Book Blog- PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katy McGarry

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 was a fun, romantic story about about two damaged teens who have both lost their sense of family.  While the story was romantic, there was also a nice bit of suspense as Echo tried to piece together what happened to her in the past.  Could it really have been as bad as she thinks.  Worse?  The characters were both struggling with their identities in the wake of tragedy.  Together, they try to help each other conquer the past, and end up helping each other find a more hopeful future.  
  
I liked that Echo and Noah both were such different people before their respective tragedies, and I could picture them both clearly- how they would have been if things had turned out differently.  Both are scarred by their pasts, figuratively and literally, and it is those experiences that bring them closer than they might have otherwise ever have been.

Echo is so betrayed by the people who are supposed to love and protect her, that trust is a hard thing for her.  And Noah does not want to love anyone, but still manages to develop close friendships, and is loyal to those he cares about.  Noah has a self destructive streak, which he wears like a suit of armor.  But Echo finds a way past it, and Noah finds a way to help Echo accept what she has become, scars and all.

Pushing the Limits is a fun, quick read that's full of heart and deep emotion.