Review: Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry (I heart this book)

Pushing The Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 384
Source: NetGalley & Harlequin Teen
Summary From Goodreads:
"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.
(ack, bleck, blugh! I hate that they used this line in the 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 Thoughts:
~One of my favorite books of 2012~
I really don't have enough great things to say about Pushing The Limits. I was so invested in Echo and Noah's story. Both characters are so real and so very heartbreaking. I found McGarry's writing to be fast paced and completely engrossing. I was extremely impressed by McGarry's ability to flawlessly take us from Echo's point of view to Noah's.

Echo: 
Echo can't escape what's happened in her family, the scars are always with her. She misses her brother and her mother. Even though missing her mother feels wrong. She can't stand her stepmother and her father wants to control every aspect of her life. I really wanted to punch him, really badly! Add to that she can't remember the one day that has changed her life forever.

Noah:
Oh, Noah! He is what you think of when you think classic bad boy. Only he isn't at all. Yeah, he puts on a great show but when you get to know him you can't help but fall in love with him. I love how amazingly gentle he is and how sensitive he is to the people that he loves. He is one guy you want to have on your side.

Echo and Noah have incredible chemistry. First it's snarky and infuriating but later it's hot and steamy! A wonderful new YA couple.

Plot: Original, lots of depth, beautifully sad and uplifting all at the same time.
Characters: From Echo and Noah to Beth and ...well all of them.  I enjoyed each character. They each brought that perfect amount of oomph to the story line.
Writing: I instantly fell in love with McGarry's writing style. I felt like each chapter flowed seamlessly into the next and that McGarry did a fabulous job of writing in both the female and male point of view.
Ending: Perfect!
Kid Friendly: Due to some pretty heavy subject matter this might be better suited to the older YA crowd.
Overall: Fan girl time! If you couldn't already tell I absolutely LOVED this book. I can't imagine that it won't make it into my top ten of the year! I can't wait to read Dare You To, McGarry's next book to be released in 2013.
Cover: I love this cover. It fits the feel of the book perfectly and the couple on the book are just how I imagined Echo and Noah.
Recommend: Oh yes! Most Definitely.

Neurotic Thoughts on Ditched

Ditched: A Love Story
Author: Robin Mellom
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads:


High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her. 
Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat, handle first. 
Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice. 
Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom. 
And then ditched her. 
Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together -- stain by stain on her thrift-store dress -- exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag's moving car... 
But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love. 
Filled with humor, charm, and romance, "Ditched: A Love Story" by debut novelist Robin Mellom will have readers dreaming of love on their own prom nights.

Ditched is such a fun and endearing book. Justina finds herself on the side of the road the morning after prom and stumbles to the nearest 7-11 looking for a pay phone. Instead of using the phone she encounters Gilda the 7-11 clerk and Donna the bubbly customer. They all sit around the 7-11 munching on snacks and trying to figure out what went wrong with Justina's fail proof prom plan.


Gilda and Donna are such great additions to the cast of characters in this book. It's not too often that you find eclectic, understanding adults in young adult books. Usually the parents are missing for some reason, and the teens are just out there on their own. Even though Ian is missing for a lot of Ditched you still get to know him really well during Justina's flashbacks of their history together. In fact I was really impressed that for a book that involves a girl sitting in a 7-11 telling a story to two women that you get to know so many people so well. The Mikes that call everyone by their essence and their girlfriends Serenity and Bliss added so much to the adventure of Justina's prom experience. They really made the book have that certain something in my opinion. 


From the first page I was laughing and dying to know how Justina had ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. If you are looking for a light, fun, romantic comedy then look no further you have found it.