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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
I don’t even know how to write this review. When I first started reading it(I mean, in about 20 pages) I thought that I was going to hate this book, but I was so beyond wrong. I love this book. I can’t put it in any clearer terms than that. I read this book in a few hours because I couldn’t put it down. The only thing that upset me is looking at the next book in the series because it looks like it’s not about the same characters and I just so badly want to know what happens in their lives.
This book was soo good! Filled with a riveting romance, heartbreaking story to tell, and breathtaking writing, this book managed to steal my heart right from the start! I looooved the romance between Echo and Noah. LIke, forreal, NOAH. How can one character be so perfect?
The backstory's of every character made me feel as if they were real people and it was so easy to just open this book and get lost in McGarry's world. I can't wait to keep on reading the rest of the books! (my favorite characters getting happy endings at the end = a very happy Bella)
The backstory's of every character made me feel as if they were real people and it was so easy to just open this book and get lost in McGarry's world. I can't wait to keep on reading the rest of the books! (my favorite characters getting happy endings at the end = a very happy Bella)
- nu îmi plac personajele principale.
Echo Emerson has no idea what happened that fateful night that turned her from the popular girl in school to the freak of the school. Not only has she lost her memory of that night, but also her status in school, her boyfriend and also her friends. All she is left with is her classes, a thousand questions that nobody answers, hours of therapy session and her ever loyal and only friend Lily. Noah Hutchins is the hot and bad boy of the school who has nothing in common with echo except the therapy sessions with the same counselor and a past that hurts.
This is an amazing emotional story of two teenagers from very different backgrounds and in different situations. Thrown in together by fate, or rather the counselor, they play a push and pull game at the beginning. In the end their need for each other brings them together and makes way for an explosive relationship.
I have completely fallen in love with Ms.Katie’s characterization. She has incorporated a number of characters with varied personality traits into the story in such an awesome way that they all blend together to paint a very beautiful story. Noah, with a past that has made him strong, is the rebel against the system. But deep down he is really a very caring and responsible boy. Echo is an all-rounder who excels in her studies and art. Yet she is lonely because of the relationships in her life. Lily is such a solid girl with the right priorities and deep loyalties. I just loved her for being there for Lily when no one else was. Beth, at first glance, is a loud and rude girl. But eventually you realize that her heart is in the right place and her attitude is something that she puts up in order to protect herself.
The storyline itself was entertaining with a hint of intrigue. I couldn’t help but wonder about what really happened that night, right along with Echo. I worried with Noah about his little brothers. The writing style is simple and inviting.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and if you haven’t already read it – then go get yourself a copy. I know you will not regret it.
This is an amazing emotional story of two teenagers from very different backgrounds and in different situations. Thrown in together by fate, or rather the counselor, they play a push and pull game at the beginning. In the end their need for each other brings them together and makes way for an explosive relationship.
I have completely fallen in love with Ms.Katie’s characterization. She has incorporated a number of characters with varied personality traits into the story in such an awesome way that they all blend together to paint a very beautiful story. Noah, with a past that has made him strong, is the rebel against the system. But deep down he is really a very caring and responsible boy. Echo is an all-rounder who excels in her studies and art. Yet she is lonely because of the relationships in her life. Lily is such a solid girl with the right priorities and deep loyalties. I just loved her for being there for Lily when no one else was. Beth, at first glance, is a loud and rude girl. But eventually you realize that her heart is in the right place and her attitude is something that she puts up in order to protect herself.
The storyline itself was entertaining with a hint of intrigue. I couldn’t help but wonder about what really happened that night, right along with Echo. I worried with Noah about his little brothers. The writing style is simple and inviting.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and if you haven’t already read it – then go get yourself a copy. I know you will not regret it.
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Drug use
Loveable characters:
Yes
So I expected to be this book not that great. And I was kind of right and kind of wrong.
It all starts very fast. You get kind of dropped into the story. This usually makes me get into the story and that it did. The writing style is very fast and nice to read with lots of sarcasm which I like but sometimes it's just a bit to much. Noah and Echo are both very cliché characters. Noah is a typical drug addict who doesn't care that much about his school and it very stubborn in what he wants or not. And then of course Echo is shy and very insecure. Off course they're in a typical American High School and they have to deal with popularity. Something that Echo and Noah both had before.
The surreal things that happened to both of them left their marks. You know that they're both worse then ever but you really can't feel that when you're reading their story. If felt like they weren't that depressive at all. They were both just insecure and that was it.
I really missed a deeper look into a lot of characters. I can give you a hole list if you want. Also there was a lack of interest in the love between Noah and Echo for me. It felt like they didn't even knew eachother and they were all like 'I love you.' and stupid nicknames. Like 'my goddess' and stuff like that.
So after all I read this book very fast. I don't recommend it all though. It was a nice read but really nothing more then that.
It all starts very fast. You get kind of dropped into the story. This usually makes me get into the story and that it did. The writing style is very fast and nice to read with lots of sarcasm which I like but sometimes it's just a bit to much. Noah and Echo are both very cliché characters. Noah is a typical drug addict who doesn't care that much about his school and it very stubborn in what he wants or not. And then of course Echo is shy and very insecure. Off course they're in a typical American High School and they have to deal with popularity. Something that Echo and Noah both had before.
The surreal things that happened to both of them left their marks. You know that they're both worse then ever but you really can't feel that when you're reading their story. If felt like they weren't that depressive at all. They were both just insecure and that was it.
I really missed a deeper look into a lot of characters. I can give you a hole list if you want. Also there was a lack of interest in the love between Noah and Echo for me. It felt like they didn't even knew eachother and they were all like 'I love you.' and stupid nicknames. Like 'my goddess' and stuff like that.
So after all I read this book very fast. I don't recommend it all though. It was a nice read but really nothing more then that.
This was awesome.
A lot of feels, romance, sadness, secrets and everything else is in this book.
It was a great pleasure to read this.
I loved every word.
I loved Noah, and I still love him.
But I don't only love him.
I love the entire story.
A lot of feels, romance, sadness, secrets and everything else is in this book.
It was a great pleasure to read this.
I loved every word.
I loved Noah, and I still love him.
But I don't only love him.
I love the entire story.
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Pushing the Limits is book I really enjoyed when I read it at he ripe old age of 15. I don't really remember what I liked about it, and I barely remembered much of anything from my initial read of it. Before rereading it, I knew it wouldn't even really fall into my tastes anymore. I'm not even much of a fan of non-diverse m/f YA books to begin with, even though this one is on the darker side. But I think that's what stood out to me at 15, I wanted something more interesting.
Maybe it could've been, if the characters were reprehensible.
I only got 7% in and it was either rampant misogyny or beating down people trying to help the two main characters.
I'll get the latter out of the way first. Both Echo and Noah are, in different ways, sent to see social workers. Echo due to dark and traumatic things that happened in her past, and Noah because he is in the foster care system after his parents died. The social workers and therapists are trying to help them, and they're acting like it's the worst thing they could do. Noah even get's angry at a social worker looking at his file, as in doing her job.
As a social work student, that part particularly annoyed me. Here's how the part goes.
Again, she's not doing anything but her job. She has to read his file to know who she's working with. I also do not believe that after two and a half years that Noah hasn't had a single social worker look at his file, or even assume that they did. Her approach here actually is very, what would be referred to as, postmodernist and anti-oppressive. In short, postmodernism is seeing people as more than the current situation they're in. A homeless person is more than a homeless person and there's reasons for them being homeless, a person addicted to drugs is more than a person addicted to drugs and there's reasons for it, etc.. She's trying to learn more about him, trying to see how he is who he is now and see him more than a troubled kid or a delinquent, Her approach is also anti-oppressive, she's trying really hard to bring him up. And he just, hates her for that for no reason. Noah is also that trope of, he's not actually a troubled kid he's actually super smart and was on the honour roll and played sport! That is a trope I kind of hate, yeah there's a reason for people being troubled but they always have to be golden children before. Oh, and not only is he truely this golden child but when he punched his first foster father, it was to defend the child he was abusing! I see what the author was trying to do but the, violent character who's violent for justice kind of bothers me. It's like the author wanted to make him this troubled kid but only made it half way. You can write troubled kids who aren't secretly genius. It feels cheap.
As for Echo, her's isn't as bad or anything in the social worker part. She did act like child protective services sending her to therapy was the worst thing they could do, which I didn't understand. What she had gone through was really traumatic. She also referred to her social worker as 'overenthusiastic'. They're just trying to help her. The book seemed to only care about making it seem like the adults trying to help them were awful for doing so.
So, the misogyny. That's what made me stop reading. There was far too much. Echo hates her step-mother. Why might you ask? Well, we're not really given a good reason outside of the fact Echo hates her. The author tries to convince us it's justified because she 'makes everything about herself'. The two instances was 1) saying she needed to go to the bathroom because she's pregnant and 2) when mentioning how Echo's brother died she said she was disappointed her child won't know him. She said this after pointing out how much his death devastated Echo. But because she mentioned her kid, Echo said she was making it about herself. And she really wasn't, she's pregnant. She will mention how it will effect the family. If anything, she's trying to talk up Echo's brother. Oh, and Echo called her a 'bimbo' for no reason.
On a less scale, but still gross, Noah felt the need to tell us how big Echo's breasts are for no reason.
What did it for me was this paragraph. It was a paragraph that I hated. It was used to portray how Noah only has one night stands but it was pretty misogynistic. Talking about one girl he slept with:
I just... what? She now has no self respect because she was upset a guy she liked and had sex with treated her like dirt? In any other book this would make the guy irredeemable. But he's the love interest in this and I guess she's just some girl. If it wasn't with this I might've been able to handle the social work treatment because I get it, they're teenagers who look down on authority. But the misogyny in such a little amount of time was disgusting. I just couldn't read it.
So yeah, this book kind sucked.
Pushing the Limits is book I really enjoyed when I read it at he ripe old age of 15. I don't really remember what I liked about it, and I barely remembered much of anything from my initial read of it. Before rereading it, I knew it wouldn't even really fall into my tastes anymore. I'm not even much of a fan of non-diverse m/f YA books to begin with, even though this one is on the darker side. But I think that's what stood out to me at 15, I wanted something more interesting.
Maybe it could've been, if the characters were reprehensible.
I only got 7% in and it was either rampant misogyny or beating down people trying to help the two main characters.
I'll get the latter out of the way first. Both Echo and Noah are, in different ways, sent to see social workers. Echo due to dark and traumatic things that happened in her past, and Noah because he is in the foster care system after his parents died. The social workers and therapists are trying to help them, and they're acting like it's the worst thing they could do. Noah even get's angry at a social worker looking at his file, as in doing her job.
As a social work student, that part particularly annoyed me. Here's how the part goes.
"This file, Noah... I don't think it tells the whole story." ... Who the hell did this lady think she was digging into my past?
Again, she's not doing anything but her job. She has to read his file to know who she's working with. I also do not believe that after two and a half years that Noah hasn't had a single social worker look at his file, or even assume that they did. Her approach here actually is very, what would be referred to as, postmodernist and anti-oppressive. In short, postmodernism is seeing people as more than the current situation they're in. A homeless person is more than a homeless person and there's reasons for them being homeless, a person addicted to drugs is more than a person addicted to drugs and there's reasons for it, etc.. She's trying to learn more about him, trying to see how he is who he is now and see him more than a troubled kid or a delinquent, Her approach is also anti-oppressive, she's trying really hard to bring him up. And he just, hates her for that for no reason. Noah is also that trope of, he's not actually a troubled kid he's actually super smart and was on the honour roll and played sport! That is a trope I kind of hate, yeah there's a reason for people being troubled but they always have to be golden children before. Oh, and not only is he truely this golden child but when he punched his first foster father, it was to defend the child he was abusing! I see what the author was trying to do but the, violent character who's violent for justice kind of bothers me. It's like the author wanted to make him this troubled kid but only made it half way. You can write troubled kids who aren't secretly genius. It feels cheap.
As for Echo, her's isn't as bad or anything in the social worker part. She did act like child protective services sending her to therapy was the worst thing they could do, which I didn't understand. What she had gone through was really traumatic. She also referred to her social worker as 'overenthusiastic'. They're just trying to help her. The book seemed to only care about making it seem like the adults trying to help them were awful for doing so.
So, the misogyny. That's what made me stop reading. There was far too much. Echo hates her step-mother. Why might you ask? Well, we're not really given a good reason outside of the fact Echo hates her. The author tries to convince us it's justified because she 'makes everything about herself'. The two instances was 1) saying she needed to go to the bathroom because she's pregnant and 2) when mentioning how Echo's brother died she said she was disappointed her child won't know him. She said this after pointing out how much his death devastated Echo. But because she mentioned her kid, Echo said she was making it about herself. And she really wasn't, she's pregnant. She will mention how it will effect the family. If anything, she's trying to talk up Echo's brother. Oh, and Echo called her a 'bimbo' for no reason.
On a less scale, but still gross, Noah felt the need to tell us how big Echo's breasts are for no reason.
What did it for me was this paragraph. It was a paragraph that I hated. It was used to portray how Noah only has one night stands but it was pretty misogynistic. Talking about one girl he slept with:
"She lost her boyfriend, her virginity, her reputation and her self respect in less than a month. That's why she transferred to another school."
I just... what? She now has no self respect because she was upset a guy she liked and had sex with treated her like dirt? In any other book this would make the guy irredeemable. But he's the love interest in this and I guess she's just some girl. If it wasn't with this I might've been able to handle the social work treatment because I get it, they're teenagers who look down on authority. But the misogyny in such a little amount of time was disgusting. I just couldn't read it.
So yeah, this book kind sucked.