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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Very slow moving!! I liked the characters alright and the plot was very interesting, but the writing was super slow. It was sad and sweet. I do think it's one of the only books by this author I have actually liked, though. I definitely will pick up more books by her.
Wow!Let's start with the characters. Echo, if the name doesn't pull you in, her description will. Red hair and greens eyes. Then we learn that she lost her brother and something happened with her mother and she is no longer able to visit. She has scars all over her arms from the incident with her mother, and no answers as to why. With her school counselor, she starts remembering who she used to be. Starting with what an amazing artist she was.
Then we meet Noah, know for being a stoner that goes through a lot of girls. He sees the same counselor at school and we learn he lost his parents in a fire. All he has left is two younger brothers he isn't allowed to see because of a foster home incident where Noah punch an adult. Noah plans to get custody of his brothers by proving their new foster parents are abusive, because all he knows is abuse.
Noah meets Echo in the office and they are throw together be the woman they both loathe at the time. Echo tries to tutor Noah for money to fixed her brothers car up. Noah pretends not care about anyone but himself. however they start plotting together to get answers out of their files in the counselors office. And in between they discover a need for each other that they can not fight. Echo finally gets Noah the information he needed to find his brothers address and spy on them.
The pair stumble in and out of love for months, all while learning life isn't better with the answers they were looking for. Gaining her memories back, Echo remembers her mothers attempted suicide/murder. She breaks up with Noah and spirals out of control. And after a break down finds that Noah won't let her go. That they need each other more than anyone else. Great read and looking forward to book 2.
Then we meet Noah, know for being a stoner that goes through a lot of girls. He sees the same counselor at school and we learn he lost his parents in a fire. All he has left is two younger brothers he isn't allowed to see because of a foster home incident where Noah punch an adult. Noah plans to get custody of his brothers by proving their new foster parents are abusive, because all he knows is abuse.
Noah meets Echo in the office and they are throw together be the woman they both loathe at the time. Echo tries to tutor Noah for money to fixed her brothers car up. Noah pretends not care about anyone but himself. however they start plotting together to get answers out of their files in the counselors office. And in between they discover a need for each other that they can not fight. Echo finally gets Noah the information he needed to find his brothers address and spy on them.
The pair stumble in and out of love for months, all while learning life isn't better with the answers they were looking for. Gaining her memories back, Echo remembers her mothers attempted suicide/murder. She breaks up with Noah and spirals out of control. And after a break down finds that Noah won't let her go. That they need each other more than anyone else. Great read and looking forward to book 2.
Wow that was a pretty tough book, but a really good book. I well past my teen years and it is a teen book , but I seriously couldn't or wouldn't have read it then.
Echo suffered a serious trauma at the hands of her bipolar mom. Her mind won't allow her to remember and the people that know won't tell her. What a crappy situation. Sure I wanted her dad to tell her what happened but that would have been detrimental to her. You have to blame her mom to an extent but anyone who is bipolar or has dealt with anyone suffering from it gets that they can't be 100% accountable. A friend of mine that lost his battle to the 'bipolar demons' told me it was like having an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. And he was stuck in the middle in a cloud trying to stay afloat.
And Noah, ahh Noah. He had a perfect life till his parents were killed in a fire. He went to foster care and his brothers separate from him but together went to another family, a good family. Noah vowed he would graduate, get a job, get custody and put his family back together. Such a noble idea but so unrealistic. He would be their dad, no longer the big brother he yearned to be. He deserved a life and his brothers were happy and with a family who good give them everything. Once they all stopped fighting each other that really turned into a beautiful situation.
For the most part they are getting their HEA. At 18 it is just unreasonable to say they GOT it, so a work in progress it is.
Echo suffered a serious trauma at the hands of her bipolar mom. Her mind won't allow her to remember and the people that know won't tell her. What a crappy situation. Sure I wanted her dad to tell her what happened but that would have been detrimental to her. You have to blame her mom to an extent but anyone who is bipolar or has dealt with anyone suffering from it gets that they can't be 100% accountable. A friend of mine that lost his battle to the 'bipolar demons' told me it was like having an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. And he was stuck in the middle in a cloud trying to stay afloat.
And Noah, ahh Noah. He had a perfect life till his parents were killed in a fire. He went to foster care and his brothers separate from him but together went to another family, a good family. Noah vowed he would graduate, get a job, get custody and put his family back together. Such a noble idea but so unrealistic. He would be their dad, no longer the big brother he yearned to be. He deserved a life and his brothers were happy and with a family who good give them everything. Once they all stopped fighting each other that really turned into a beautiful situation.
For the most part they are getting their HEA. At 18 it is just unreasonable to say they GOT it, so a work in progress it is.
This book started off very good and had a lot of potential but by chapter three I was over it. The writing, especially the dialogue, is so incredibly forced it calls to question whether the author has ever actually met a teenager much less been one herself. The plot had potential but McGarry gives it such little depth and populates it with such formulaic characters that it quickly becomes trite. I tried on two separate occasions but I could never bring myself to read past page 50.
mrs. collins was the only one who got me through this
I wanted to like this book and felt it had some strengths but for me the dialogue just wasn't believable. I didn't believe Noah, an eighteen year old would constantly refer to her as 'my siren' and 'my nymph'. His tough-guy voice was also ridiculous, especially since he had been raised in a middle class, respectable home until he was fifteen. There were some beautiful bits but ultimately not quite right.
The story was... appetizing *wink* albeit not outstanding.
The point of view alternated between Noah's and Echo's, the main characters.
Noah is the usual bad boy type. You know, misunderstood, gets stoned to escape problems, the freak in the high school social ladder, but every girl is talking about his abs and sexy tats. I also mean 'usual' in the sense that he is only hard on the outside and had to toughen up because he's dealt with a bad hand in life.
Echo is also a broken character. She used to be popular and an it-girl, but then something tragic happened which left her at a loss. Brokenness is what united the two characters.
It can be a bit shallow at times, and I mean high school drama shallow, but it was okay. I am so hooked into these romance young adult stuff. I pretty much read seven novels in a week which had one thing in common: broken characters and cheesy butterball lines (which I totally dig and I'm not sorry haha). Stories like these are pure entertainment for me, so I really stay up all night reading because I can't stop myself.
The story of Katie McGarry was one of those that gave me an escape. So memorable or not, it was perfectly fine.
"I love you enough to never make you choose.”
The point of view alternated between Noah's and Echo's, the main characters.
Noah is the usual bad boy type. You know, misunderstood, gets stoned to escape problems, the freak in the high school social ladder, but every girl is talking about his abs and sexy tats. I also mean 'usual' in the sense that he is only hard on the outside and had to toughen up because he's dealt with a bad hand in life.
Echo is also a broken character. She used to be popular and an it-girl, but then something tragic happened which left her at a loss. Brokenness is what united the two characters.
It can be a bit shallow at times, and I mean high school drama shallow, but it was okay. I am so hooked into these romance young adult stuff. I pretty much read seven novels in a week which had one thing in common: broken characters and cheesy butterball lines (which I totally dig and I'm not sorry haha). Stories like these are pure entertainment for me, so I really stay up all night reading because I can't stop myself.
The story of Katie McGarry was one of those that gave me an escape. So memorable or not, it was perfectly fine.
"I love you enough to never make you choose.”
This book! Whoa!
This book was so much more intense than I anticipated. What I thought would be a good-girl-falls-for-bad-boy romance...was so much more. This wasn't just high school drama. It was serious drama thrown at kids much too young for it. It was intense, but so good.
This book was so much more intense than I anticipated. What I thought would be a good-girl-falls-for-bad-boy romance...was so much more. This wasn't just high school drama. It was serious drama thrown at kids much too young for it. It was intense, but so good.
Emotional, with learnings about the society and the struggle on both teens until they find their place in the world, "Pushing the Limits" speaks of the relationship Echo and Noah develop from dual POV, as also their thoughts and feeling for each other.
I liked the plot, the setting and the way things worked out between the two. :)
For me 5 of 5 stars
I liked the plot, the setting and the way things worked out between the two. :)
For me 5 of 5 stars
I think this was more of a 4.5.
What I Liked
The Plot It was really engaging and it kept me reading. The pacing was really good and there weren't really any slow parts, which is always a plus.
Noah and Echo They were sweet together. I liked how they looked out for one another and weren't together just to be together. That happens so much in books, but here, Noah always helped Echo with her problems and she returned the favor. At times, they put the other person before themselves, which I loved!
Noah's brothers! They were such cute little kids!! And I felt so bad for Jacob when.
Putting others first! A lot of times in YA, the characters always blame other people for their problems. And yes, this happened a bit in this book. Echo blamed Ashley for breaking up her parents' marriage and tearing her family apart. Noah blamed Carrie and Joe for keeping his brothers away from him. But in the end, Echo and Noah learned all the facts and realized how biased their viewpoints were. Echo's parents were growing apart anyway and her mother was dangerous. Carrie and Joe were just trying to have a family and they thought Noah endangered that because of his previous actions. At the end, Echo and Noah started over with their families, and actually APOLOGIZED! It was beautiful.
What I Didn't Like
Language Yes, I get that Noah was in a bad situation and in the wrong crowd. But did he have to curse every other word? I don't think so. I sometimes dreaded his narrations for that very reason. It just wasn't necessary.
So, overall, this was a satisfying read. Very emotional. It reminded me of Sarah Dessen's books in a way. A lot of the same themes all thrown in together: divorce, abandonment, emotionally scarring backstory, and the like. Also reminded me of that TV show The Fosters (mainly because of Noah's struggle with the foster care system.) I need to get my hands on Dare You To!
What I Liked
The Plot It was really engaging and it kept me reading. The pacing was really good and there weren't really any slow parts, which is always a plus.
Noah and Echo They were sweet together. I liked how they looked out for one another and weren't together just to be together. That happens so much in books, but here, Noah always helped Echo with her problems and she returned the favor. At times, they put the other person before themselves, which I loved!
Noah's brothers! They were such cute little kids!! And I felt so bad for Jacob when
Spoiler
it was revealed that he accidentally started the fire that killed their parents. No one should have to live with that guilt, especially not a little kid.Putting others first! A lot of times in YA, the characters always blame other people for their problems. And yes, this happened a bit in this book. Echo blamed Ashley for breaking up her parents' marriage and tearing her family apart. Noah blamed Carrie and Joe for keeping his brothers away from him. But in the end, Echo and Noah learned all the facts and realized how biased their viewpoints were. Echo's parents were growing apart anyway and her mother was dangerous. Carrie and Joe were just trying to have a family and they thought Noah endangered that because of his previous actions. At the end, Echo and Noah started over with their families, and actually APOLOGIZED! It was beautiful.
What I Didn't Like
Language Yes, I get that Noah was in a bad situation and in the wrong crowd. But did he have to curse every other word? I don't think so. I sometimes dreaded his narrations for that very reason. It just wasn't necessary.
So, overall, this was a satisfying read. Very emotional. It reminded me of Sarah Dessen's books in a way. A lot of the same themes all thrown in together: divorce, abandonment, emotionally scarring backstory, and the like. Also reminded me of that TV show The Fosters (mainly because of Noah's struggle with the foster care system.) I need to get my hands on Dare You To!