A Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

*My apologies! For some odd reason my review for PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry, which was originally posted on my blog in August, shows up "unavailable." 
This is a second post 'updated' posting of it... 

Pushing the Limits

by Katie McGarry

Published on July 31st, 2012

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA Contemporary and Romance

Source read: ARC

SUMMARY

"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.

BOOK TRAILER - Pushing the Limits

MY FAVORITE QUOTES from Pushing the Limits

"We'd read about sirens in English this fall; Greek mythology bullshit about women so beautiful, their voices so enchanting, that men did anything for them. Turned out that mythology crap was real because every time I saw her, I lost my mind."
- Noah, Pushing the Limits (ARC) page 80

"Luke used to give me butterflies. Noah spawned mutant Pterodactyls."
- Echo, Pushing the Limits (ARC) page 92

"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 it. A section withered and became a scar on the part of your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life."
- Noah, Pushing the Limits (ARC) page 278

MY REVIEW

I have to say, Katie McGarry has a way with words, she sent me through an emotional roller coaster right along with her characters... and her words, Echo and Noah's love story, has left a mark on my heart.

Echo and Noah have more in common than they think - they both used to lead the perfect teen life: popular, gorgeous, outgoing, smart and with promising futures. Until separate tragedies happen to both that leaves them physically and emotionally scarred forever. When Echo and Noah meet they were set on the fact that they would lead very different and lonely lives from what was expected. And that they would never have anything in common, least of all, get along - how will they ever be able to get through their mandatory tutoring sessions?
Watching Echo and Noah let their guards down and try to trust and understand each other is not easy. Their stories and hurts run deep. The connection between the two runs even deeper. This is not your typical love story. But it is definitely one with no regrets, full of hope and wonder.

And do not underestimate any of the secondary characters! Each and every one of them will leave their mark on you too. They each have a story to tell, and Katie McGarry is able to show you just enough to let you know their stories to sympathize with them... or not.

Katie McGarry's writing is beyond mesmerizing! This is THE contemporary of the year!

And I have to add - in the back of the (ARC) book, the author shares a playlist for Pushing the Limits. All of the songs listed are wonderful and include music by Patty Smyth, Train and Kings of Leon...
One of my most favorite songs of all time: Crash Into Me by The Dave Matthews Band is listed!!! And this is the song that she listened to every time she had to write a kiss scene for Echo and Noah :)  

This totally sums up my love for this book!!! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Katie McGarry

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

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