*Received Through NetGalley*
Pushing the LimitsAuthor: Katie McGarryPublisher: Harlequin TeenPublish Date: July 31, 2012Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance, 416 pages
ISBN-10: 0373210493
ISBN-13: 978-0373210497
*This book is part of my NetGalley/Edelweiss KO Challenge for Aug.*

SUMMARY:
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.
MY REVIEW:
Having been through a traumatic event in her life, Echo finds herself wanting to know what happened that night she ended up in the hospital, fighting for her life. What she wants? To be normal again. And she isn't finding normal going back to her douche ex boyfriend, nope, not that dumb jock. But bad-boy Noah Hutchins, leather jacket wearing, weed smoking, butterfly pterodactyls making boy whom Echo finds total and utter peace with. But Echo isn't the only one with problems, no siree. Noah Hutchins used to be that all star kid with popularity running through his veins, up until losing both his parents in a fire and placed into foster care. Noah finds himself jumping from foster home to foster home, losing himself with each passing day. The only thing making him try? His brothers... and Echo.
I absolutely loved this book. It kept me turning the page in anticipation. Gahh. If Noah Hutchins was real... and a bit older, I would be all over that and STAT! Noah Hutchins is a bad boy with a heart of gold. Slacker ways but the most beautiful brown eyes that show the most caring you'll ever need! *sigh* I'm telling you.. sigh now, and prepare to do a lot more sighing when you read this book! Noah Hutchins will pull at your heartstrings ladies! We're first introduced to Echo in the beginning of the book, talking with her counselor/therapist/psycho driver and afterwards runs into Noah, whom exudes badass with ease. I found Echo to be really weak. I understand she's been through some shit and has lost nearly everything in her life, but my gaaawd! Grow a back bone! She practically let herself be talked into certain situations where a simple "no" would have sufficed. But, no. Because she's the victim and will forever play the victim, she'll lay down and play dead when you tell her to. Her friends? What friends? Don't even wanna walk down that alley. I loved this book, but the characters drove me nuts! Which then made me love the book even more. But seriously? The adults in this book needed some major smacking around a time or two.
What I liked about this book was that it was really easy to read. Aside from the heart-wrenching moments and the sighing (YES, MORE SIGHING!!), Ms. McGarry really knew how to draw you in AND keep you in. Yeah, I disliked the adults with a passion. Yeah, I wanted to throw a fit and smack some sense into some of the characters. BUT, I wouldn't change a thing about this book. The character speak to you, the words practically pop out and paint a vivid image for you, making you want to reach in and do a lot of cooing and cuddling to ease the pain going on. What I didn't like... well, this should be obvious. THE ADULTS. Seriously, not adults at all. I'm not even going to go into more detail with that one.
I would definitely recommend this book. It's heart-wrenching and totally throws some perspective in your eyes. If you don't mind a few of your heartstrings being plucked at, or keeping a box of tissues by you, then by all means, go out and get this book! You wont regret it.
MY RATING: