Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry -- YA Review

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry -- YA Review

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. Blurb via Goodreads

Details: Harlequin Tee, Released July 31, 2012, Paperback, 293 Pages (I read an ARC)
Genre: YA
Source: giveaway
Link: Goodreads

Stars: 4/5

In one sentence: Two people who've seen the worst try to get the best out of each other.

Review:

We meet two teens who have both had horrible things happen to them and they're each dealing in the only way they know how. Echo is trying so hard to be the girl she was before whatever it was happened to her, happened to her. The mystery of what happened to her was well crafted and revealed just enough at a time to keep me interested. Noah gave up trying to be who he was before but he's still trying so desperately to do the right thing, to make things right in the only way he thinks he can. He's the bad boy with the soft and gooey center.

Noah and Echo come from two different worlds but are thrown together and decide to work together to get the answers they need. They're perfect romantic partners but the baggage they carry guarantees a bumpy ride. 

I thought McGarry did a good job of portraying their relationship, how brave they were to give each other a chance and to deal with the consequences of their choices. McGarry made me feel for them, care for them, while making me understand their choices and actions. I could think they made the wrong choice or did the wrong thing but McGarry made sure we understood, I never thought 'why the hell did they do that?'.

Control is a theme throughout the book, Echo and Noah struggle against the people who have control over them, Echo's father, their therapist, the foster care system, etc., it's a long list, and their struggles to assert themselves and control their own lives.

There isn't a happy ending in the traditional sense, but it has a satisfying ending, er beginning.
I enjoyed McGarry's writing style. The story is told in alternating perspectives, giving depth to the story and the characters.

The secondary characters were interesting and purposeful. They illuminate Echo and Noah and show how they interact with the world. I'm intrigued to read McGarry's next book, featuring Beth, and hopefully we'll get a peak at Noah and Echo again.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern -- YA Review

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern -- YA Review

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Details: Doubleday, September 13, 2011, Ebook, 387 pages
Genre: YA
Source: Library
Link: Goodreads

Rating: 3/5

In one sentence? A great concept but lackluster delivery.

Review: 

The concept was fascinating, dueling magicians who fall in love and I had high expectations, unfortunately the story fell short for me. Morgenstern crafts a beautiful world inside circus tents and fills it with fascinating people but that's about all it had going for it. The story moved slowly. I kept waiting for action, for the story to pick up and it never did though Morgenstern did kept the story interesting enough for me to keep turning the pages.

From the blurb it sounds like the romance between Celia and Marco the romance will be front and center but it was really a small part of the story. They were star crossed lovers, loving each other desperately but kept apart, which automatically gets me rooting for them. Morgenstern did a good job of getting the reader into Celia and Marco's heads, making me feel for them, playing a game they didn't choose to play, where they had no chance, no knowledge of the rules or the stakes. I wished Morgenstern had shown more of Celia and Marco, I think the story would have been richer for it.

I did not like Morgenstern's writing style, it annoyed and distracted me, taking me away from the world she was trying to create. And dialog. Give me some dialog please! I think that Morgenstern chose the wrong platform for her story; while reading I kept imagining how the story would play out on film. I think this might be one time where the movie would actually be better than the book.

Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins -- YA Review

 Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins -- YA Review

Image Via Goodreads

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. Blurb Via Goodreads

Details: Hyperion Book CH, Released March 2, 2010, Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: YA
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads

Stars? 5/5

In one sentence? Well, two.  Teenage angst in a magical reform school? What's not to love?

Review:

I enjoyed Hex Hall immensely.  I liked the story, pacing, the twists and turns, the characters, and the plot. I appreciated that this was a book about Sophie and the her journey, and though her romance was an important part of her story, it wasn't all about her having a boyfriend. I liked and empathized with Sophie, her struggles to fit in at magical reform school, her mistakes, how she forged friendships and relationships, finding out who she is and deciding who she wants to be.

I liked Hawkins' writing style, her voice and I'm looking forward to reading her next book.