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.”

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.

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 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

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.

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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!

Echo and Noah are literally so cute. Two broken people fixed each other without even knowing it. I loved how Noah fought for Echo. I wish that happened in real life. I loved their story and how they stuck by each other through everything. Even when things got rough, they stuck through it and ended up together because they knew that's where they belonged and couldn't live without each other<3

Loved this book!!

I really liked it. No big on all the cursing. I never realized you could actually curse that much in a book. A book. Exactly. --- But I really liked how the story ends. And I was so happy when Echo finally figured out who Grace really was. Ugh. I knew from the beginning. Can't wait to read the next one but then again... It's Beth and some other dude that is not Isaiah. I'm not sure how this next book is going to far with me.