"Pushing The Limits" by Katie McGarry

Author: Katie McGarry
Publication: July 24, 2012
By: Harlequin Teen
3.5 STARS!
 

 "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.

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.

This is book is well worth the read!  It's raw, edgy and the characters manage to break your heart while giving you hope at the same time. I enjoyed the alternating POV's and watching the romance grow between two very unlikely people.

Echo and Noah have both experienced horrific tragedies and are left to cope with finding a new normal pretty much on their own. (At least that's how they see it.) Not knowing who to trust is hard but through their combined circumstances Noah and Echo discover "normal" isn't always what it seems and love can find you when you least expect it. 

Both of these characters are strong and Noah is completely swoon worthy despite his tough guy attitude and his potty mouth. ;)  It was interesting to watch Echo's transformation and the fact that she was able to hold on to certain "things" throughout the story was refreshing. 

Sometimes you read a book like this, and the pain and brokenness of the characters is too much often leaving you worse for the wear.  Not so, with this story.  Even though I was a roller coaster of emotions the message of hope and life being full of possibilities came through loud and clear. (for me anyway.) 

I was also impressed that the first line in the acknowledgements was 
"God - Luke 1:37" ("For nothing is impossible with God." ~ Luke 1:37)