Healing the Hurt • Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication: July 31, 2012

Source: BEA 2012 || ARC

[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects the contents of my review.]

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.

A lot has already been said about Pushing the Limits, but I still want to put in my two cents. This is such a powerful story, and one that I am so, so glad that I was given the privilege to read (and I have Lena to thank for convincing me to read this right away!). Katie McGarry has written two characters – Echo and Noah – that I definitely loved. Their stories are incredibly compelling, emotional and heartfelt. There’s sincerity behind the novel, and it shines through right from the first page. 

I’ve said it many times before, but I feel like this novel in particular is a prime example of a story I loved because of the characters. I absolutely loved both Echo and Noah because they seemed so real to me. They were high school teenagers, but they were afflicted by life situations that made it so hard for them to be normal like everyone else. Though I wished that they didn’t have to endure these incredibly difficult things, I loved watching them both come out stronger, wiser and smarter with each of their steps towards healing and letting go. 

Noah is the type of guy that a lot of people will love – brooding boy with a bad rep, who really has a heart of gold. My favorite thing about Noah is how much he cares about his brothers. I have a huge soft spot for guys who place great importance on their family, and Noah definitely did that. And of course, I absolutely adore that his feelings for Echo, despite beginning with an instant attraction, developed into something sweet and genuine. He really did care about her, and I loved that. I wasn’t too big on the repetitive description he used of Echo as a siren, but it didn’t bother me too much. 

Echo, on the other hand, is a complex, interesting character. She was basically just your normal teen, whose life changed completely when the “incident” that gave her the scars on her arms happened. I felt for her as she struggled to discover the truth about what had happened to her; her frustration and fear were so clear that I was hurting right along with her. It was hard for me to watch her deal with her family issues and with her return back to “normal” life, but I was rooting for her the whole way. I was fascinated by her combination of intelligence and artistic skills. It’s very easy for me to feel like Echo would be a friend of mine, and that’s what I loved best about her. 

There is no way I can write this review without mentioning Mrs. Collins and Lila. Mrs. Collins is an amazing person. I was so inspired by her effort to reach out and really help both Echo and Noah, and we need more people like her. It was her persistent need to help them both achieve peace and stability that reinforced all her actions and I think she should be applauded. 

And Lila is an amazing friend to Echo – she is immediately by Echo’s side, no matter what, and she isn’t afraid to stand up for that, unlike some other people in the book. There is a point where I get frustrated with her, but she does show her true colors after that. Good friends are a rarity in books, and I’m glad that there’s a good friend in this one. 

There are, in reality, three stories that are told in this book – Noah’s story, Echo’s story and Noah & Echo’s story. While Noah & Echo’s story was sweet and heartwarming and romantic, it was really their individual stories that I enjoyed reading. It was incredible to walk side by side with these characters as they attempted to heal – Noah as he attempted to deal with the separation from his brothers, Echo as she attempted to recall just what had happened to her and move on from it – and I think Katie McGarry did a superb job in making both stories real and compelling and full. 

This book deals with a lot of tough stuff, but all of these different things were handled incredibly well. It could have turned into too many issues stuffed into one book, but a balance was somehow struck and maintained from beginning to the end. 

Pushing the Limits is a complex tale of healing, transformation and love, with issues and characters woven perfectly into one seamless tale. While the romance was definitely a strong point, it is really the stories of Echo and of Noah that I enjoyed reading. I applaud Katie McGarry’s ability to write a story with characters that I completely loved, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.