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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Cute. I didn't like it and read a chapter and initially put it down, but I picked it up after reading [b:Attachments|8909152|Attachments|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398982892s/8909152.jpg|13785503] by [a:Rainbow Rowell|4208569|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1342324527p2/4208569.jpg] to get a little more of a romance fix. I enjoyed the characters but I thought that the ending was a little stilted and rushed.
One of the worst feelings (well, worst feelings on the scale of stubbed toe not house burning down) is when all your friends love a book and you're left feeling "meh." That sums of Pushing The Limits for me. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but it didn't set my heart a flutter like it did everyone else.
It's a case of "it's not you, it's me." The book falls into the kinda but not exactly edgy category alongside Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry. This is a genre I enjoy reading but often end up rolling my eyes at because the badness factor feels a little forced to me. Lots of other people adore this type of book. Personal preference. Also, I read this book during a fun vacation, when my non reading activities were more fun than this book, so I wasn't as interested as I might have been if I'd read it at a normal time.
The good things. The author did a wonderful job of creating two characters who I really liked. Noah and Echo (awesome name) are both moody and touchy. Noah in particular does and says a lot of really jerky things. It would be easy to write these characters off, but seeing the world through each character's eyes, their inner goodness shines through. I rooted for both of them to make the right choices and the forces to be aligned in their favor.
Actually all the characters are full fledged people. Characters like Beth, Isaac, Echo's dad, and her stepmom Ashley start out seeming cardboard mean or stupid or uncaring. But we slowly realize they are people who've had bad things happen to them in their lives and may not know the best way to handle them - not that they're inherently bad. Mrs Collins the guidance counselor is s wonderful positive character. Most adults try to mold Echo and Noah to their frame of mind. Mrs Collins tries to understand them and help them help themselves to be better instead of forcing them.
The romance between Noah and Echo is wonderful. Not just because it's hot. It definitely is. What I liked even more was the acceptance and trust between them that gradually developed. There was instant chemistry but not instant love between these two troubled characters. Their instincts are to help the other person before helping themselves. I especially loved how Noah didn't even blink at Echo's scars and encouraged her not to be ashamed. They make each other better people.
Back to my problems with the book. While the plot was exciting, it never felt real. This was more true for Noah's story. We learn that Noah had a sheltered, happy childhood with his parents until they died three years before, sending him off to foster care hell. I found it a little hard to believe that he could transform into a completely different person in only three years, becoming a total bad boy. I suppose I can see how it could happen, but it felt forced. My various frustrations with the plot slowed the book down. I kept putting it down and picking up other things. I had to assign myself pages to read. I liked it once I got going but I didn't wake up in the morning excited to open the book again.
Since I seem to be the only person who doesn't love this book, I would still recommend you read it. I'd love to hear from other people who weren't huge fans of it either. I sure wish I was :-(
Rating: 3 / 5
This is the endearing story of two 17 year olds fighting with the system and struggling to be normal. Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins are complete opposites on the outside but have everything in common on the inside.
I absolutely loved Echo and Noah!
Pushing the Limits was a fun audiobook to dive into. No idea why I'm having a fun kick diving into new series right now but I'm not mad either. Echo is definitely dealing with a lot on her plate. Heck, when we first meet her we get a little snippet of how her family is. One, she has a very overprotective dad, a weird stepmom that I wasn't too crazy about, and a "crazy" mom. It sucks that she lost her brother along the way while dealing with this as well.
Then there's Noah who is an orphan and was separated from his brothers. No idea if that actually happens in the foster care but shame on everyone involved if it actually does. Family should stick together.
Long story short, they meet because of their social worker. She becomes his tutor and along the way feelings are developed. It was honestly really cute and I enjoyed all the teasing and sexual tension. I enjoyed both POVs eventually and I'm happy for everyone involved.
Pushing the Limits was a fun audiobook to dive into. No idea why I'm having a fun kick diving into new series right now but I'm not mad either. Echo is definitely dealing with a lot on her plate. Heck, when we first meet her we get a little snippet of how her family is. One, she has a very overprotective dad, a weird stepmom that I wasn't too crazy about, and a "crazy" mom. It sucks that she lost her brother along the way while dealing with this as well.
Then there's Noah who is an orphan and was separated from his brothers. No idea if that actually happens in the foster care but shame on everyone involved if it actually does. Family should stick together.
Long story short, they meet because of their social worker. She becomes his tutor and along the way feelings are developed. It was honestly really cute and I enjoyed all the teasing and sexual tension. I enjoyed both POVs eventually and I'm happy for everyone involved.
I'd rate this book a solid 3.5. The story was interesting enough to keep me reading it until the end, but predictable and cliche enough to keep me from rating it higher. The narrative style wasn't the best, but I'd be willing to read the sequels. I believe I would have enjoyed it a lot more if i were sixteen years old.
Me gusto este libro, pero no lo ame.
No soy muy fanática de los libros de romance, pero en general me gustan los libros de superación personal, que tienen protagonistas con problemas y en la historia se ve como tratan de superarlos, entonces pensé que este libro podía ser para mí.
No fue malo, pero no fue especialmente bueno tampoco.
Mi principal problema con este libro fue el protagonista masculino. Noah es uno de los personajes más molestos que me he encontrado, y realmente quería que me gustara pero simplemente no paso.
Noah ha tenido unas cuantas desgracias en su vida, cuando sus padres murieron Noah pasó de ser el chico feliz, deportista, a ser un marginado sin futuro. Sus hermanos menores fueron adoptados, pero Noah pasó de hogar adoptivo a hogar adoptivo, y ya que fue clasificado como “violento” por intentar defender al hijo biológico de sus padres adoptivos de los abusos del padre, nadie quiso adoptarlo y vive con sus amigos. Durante todo el libro el está recibiendo ayuda de su terapueta para lograr recuperar a sus hermanos.
Noah me gustaba a veces, por momentos, sobre todo cuando se hablaba de su familia, sus hermanos y su pasado; pero su forma de hablar, el estereotipo de “chico malo” con buen corazón, no me terminaron de cerrar. Al igual que con Echo, era súper cabeza dura y mas allá de que entendía lo que pensaban me parecía que estaba mal y me molestaba.
Luego esta Echo, su historia fue lo más interesante.
Cuando la historia comienza Echo es la “chica rara” del colegio, pero no siempre fue así. Ella pasó de ser la chica popular e inteligente, con un novio perfecto (y detestable) y unas amigas perfectas (e insoportables), el día que aparentemente intentó suicidarse; ahora es una marginada social que no recuerda que paso la noche que obtuvo las cicatrices en sus brazos. Lo que más me gusto, de su historia es que hay un gran misterio detrás de todo lo que paso esa noche y es muy bueno verla a ella tratar de develarlo mientras intenta volver a su vida normal.
Sus historia se cruzan cuando comienzan a recibir ayuda des mismo terapeuta y juntos comienzan a ayudarse a resolver sus problemas.
Como opinión general: creo que es un libro poco memorable que se me hizo algo largo, pero también me parece que los fanáticos de los YA románticos lo disfrutarían mucho más de lo que yo lo disfrute.
No soy muy fanática de los libros de romance, pero en general me gustan los libros de superación personal, que tienen protagonistas con problemas y en la historia se ve como tratan de superarlos, entonces pensé que este libro podía ser para mí.
No fue malo, pero no fue especialmente bueno tampoco.
Mi principal problema con este libro fue el protagonista masculino. Noah es uno de los personajes más molestos que me he encontrado, y realmente quería que me gustara pero simplemente no paso.
Noah ha tenido unas cuantas desgracias en su vida, cuando sus padres murieron Noah pasó de ser el chico feliz, deportista, a ser un marginado sin futuro. Sus hermanos menores fueron adoptados, pero Noah pasó de hogar adoptivo a hogar adoptivo, y ya que fue clasificado como “violento” por intentar defender al hijo biológico de sus padres adoptivos de los abusos del padre, nadie quiso adoptarlo y vive con sus amigos. Durante todo el libro el está recibiendo ayuda de su terapueta para lograr recuperar a sus hermanos.
Noah me gustaba a veces, por momentos, sobre todo cuando se hablaba de su familia, sus hermanos y su pasado; pero su forma de hablar, el estereotipo de “chico malo” con buen corazón, no me terminaron de cerrar. Al igual que con Echo, era súper cabeza dura y mas allá de que entendía lo que pensaban me parecía que estaba mal y me molestaba.
Luego esta Echo, su historia fue lo más interesante.
Cuando la historia comienza Echo es la “chica rara” del colegio, pero no siempre fue así. Ella pasó de ser la chica popular e inteligente, con un novio perfecto (y detestable) y unas amigas perfectas (e insoportables), el día que aparentemente intentó suicidarse; ahora es una marginada social que no recuerda que paso la noche que obtuvo las cicatrices en sus brazos. Lo que más me gusto, de su historia es que hay un gran misterio detrás de todo lo que paso esa noche y es muy bueno verla a ella tratar de develarlo mientras intenta volver a su vida normal.
Sus historia se cruzan cuando comienzan a recibir ayuda des mismo terapeuta y juntos comienzan a ayudarse a resolver sus problemas.
Como opinión general: creo que es un libro poco memorable que se me hizo algo largo, pero también me parece que los fanáticos de los YA románticos lo disfrutarían mucho más de lo que yo lo disfrute.
I found this book extremely difficult to put down. From the first chapter I was completely glued to the book and the characters. I loved how mysterious it was at times and I fell in love with Noah almost straight away. Absolutely loved this book.
2 1/2 stars based on personal preference; rounded up to 3 because in reality it was very well written with strong well rounded characters and a reasonably plausible plot; and reaching it's proper audience probably represents a solid 4 star read.
I'm not the proper audience. I left young adulthood behind a LONG time ago and generally don't gravitate towards the whole teenager, high school thing. The summary made me think of "The Breakfast Club" which I always liked, and I read a really amazing Breakfast Club fan fiction (which I dearly wish the author would finish) and then Pushing The Limits went down to $2.99 so I thought "WTH not"?
My main complaint is it's a tearjerker! The relationship dynamics between Noah and his brothers and Echo and her family had me in tears. I hate to cry. I get all stuffy and I can't breath and it's highly unpleasant. However if you enjoy emotional stories and tend to be a little sentimental then you'll enjoy the build up to the happy ending. I think the strength of Pushing The Limits lies in it's character development and the ways in which the characters interact with each other. Reading Pushing the Limits really felt like peeking into the lives of real people.
I enjoyed Echo's mystery and wanting to find out what really happened to her the night she got her scars. PTL was definitely a page turner and I read it quickly because I wanted to know what happened to Echo as well as to Noah and his brothers.
My other complaint was that PTL felt like the teenaged version of the dreaded anti-hero bait and switch that seems to plague me. I did rather think Noah was going to be the messed up, wrong side of the tracks bad boy to Echo's formerly part of the in-crowd good girl; with lots of I love you/I hate you, forbidden love tension (again, think "Breakfast Club"). However Noah was a really good kid. He didn't need to transform or be redeemed or conquer any inner demons. Tragedy had given him a very difficult and somewhat traumatic life over the past few years; but he was basically a pretty grounded, stable well adjusted adolescent. As was Echo. Both characters probably read as slightly older and more mature than their chronological ages.
Overall if you enjoy emotional, romantic, young adult stories with interesting plots and well rounded characters PTL is the cream of the crop.
I'm not the proper audience. I left young adulthood behind a LONG time ago and generally don't gravitate towards the whole teenager, high school thing. The summary made me think of "The Breakfast Club" which I always liked, and I read a really amazing Breakfast Club fan fiction (which I dearly wish the author would finish) and then Pushing The Limits went down to $2.99 so I thought "WTH not"?
My main complaint is it's a tearjerker! The relationship dynamics between Noah and his brothers and Echo and her family had me in tears. I hate to cry. I get all stuffy and I can't breath and it's highly unpleasant. However if you enjoy emotional stories and tend to be a little sentimental then you'll enjoy the build up to the happy ending. I think the strength of Pushing The Limits lies in it's character development and the ways in which the characters interact with each other. Reading Pushing the Limits really felt like peeking into the lives of real people.
I enjoyed Echo's mystery and wanting to find out what really happened to her the night she got her scars. PTL was definitely a page turner and I read it quickly because I wanted to know what happened to Echo as well as to Noah and his brothers.
My other complaint was that PTL felt like the teenaged version of the dreaded anti-hero bait and switch that seems to plague me. I did rather think Noah was going to be the messed up, wrong side of the tracks bad boy to Echo's formerly part of the in-crowd good girl; with lots of I love you/I hate you, forbidden love tension (again, think "Breakfast Club"). However Noah was a really good kid. He didn't need to transform or be redeemed or conquer any inner demons. Tragedy had given him a very difficult and somewhat traumatic life over the past few years; but he was basically a pretty grounded, stable well adjusted adolescent. As was Echo. Both characters probably read as slightly older and more mature than their chronological ages.
Overall if you enjoy emotional, romantic, young adult stories with interesting plots and well rounded characters PTL is the cream of the crop.
4.5
this is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures but i really loved the romance and i have no regrets.
this is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures but i really loved the romance and i have no regrets.