Monday, May 31, 2010

Review; Going Too Far - Jennifer Echols


Going Too Far – Jennifer Echols

Description; All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far…and almost doesn’t make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion and he was to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge – and over…


Review; What can I say about Going Too Far that would really capture the raw emotion and startling impact this book has? I’d heard nothing but glowing reviews and recommendations for this book, so I picked it up as soon as I had some spare cash.

I adored Meg’s voice. Her character was funny, and from the very first line, Echols had me laughing out loud. ‘“That’s the worst idea I ever heard,” I told Eric. Then I took another sip of beer and swallowed. “Let’s do it”’. She was such a typical teenager on the outside and I really loved that Echols revealed a past and core to Meg that certainly didn’t meet the eye. Right through the book, I suspected that something big had happened to her that shaped her actions, thoughts and perceptions. My only criticism of Meg’s character would be when she made one or two silly decisions later in the novel when really she should have known better by then. There was one instance when I was simply furious with her, but she eventually redeemed herself and had me feeling content in her blatant humanity once more. On a high note, even though I had nothing in common with Meg at all and could not relate to her a teeny bit – her voice and her story were so enrapturing. It was great to really get to know someone so vastly different from myself.

John was amazing! He was so complex, so sweet, so different…and I loved that. He really knew what he wanted and stuck by it. His character was so well justified and his story was as equally heartbreaking as Meg’s. Together, they were a perfect little explosion.

The ending was perfect…Echols couldn’t have finished such a fabulous book on a better note. I really enjoyed Echols’s writing and cannot wait for her next novel, “Perfect You”. If you’re looking for something realistic, romancy and don’t mind a few tugs on the heart strings then Going Too Far is a perfect selection! (For those of you who have read Simone Elkeles novels, Jenn Echols writes in a similar vein to that) :-)

4.5 Horses!
.5

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