Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Source: NetGalley

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. Echo and Noah couldn’t be more different, but they find themselves united by a common goal: to sneak into their court- ordered social worker’s case files in order to learn the truth about themselves and their families. What they didn’t count on is falling in love -- and now 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.

I have ambivalent feelings about Pushing the Limits. There are some elements of the story that I thoroughly like, but there are also some small things that put my enjoyment on pause.

I admire the character and story arcs quite a bit. Echo and Noah are both damaged and have some major issues that they need to work through. This gives each of them a lot of potential for growth as individuals, and I feel like that potential is met within the story. Each of them comes through their personal turmoils having learned and grown in a way that can easily be appreciated. Their relationship begins with irritation but coalesces into a mutual understanding and regard for one another, and I feel that their relationship progression is an acceptably accurate depiction of teenage emotions. The pacing and the plot contribute deftly to the character growth, and there is sufficient build-up and resolution and a wonderful lack of lulls.

As for those little things that I mentioned that keep me from becoming enraptured with the text? The dialogue sporadically grates on my nerves, and these little aggravations that keep popping up prevent the narration from feeling as authentic and easy as I would like. It is several small things that, combined, affect my enjoyment in a negative way. The dialogue at times feels clunky or somehow out of place. There is also an egregious amount of mythology-themed nicknames (goddess, nymph, siren) used to describe Echo throughout the text, and, while I get that these words tie back into the origin of her name, I feel that they suffer from overuse combined with a lack of variation between them. It is things like this that make Noah's internal dialogue particularly difficult to stomach at times. I want it to come across as effortlessly real, but instead the narration seems to suffer from trying a little bit too hard and it was distracting.

I adore the characters and their struggles and growth as well as the plot, but I feel that there is a disconnect between the characters and the dialogue - some of the thoughts and verbal exchanges just don't feel natural. Though this did bother me enough to lower my rating, I still love these characters and their stories and would recommend the book to those looking for a contemporary about personal growth and overcoming difficulties. Pushing the Limits contains some mild drug/alcohol use, language, and sex.

Top Ten Most Vivid Literary Worlds & Settings

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's top ten list features what I think are some of the best-built and most vivid worlds and settings from stories. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Middle Earth (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien) - I'm not sure how this could possibly not be included, considering all of the obsessive detailing that Tolkien put into creating the world.
2. Hogwarts (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling) - Another world that must be included in this list. I feel that I have come to know this place and its moving staircases and hidden rooms, as well as the people who inhabit it.
3. Wonderland - (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll) - It would be nonsensical of me not to include this one. (See what I did there?) This world full of "stuff and nonsense" definitely belongs on the list.
4. Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis) - This is the point in my list where I'm thinking that I need to be less predictable, as Narnia is yet another obvious choice.
5. Le Cirque des Rêves (The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern) - The atmosphere created by Morgenstern in this book is phenomenal! Reading about this circus sent me into sensory overload and I completely fell in love with the setting.
6. The Moors (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and/or The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab) - These two books are both set beside the moors, and both authors make great use of the atmosphere that the moors provide. I love the wild and haunting mood that the moors create in these stories. I'll just say it: I have a THING for moor settings.
7. Prague & Elsewhere (Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor) - Laini Taylor does a great job of capturing a magical sort of city, and Prague felt like it came to life on the pages. Then she shows us Elsewhere and it is even more magical, and also completely engrossing.
8. Westeros (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin) - This one may be another unsurprising choice since the show has recently made many people into new fans of this series, but I wanted to include it anyway for its unapologetic harshness, its Wall, its rivers, its castles, its food, and its Winter.
9. Thisby (The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater) - Maggie Stiefvater does an amazing job of making the danger and magic of this place swirl together. I love it because it is mysterious and wild, enchanting and ominous at the same time. The characters really love this place, and I think that only added to my love for it.
10. Dustlands (Dustlands series by Moira Young) - The setting is one of the things that I really liked about Blood Red Road. The old western vibe of the lands is enhanced by the characters' dialects and makes for an engrossing post-apocalyptic world.

Honorable Mentions:

• Tortall in Tamora Pierce's books - I love this world and its characters. After all of the adventures to be had there, it feels very real!
• The Maze in The Maze Runner by James Dashner - How cool is a killer maze?
• Howl's Castle in Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones - Walking castles with portals to various places are awesome.
• The Leviathan in the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld - It's a whale-slash-airship. The setting is actually alive. I'm not sure it gets more vivid than that.
• Crystal Cove in Moonglass by Jessi Kirby - This is an incredibly vivid and well-written beach setting.

And there you have it! My noteworthy vivid, must-visit literary worlds. Do you agree with my picks? What are some others that you think deserve to be on this list? Let me hear about it in the comments!

Review: Rape Girl by Alina Klein

Title: Rape Girl
Author: Alina Klein
Publisher: namelos
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Source: NetGalley

Valerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl.

But not the rape girl.

That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it.

Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family. After, she has a court case, a support group, and a house full of strangers.

The real truth is, nothing will ever be the same.

This book takes on the task of portraying the way in which society often victimizes a rapist and forces the one who was raped to prove innocence rather than the other way around.

I like that Rape Girl deals with a different aspect of rape - the tendency of society to place blame upon the victim. We so often see a girl who is quietly trying to heal from the trauma of her rape or gathering the courage to finally tell someone about it, trying to work through her feelings of shame and disgust. This book is the only one I've read to take on the task of showing how reporting a rape can affect the victim and make her feel like a pariah because the boy she accuses is well-liked.

Valerie is easy to sympathize with because of her situation, which is sad and infuriating. Nobody believes her story, including her friends. Her school principal takes her out of her class that she shares with her rapist, making it look as though she is the one who did something wrong. Her situation and the way that she is treated, not only by her friend but by authority figures as well, is absolutely unacceptable. There are a precious few people who are on her side - her family, her counselor, a girl at school who does believe her. Thank goodness for these characters who represent the good in the world.

Rape Girl is a really short book (124 pages). I felt like it should have been longer, because there are some things that are rushed or brushed aside that I would have liked to see expanded upon. For example, the reader doesn't really get a sense of the healing process. The healing side of rape isn't investigated or examined, like it is in other books dealing with this topic. This disappoints me because I feel like showing that emotional growth and healing is necessary in books like these, but in Rape Girl that process is rushed and is never fully explored. I liked it, but I wanted a bit more from it emotionally and plot-wise. I still would recommend it as a short, quick read that deals with the topic of society's response to a rape victim.

Author Q&A With Katie McGarry

Thanks to Harlequin Teen, today I've got a Q&A session with Katie McGarry, author of Pushing the Limits, in which she talks a little bit about her new novel. Enter to win your own copy of Pushing the Limits at the bottom of this post!

About Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and she remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. Katie loves to visit schools and talk to teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach.

What was your inspiration for writing Pushing the Limits?

I had two main inspirations: One, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write a story in which my characters felt strong enough to leave their pasts behind and create new futures for themselves. The first scene I ever saw in my mind was Echo and Noah leaving town after graduation. Two, I wanted to write two characters who were facing overwhelming issues and who, through battling these issues, found hope at the end of their journey.


How did you come up with Echo’s name?

Echo went through several name changes as I wrote the manuscript. For a while, she had a very normal name, but it always felt off. It wasn’t until I looked at Echo from her mother’s point of view that I found her name. Echo’s mother loved Greek mythology so it made perfect sense that she would name her children after the myths. I read several Greek myths and the moment I found Echo’s, I fell in love. Echo, to me, was the girl who lost her voice. Thankfully, she finds it by the end.


Which character is the most “like” you?

All of them. I gave each character a piece of me (though some have larger slices of me than others). Overall, I’d say I’m a strange combination of Echo, Lila and Beth. Echo has my need to please, Lila has my unfailing loyalty to my friends and Beth encompasses my insecurities.


Did you experience friendships with Grace types when you were in high school?

Yes. And the more people have read this story, the more this question comes up. Grace has struck a stronger nerve in people than I ever would have imagined. It seems most of us have unfortunately experienced a relationship where a person wants to “like” you and wants “be your friend,” but only if it serves their needs. In case anyone is wondering, that isn’t friendship.


Are there any parts of the story you feel particularly close to?

Yes. The relationship between Noah, Isaiah and Beth. Beyond my parents and sister, my nearest family members were over fourteen hours away. My friends became my family. The people I grew up with were more than people I watched movies with or talked to occasionally on the phone. These were people with whom I shared life’s most devastating moments, but also my hardest laughs. These were people who I would have willingly died for and I know they would have done the same for me. They shared my triumphs with smiles on their faces and congratulatory hugs. They held me when I cried and offered to beat up whoever hurt my feelings. These were also the same people who were more than happy to get in my face if they thought I was making a wrong decision.


Did anything that happens to Echo happen to you?

Sort of. I was bitten by a dog when I was in second grade and repressed the memory. It felt very strange to have no memory of an incident that other people knew about. It was even stranger to have injuries and not have an inkling where they came from. In college, I finally remembered the incident when a dog lunged at me. I relived the horrible event and sort of “woke up” a few minutes later to find myself surrounded by people I loved. Even though I “remember” the incident, I still don’t remember the whole thing. I only see still frames in my mind and there is no blood in any of the memories.

Enter below for your chance to win a copy of Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, courtesy of Harlequin Teen. (US/Canada Only)

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Pushing the Limits Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Trailer

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Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Title: Second Chance Summer
Author: Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 8, 2012
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Source: Borrowed

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

If you're looking for a summer read that will make you feel a range of emotions, then you should definitely read this book. Second Chance Summer has the summer home, mountain lake setting and the small vacation town life and leisurely days that go with it. Morgan Matson invokes feelings of sadness, apprehension, joy, awkward discomfort, and humor in this story that feels so authentic in its pain and happiness.

Taylor is an easy character to sympathize with. She's a normal girl in a family of overachievers so she feels somewhat less extraordinary than the rest of her family, but she doesn't lament over the fact. Her big flaw is that she hates confrontation and will run away from it rather than face it. In fact, her whole family seems to prefer to just avoid discussing the difficult situation that they find themselves in when they learn that her dad has cancer, and that is frustrating to Taylor. Her family is pretty amazing, though. Each one has their own personality and handles grief in different ways. One of my favorite things about this story is witnessing how they grow as a family over the course of this final summer with all of them together.

Taylor has to face her past in addition to her family struggles. She's avoided their vacation home for years after leaving things a mess with her best friend Lucy and her first boyfriend Henry, and now she has to face them both and deal with the lingering tendrils of bitterness and mistrust. So another of my favorite things about this book is the way that these old, meaningful relationships are slowly repaired. It's a gradual process and it isn't always easy, and it is presented in a natural and rewarding way. If I had to make one complaint, it would be that the situation from five years previous that separated Taylor from her friends was pretty much an overreaction, but she was twelve at the time, so I can overlook it.

The setting for Second Chance Summer is vivid and pulls the reader into its little mountain lake community. The pacing is steady and there aren't any lulls even though it's a character-driven story that is all about the relationships that we have to those around us. Those relationships are the focus of the novel, as Taylor gets to know her friends and family all over again, grows closer to them, finds an amazing support system, and experiences her own growth in the process.

I wholeheartedly recommend Second Chance Summer to lovers of contemporary fiction, books about grief and relationships, great summer settings, and stories that tug at your heart in all the right ways.

E-Book Deals: July 2012

There are SO many awesome ebooks on sale right now! So I'm going to share some of my finds just in case any of you were looking for a reason or were waiting for a sale to snag one of these titles!

Please double-check pricing before buying, as these sales don't always last long and the prices may change at any time. Images link to Kindle editions, but the other ebook stores should have the same or similar pricing on most of these.

Adult High Fantasy @ $2.99


YA @ $0.99


YA @ $1.59


YA @ $2.99


YA @ $3.99


Disclaimer: I am an Amazon associate. Using my links to purchase a book gives me a small commission (a few cents), which I put toward fun things like hosting book giveaways, etc.

Giveaway: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Random Buzzers has provided me with an extra copy of Seraphina to give away to one of you!

Seraphina

by Rachel Hartman

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend the court as ambassadors and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the peace treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift - one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

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