I don't know how I managed to read so many fabulous young adult novels this year without ever having heard about PUSHING THE LIMITS. But, when I saw the gorgeous cover on NetGalley, I decided to give it a try -- without knowing anything about the story or plotline at all. 
 I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed, despite the fact that I'm really not a fan of romantic stories in the least. While PUSHING THE LIMITS is, at its core, the tale of a beautiful young woman with a tragic past who gets swept up in love with a rebellious bad boy who seems to be no good for her, the best and most notable parts of the novel are really the poignant psychological struggles and intense sociological barries that both of the main characters encounter and conquer throughout the story. So, even if you're not one to swoon over the concept of a bad boy turned good for the right girl, I'd still suggest you give this one a chance if you're someone who is really driven towards strong character focused fiction. 
 So, backing up a bit to the plotline... Echo was once the picture of teenage perfection -- beautiful, outgoing, and intelligent, she ruled the halls of her high school with her stellar grades, popular friends, and dreamy boyfriend. But things changed during the final weeks of her sophomore year when she disappeared for the rest of the semester without any notice or explanation. When she returned the next year, Echo seemed to be little more than a shadow of her former self, keeping herself secluded from her peers and hiding herself in long-sleeved tops and jackets regardless of the weather. Everyone wondered, what could Echo be hiding that was terrible enough to take her away from everything that previously defined her? 
 Noah is known to his peers as a rebellious, impulsive bad boy, primarily keeping to himself and his two friends who live with him in his latest foster home. Both of his parents died years ago in an accident, leaving Noah orphaned along with his two younger brothers who looked up to him for guidance and support. After using physical force against a previous foster parent in defense of his brothers, Noah was separated from his only family, granted only the barest of vistation rights to his brothers. Determined to turn his life around, Noah vows to get clean, get a job, and fight for custody of his brothers. Such drastic changes soon seem much easier said than done, Noah finds... 
 And then he meets Echo, through a mutual social worker, and is paired with her in order to get further help with his school work. Echo seems so delicate and damaged, working through repressed memories of a horrible event that left her both physically and emotionally scarred beyond belief. Noah can't let himself get distracted from his goal of gaining custody of his brothers, but there's something about Echo that's so fascinating to him that he can't let go yet... 
 As Echo and Noah work through the personal devastations that forever changed the course of their young lives, they discover a mutual understanding that has the potential to blossom into an interesting relationship... if only they can get there... 
 I definitely enjoyed PUSHING THE LIMITS more than I expected, even despite the fact that parts of the story did feel a bit overdramatic and long winded at times. While the romance may have been overdone at points, the depth of the characters and their struggles was intriguing enough to keep me wanting more up until the very last page. I'm certainly not a romantic at heart, but I can't pass up a story that really digs into the gritty psychological issues that manage to be both horrifying and relatable to the reader. I felt invested in Echo's path to memory and recovery most of all, and I very much enjoyed the format of the alternating chapters which managed to give distinct voices to the two main characters while keeping the story flowing cohesively enough to stay interesting. 
 I'm glad I had the opportunity to read PUSHING THE LIMITS on NetGalley, and I'm curious to see what the author does with the story in the future. Everything seemed so ... finished... in this novel, that I'm not sure where a series might take things from here, but I'm open to the possibilities and will check out McGarry's other works in the future for sure!