits



Pushing the Limits
by Katie McGarry
Published July 31st 2012 
by Harlequin Teen
ARC from publisher
Summary from Goodreads:
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.

Thoughts:
I don't normally read YA contemporary anymore so I don't really have such a high expectation when I started reading this. All I know about the book is the amount of great reviews and the general hype surrounding its release.

The book is such an emotional roller-coaster ride! This is not your usual girl meets bad boy story as both of the main characters are damaged souls trying to cope with life. Echo was once the popular girl in school until a mysterious accident left her scarred all over her body while Noah is trying desperately to reunite with his two little brothers after they were put up in separate foster homes.

The story can be quite intense at times and I found myself blubbery every time Noah gets to meet his brothers. His love and devotion to them is so heartbreaking to read and I must give due compliment to the writer for having written such emotionally charged scenes. The mystery surrounding Echo's tragic accident piqued my curiosity very much. And when she finally accepted the truth and confront her mother, you just could feel her grief.

However, there are certain parts in this book that I found so annoying. For example Noah tend to focus too much on Echo's  'rocking body' and how enticing her 'cleavage' is and the way his friends tend to get high on booze and drugs are just too disturbing. I would have given this book 5 stars if not for the sexual references and the abundant use of curse words in the dialogues. Maybe the writer intended to portray the grittiness of the teens' troubled lives but it made me a bit uncomfortable reading it.

Aside from that, this book will certainly become one of my favourite contemporary YA of all time.

Verdict: 4 stars.
In my Debut Authors Reading Challenge 
Available on: Amazon


Thanks to Media Masters Publicity and Harlequin Teen for this giveaway of a copy of Pushing the Limits. It's open to US/Canada only. Sorry International followers. Ends August 25th.


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