I Wish I Could Unread it to Experience it for the First Time All Over Again

When we got Noah and Echo's story, we thought we couldn't love anyone more than the two of them. Then we got Beth's story and realized our love for each character is different, but equally as devoted. And then there was Isaiah's story and I thought to myself, "Katie McGarry! You tricky little devil! How on EARTH do you do this to me with every single book?!" In the third companion novel of the Pushing the Limits series, McGarry brings Isaiah what we always wanted for him: the perfect girl for him. But nothing comes easy for Isaiah. 

Isaiah has only loved two people unconditionally in his life: Noah and Beth. Noah has Echo and is torn between his past and loyalty to Isaiah and the future he wants to start with Echo. Beth just destroyed Isaiah. Now Isaiah finds himself alone again and hanging on by a thread. Barely able to make rent with Noah, he faces losing his freedom from the system if Noah moves to the dorms with Echo. In an effort to make a little money and keep Noah with him, he does something he never does: he decides to drag for a little extra cash. When he goes to Eric's illegal races, he expects meet some rough characters, Eric being the most deceptively terrifying. What he doesn't expect is to meet an angel in a Mustang. 

Rachel has always been protected. Born as a replacement for her sister who died of leukemia, Rachel has never lived up to the vibrant, outgoing Colleen. Instead, her desire to work on cars, irritation with the colors pink and purple, and anxiety attacks have been the ever present source of sadness for her mother. Add to that an overprotective father and four overprotective older brothers, and you have a girl who barely leaves the house. Except to drive her mustang. Her baby. After a rough night, Rachel's twin, Ethan, covers for her while she goes for a ride. She doesn't expect to end up at a drag race, but even less does she expect to be so taken by a guy full of earrings and tattoos. But when Isaiah strides up to her car to approve of its engine for her to race, she can't pull her eyes away from him. And she isn't afraid to tell him to get his hands off her car. 

When the race goes bad and the police show up, Isaiah refuses to leave Rachel behind. In a new kind of race, they manage to get away, but they aren't free and clear. While the police didn't catch them, Eric thinks Rachel had something to do with the anonymous tip that was sent into the police about the race which led to a couple of guys ribbing him. Now he is hunting Rachel to make her pay. But Isaiah has no intentions on letting anyone get anywhere near Rachel. He will do anything he can to protect her, even if it means not calling her when she is the only thing he can think about. But when Eric finds her, Isaiah gives up his exile. Now nothing can keep Isaiah from his angel. Not her brothers, not her father, not even a homicidal criminal like Eric. 

Oh boy. Boy, oh boy. I cannot tell you how MUCH I loved this book. I really did not think it was possible to love a couple more than I loved Echo and Noah, but you know what? Isaiah and Rachel's story is now my absolute favorite. There is something so deep and so tormented about that boy that you just needed for him to find his perfect complement. And that complement was Rachel. She wasn't perfect- far from it- but she was perfect for Isaiah. Not only because of her love for cars, but because she was as damaged as he was. While her life might have appeared to be charmed, it was actually a complete mess. Together, Rachel and Isaiah made a whole. Apart, they were in pieces. That is the stuff of a beautiful (and complicated) romance, and I loved Every. Single. Page. Of. It.

When I describe these stories, I just don't do them justice, though. They appear to be your standard, run-of-the-mill romances, but they are anything but average. McGarry has this uncanny ability to make you love her characters as if they were really in your life. It sounds silly, but I felt like I knew Isaiah and Rachel by the time I finished with this book! She also has the ability to introduce supporting characters new to each book who are just as fantastic as the regulars. When you meet Abby, the snarky, tough as nails, drug dealing con artist, you are going to fall in love with her. You think I am wrong, right? How could you ever love a girl like that? Well, read this book and tell me you don't. I bet you will be begging for a book about Abby the same way I am!!

So here is my plea to Ms. McGarry. PLEASE don't stop writing these stories. They make me so happy and consume my life from the first page to the last. My husband tried to talk to me in the middle of Crash Into Me for about 20 minutes before he realized I hadn't heard a word he said. Luckily the boy understands what happens when I love a book this much! I am so excited for West's story, but the next one should be Abby's story! And by the time you are done with those two, I am sure I will find another supporting character to love just as much as I loved Isaiah and Ryan and Abby and West. I need more! Don't stop! Keep 'em coming! These are some of the best books I have read! I can't get enough!!

A Rite of Passage for All?

In searching for books that were a) literary b) would contribute to Black History Month and c) were simple enough for my students to complete independently, I stumbled upon this lesser known Wright novel. It was perfect for my purposes, but it was also a frightening and severe book that will shed light on a life my students weren't fully aware existed.

Johnny is a good student. He works hard in school, his teachers always give him a proud smile, and his parents and siblings love him. Johnny has a good life in Harlem. But one fateful day, when he returned home from school, everything came crashing down around him. His stuff was all packed and waiting in the hallway to be taken when he got into his building. When he asked his mother why they were leaving, Johnny heard the worst words in his life: they weren't leaving; he was. 

Johnny's family wasn't really his biological family. They were his foster parents who had raised him since he was six months old, but now the system wants to move him. His parents fought to keep him, but the foster system has rules to follow. Johnny's new family is coming to pick him up, but he can't process everything since it is happening so fast. When his new family arrives, he does the only thing he can do: he runs. Now Johnny, a kid who has had a comfortable life full of love and family, finds himself on the streets of Harlem without a penny in his pocket. How is such a boy to take care of himself? He becomes the Jackal. 

This was such a sad book. It was so well written: clear, concise, and didn't beat around the bush. It is about 115 pages, so it is a fast read that packs quite a punch. The life of Johnny is all too realistic. When he left his parents, he joined other boys who were escaping the foster care system, although for different reasons. A system that was supposed to save them instead forced them to fend for themselves by mugging and beating people on the streets when they should have been focusing on school and sitting for the dinner their mothers prepared for them. It was heartbreaking. The system failed them. And what happens next is painful to watch. 

This is a stark reality not only of the foster system, but of the few and limited options a boy like Johnny has. When he couldn't stay with the family who loved him (which is absurd and accurate for the system), he had no other option than to band together with other boys and fight for their lives on the streets. His options were so few and far between, and no child should have to make those decisions. This is a powerful little novella that will be perfect for the project I am doing in my literature class. I am interested to see how my student reacts to it when he has finished the story of Johnny. Will he change as much as Johnny did?

There are No Limits

Do you know that feeling when a book far surpasses the expectations you had for it? When you read a book and think to yourself, "It is so good I don't want it to end!" When I started katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits, I expected teen romance. What I got was so much more.

Echo was once the popular girl with everything going for her, but two years ago she fell off the grid. Her brother died in Afganistan, her mother disappeared, and her father married her former babysitter, but Echo has a secret almost no one knows. Her arms are horribly scarred from something that happened to her at the hands of her own mother, something so terrible Echo has repressed all memories of that day. Living life like an empty shell, Echo is back in therapy, but something is different this time.

Noah lost his parents in a house fire, lost his brothers to foster parents, and the only thing that keeps him in line is the idea that he might get them back when he turns 18. After punching his first foster father (who was abusing his own son), Noah has been bounced from house to house, but he has been at this house with his foster brother and sister for a while. Isaiah and Beth are just as damaged as Noah, but together they make a decent but dysfunctional little family who actually care about each other. But when Noah continues to press the courts and the system to get more visitation with his brothers, their foster parents block him every time. In order to appear to be following the rules, Noah agrees to therapy to deal with everything he has lived through... as long as getting his brothers back is the end result.

What Echo and Noah don't expect is to be put together with Echo tutoring Noah by their mutual therapist. It seems like it would end in disaster, bad boy with tattoos and little rich girl with everything she ever wanted, but their mutual demons give them something in common. Two people who have not had the happy loving lives all children should have find comfort and respect in one another. Together they fill in each other's empty spaces until they become whole again. But there is more at stake than anyone understands. With the emergence of every repressed memory, Echo gets closer to the terrifying truth of what her mother did to scar her, physically and emotionally, and with everything Noah does, his actions and choices are scrutinized to the point where he could lose all hope of getting his brothers back. They know the risks, they fight the feeling, but how can you turn your back on the one person who makes your shattered life whole again?

Oh, sweet Zeus. I loved this book. I read this book, turned the last page, closed my eyes to digest for a minute, and started at the beginning again. This book defied all my preconceived assumptions with buckets of dynamite. With 50 pages to go, my husband came into the living room to find me holding the book with a troubled look on my face. He asked me what was wrong, and I said, "I don't want this book to end!" Yes, he laughed at me a little, but it was true. I didn't want to let go of Echo and Noah. They were the most dynamic, tragic, and beautiful characters I have read in a long time. By 50 pages into this book, you know these characters so well you find yourself laughing, crying, living, and dying along with them. I couldn't believe such characters could exist... especially with such a cheesy cover!

And why would publishers choose to cheapen this incredible story with such a craptastic cover? I will never understand that, but I hope people will look beyond the cheese to see the heart of this really fantastic story. It isn't just a romantic story. There is so much more to this story that the feelings between Echo and Noah are only a fraction of what makes this story so wonderful. The writing is so raw and real you will find yourself hanging on each and every word, living the story along with them. The demons these two carry with them are so difficult to digest, and you never really know the whole story. But most of all, the sacrifice they make for themselves, for their families, and finally, for each other, is beautiful. I loved this book both times I read it and I know I will be reading it again soon. This is the kind of book that stays with you for a long time. So give Noah and Echo some life, because every page makes them just a little more real.

Thrilling Sequel Takes a Bite Out of My Summer!

When Enclave by Ann Aguirre ended, we found Deuce and Fade Topside- aboveground after living underground in the Enclave all their lives. It was a change that sent the series into a completely different direction, and it injected more surprises and excitement into Outpost than you can imagine!

Deuce, Fade, Tegan, and Stalker were taken in by the people of Sanctuary, but they certainly weren't accepted by everyone immediately. Given to different foster parents, they found themselves suddenly immersed in a society that had survived within tall walls and relatively removed from the Freaks who roamed the countryside. They almost never came face to face with the Freaks, animal-like humanoids with terrifying teeth and claws, and they certainly couldn't defend themselves against them. Deuce and the others were well-trained in Freak combat, but Sanctuary saw them as children, not the lethal hunters they actually were. Forced to go to school and act like proper boys and girls, Deuce and the others struggle to fit into Sanctuary. 

When the crops are destroyed by the Freaks, it becomes clear they are no longer mindless roaming monsters with no intellect. After a couple of calculated attacks, Sanctuary is forced to acknowledge that the Freaks are getting smarter and Sanctuary is in danger. When Deuce, Fade, and Stalker offer to set up an outpost to protect the crops, the rest of the town is shamed into sending adults with them. Leaving the walls is terrifying for the people of Sanctuary, but so is starving through the winter with no crops to eat. Once they establish the outpost, however, it becomes clear the situation with the Freaks has escalated to a point that leaves Sanctuary vulnerable. But if the only people willing to do anything about it are the outsiders, how will Sanctuary survive this new threat?

I know it is difficult, sometimes, when a series takes a whole new spin, like Enclave did by throwing the kids Topside, but when done well, it can transform a series and make the sequel just as exciting as the original novel. That was certainly the case with Outpost, which extended the first story, but gave this book a whole new purpose all its own. I thought it was brilliant on Aguirre's part to do so, and it made me just as thrilled for the third book to come. We also get to see a whole new side of the characters we loved from the first book. Most transformative for me was the path Deuce traveled. Having never had a family in the Enclave, she couldn't get used to Momma Oaks, her foster mother. But when it became clear Momma Oaks really loved her, allowing herself to be the child of caring parents was an experience that made Deuce want to save Sanctuary. There were also times when you saw the ugly side of Sanctuary, which was very realistic for any community living so close together, and it made me like and believe the story even more. 

I really liked this sequel, and I think Aguirre did a great job of keeping a story going without just repeating what worked in the first book (a common mistake). The journey these characters traveled not only changed them, it changes you as a reader. You see them differently and cannot help but transform with them. The story was exciting and terrifying at times, but it keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. You will want to protect these kids, but you will also be proud of their bravery, even when the adults from Sanctuary are unwilling to take the same risks to save their own home. This was a fantastic follow-up, and I am dying to get ahold of the next book!

An Impossibly Good Tale

With such a haunting cover and a vague description on the book jacket, the reader who picks up this book has to take a leap of faith. The blurb mentions a song, a curse, something about mental illness, and not much more. You are left wondering if the book is worth unraveling such nonsense... and trust me it is! Impossible by Nancy Werlin is a haunting story full of love, pain, and supernatural mystery that will keep you turning the pages all night long.

Lucy Scarborough has been tormented by her mother's insanity for years. Lucy's foster parents, Soledad and Leo, take wonderful care of Lucy. In a way, they do for Lucy what they couldn't do for Lucy's mother, Miranda, when she came to them 17 and pregnant with no place to go. They took care of Miranda, but as soon as she gave birth to Lucy, she was lost in a world of her own madness. Lucy is so humiliated and saddened by her birth mother that she doesn't tell anyone her story, except Zach. Zach has stayed with her foster parents for years and is finally back on Christmas break from college. While Lucy has always trusted Zach with everything, she is starting to see him as more than just a family member.

When prom comes around, Zach helps convince the overprotective Soledad to let her go. Although he is jealous of the nerdy boy she is going with, he thinks it is important Lucy gets some normal fun in her life. Unfortunately, prom night is anything but normal or fun. After the dance, Lucy follows her date back into the ballroom where he forgot something. In the ballroom, he admits he didn't forget anything, but just wanted some time with her. Then he proceeds to rape her. Lucy tries to stop him, but something happens to his face as he hurts her- it seems to shift as though someone else is inside his body. When Zach finds her, the wheels start turning to help her. She goes to the hospital, the mysterious new employee at Soledad's practice gets Lucy the morning after pill, and they find a therapist for her to talk to.

About two months later, it becomes very clear to Lucy that she is pregnant, despite the prevention she took. When she finally confides in Zach and her parents, they are very supportive of her decision to keep the baby. Then Lucy learns something of her past. She finds her mother's diary from when Miranda was pregnant. While the diary is telling, there are pages ripped out. When Lucy remembers the false bottom of a shelf she found as a kid, she finds the missing diary pages. In them, Miranda tells of a curse placed on the Scarborough girls generations ago by an evil faerie king. When Fenella Scarborough refused to be her queen, he cursed her generations to come with an early pregnancy that creates another girl in the line and drives the mother mad once she is born. Miranda's diary pages also explain the song "Scarborough Fair" tells of the curse and the three impossible tasks Lucy can perform before she gives birth that will end the curse. Lucy must make a shirt with no seems and constructed with no needles. She must find an acre of land between "the salt water and the sea strand" and she must plow that land with a goat's horn and sow it with one grain of corn. While the tasks seem impossible, Zach and Lucy's parents won't give up on her. From genealogical research to prove the curse is real, to searching real estate for the acre of land between the salt water and the sea strand, to work with fabrics and materials to create the seamless shirt, the whole family is determined to save Lucy and her baby girl. But can they beat the clock and beat the faerie king in one fell swoop?

Oh, Nancy Werlin, you wove such an intriguing tale! This story is mysterious and clever, with a plot that continuously reveals little tidbits until you finally have the whole, crazy story. The vague description of the book made me wary- I am not fond of books that stay shrouded in mystery for all but the last 50 pages. It drives me nuts! While this book has a vague beginning, the pace of revelation throughout the book is wonderful. New twists are revealed and unfolded at a pace that keeps the reader from losing interest but still keeps them wanting more.

The material seems heavy and mature, but it is handled with the utmost of grace and dignity. While the rape is certainly traumatizing for Lucy, it isn't the central story. I also liked how her parents dealt with the rape and the pregnancy- very upfront, honest, and supportive. I suspect some people would hesitate in giving this book to students because of the content, but they would be overlooking the incredible messages embedded within the mature scenarios. Yes, Lucy is pregnant, but she trusts her parents enough to openly talk to them about it, not hide it from them. Yes, Lucy is raped, but her family is proactive, seeks a therapist, and support Lucy every step of the way. And while Lucy acknowledges the unfortunate timing of her pregnancy, she loves her unborn daughter and will fight against the impossible in order to protect her. I know there are many adults out there who would shy away from exposing mature situations to young readers. While I understand that urge, I think the right book with mature situations handled well is just as powerful in a positive way. This book is well written and any maturity is handled beautifully. So make it all possible and give this amazing book a chance!