Pushing The Limits Read-A-Long Week 2

Posted 7 August, 2012 by Danny in Blog, Danny, Discussion, Heather, Pushy / 10 Comments

Welcome to the second week of the

Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry Read-A-Long!!

This fabulous event is hosted by Candace Book Blog, Natalia @ Dazzling Reads, The Page Turners, Mary @ The Book Swarm and Bewitched Bookworms.

Please check the intro post about the “Rules” and the Grand Prize (which is the cutest prize ever). If you do not have a copy yet,

Pushing The Limits just came out today!! Happy BookBirthday!!

Get a copy: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound |Book Depository

Find Katie McGarry:  website | Facebook | Twitter

And… for those who would rather win a copy and join the discussion later, we have a finished copy for you to win!

Now onto the Read-A-Long:

Schedule:

Special Event: Evening of August 28th – Live Twitter Chat with Author Katie McGarry!!!!

and now, let’s jump into the second week of Discussion hosted by The Page Turners:

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Questions!

­­­Noah and Echo create a plan to read their files.  What do you think of this plan?  Would you read your friends file first knowing you might not have time to read your own?  Would you want to read your own file?

Danny: That is a really tricky question and I am not perfectly sure how to think about this. I totally get Noah’s desperate wish to read his file! It’s his chance to get closer to his brothers, so I get that. Echo’s motivations are different and I truly think she should figure this out on her own. Whatever happened to her is so enormous that no one likes to tell her what it is… She might not like what she finds. So, it totally depends on the situation.
Heather: I think that Mrs. Collins leaves those files out in plain site just to tempt Echo and Noah. She smells shenanigans. Would I read my friend’s file if I didn’t have a chance to read my own? That would really depend on how juicy their problem seemed, and how inconsequential mine seemed in comparison. I’d really have to gauge which one of us had no chance of moving on without knowing the truth.
Pushy: This plan TOTALLY makes me nervous!  I mean Echo’s going through a lot, albeit subconsciously, to avoid the truth.  But she really wants to know it and to get better, so maybe it’s a good thing?  But then Noah??  What good is going to come from him reading his file?  He gets so angry when he interacts with his brothers’ foster parents.  Him finding their address?  Not a great idea.  BUT I’m totally nosy so not only would I read my own file in a New York minute but I’d read anyone else’s file also, friend or not!  That’s just how I roll.  🙂

Mrs. Collins starts to earn Noah’s trust by taking him to see his brother win a writing contest.  What do you think of how she’s handling Noah?  How would you feel if you were in Noah’s position, hearing that your brother sees you as his hero?

Danny: Oh my Gosh that was such a touching scene!!!! I was crying! It was so emotional! That was the moment when I truly began to love Mrs. Collins! Not only do I think she did that only perfect thing to gain Noah’s trust, it was also touching to see how much she really cares! Since I had a little brother myself, it’s easy to be pushed into the hero role from kid-siblings. It’s both admirable, both also holds a big responsibility and I think that it was Noah realized. He now was just more desperate not to fail his brother..

Heather: Mrs. Collins is earning Noah’s trust in the only way she possibly can–by getting him access to his brothers. Nothing else would have worked at this point, no amount of talking one on one would have broken through to him. But dangling the possibility of interacting with his brothers if Noah works hard and straightens out his act in front of him like a proverbial carrot is the right thing for her to do. As for Noah’s reaction to his brother’s essay full of hero worship, I would feel a bit uncomfortable knowing that I’d done quite a bit in the past up until that point in my life that clearly couldn’t be admired. It would certainly make me want to be a better person, worthy of being called a hero.

Pushy: At first I wasn’t Mrs. Collin’s biggest fan, but when Noah sees his brother and hear what his brother wrote about.  I’m tearing up again, just thinking of it!  If this woman flakes on Noah later I’m going to be devastated.  But if she’s the real deal….she can really help him!

 

Echo is starting to draw and paint again.  She’s starting to express the feelings and what she’s seeing as she’s starting to remember what happened that day.  Art therapy seems to be a popular way for people to deal with their feelings, why do you think Echo’s dad didn’t want her to continue with art since it was such a big part of her and is part of so many people’s therapy in dealing with similar issues?

Danny: Echo’s father simply was afraid! I think he was torn in-between wanting his daughter to remember and scared that she does. I truly didn’t get Echo’s dad and I was again mad at him for treating Echo like this!

Heather: Echo’s father has taken her amnesia as a convenient way to wipe out any traces of her old useless life away. In his mind, what good is art? Will you make a bunch of money, will you be secure? He wants his daughter to be successful and prosper, not live a life of poverty.

Pushy: At this point I have no idea what’s going on with Echo’s dad.  It’s hard to feel like he loves Echo at this point.  I just feel like he wants her to be what he wants her to be and can’t deviate from that picture.  I’m not loving him.

 

We see how crazy Beth’s home life is and we start to understand why she is not as keen to be trusting with people in her life.  At the same time, we get to see how fiercely loyal Noah is.  What do you think of the way Noah reacted to Beth being beaten by her mother’s boyfriend?  Do you think it’s showing bad behavior that could get Noah in more trouble or the act of a true friend?

Danny: That’s our Noah!!! He’s loyal to the core and whether he wants us to see it our not – he’s an amazing friend and he knows what is right or wrong. Clearly! Noah is not the bad boy everyone sees in him. It actually made me sad that no one wanted to see behind his wall and so easily pushed him into the bad-boy corner..

Heather: It’s definitely a combination of both because it’s a bit disconcerting that he thinks nothing of going after a man twice his size to protect one of his best friends. Obviously Beth’s mother is a piece of work and wouldn’t back them if they went to the police, but resorting to violence was a bit much.

Pushy: I admit that I fear it’s both, but I”m so with Noah!  There’s a time to follow the rules, and then there’s the time that someone needs to bring the ass-whoop’un.  *Pushy makes the fierce face*  Noah does what he has to do to protect the people he loves.  It’s hard to feel like he’s done the wrong thing.

 

Echo has an unusual name.  What do you think of the story behind it?  Is there a Greek Myth or other story that would inspire you to name a child after a character?

Danny: I LOVE the name Echo! Truly, I never thought about this as a name, but it was perfect for this story! I had no idea where this name came from until it was later revealed in the book. for my own child? I absolutely and totally adore the name Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I love the sound of it and the uniqueness and ever since I read this book I have this name in my head and it has never left me since..

Heather: Echo is interesting, but when we had a son we just went with a good old Irish name.

Pushy: I love her name and I love that her mother picked such a unique name for her.  I’m a traditionalist too (we picked family names for our kids) but I like how special their names are.  I can’t picture myself loving a character enough to name one of my children after him or her.

Echo’s big thing is trying to find “normal” again.  She doesn’t want to be the scared girl or the girl who can’t remember what happened to her, she just wants to be normal.  This goal impacts her relationships with her family, friends, Noah and her ex Luke.   But at the end of this section, Echo is starting to figure out that there’s no going back to old normal and she’s going to have to find a new normal.   How big of a step is it for Echo when she realizes she’s not “in” love with Luke and figures out that she does need to find a new normal?

Danny: That part was so important for Echo and I loved that she finally realized everything is about her, what she needs and what she wants. Even more, she changed – drastically and she needed to finally accept the fact that the old Echo is not there anymore! And.. *snorts* yes finally she realized that she’s not in love with this douchebag!

Heather: *Giggle* This book made Danny say douchebag. Luke is a grade-A dick, and not the good kind. And when Echo finally realized that there was no way she could be the old Echo again–I wanted to clap for her. Going through what she did–whether she remembers it or not–is life altering, and there’s no way to be the same on the other side. Now she can start living her life for herself, not for her father, her friends, her wannabe boyfriend, etc. Only then can she truly heal and move forward.
Pushy: *guffaw* You two are hysterical!  *snickers like a 5th grade boy*  Yes, Luke’s a total ass clown but he’s serving a purpose right?  And I love that Echo is starting to realize she can be herself, still have friends and actually be someone she likes.  It’s big for her.  *snickers*douchebag*snicker*
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Please visit this weeks host The Page Turners  and next weeks Host  Candace Book Blog for the next set of questions!

And now let’s hear your answers and link up your posts! I loved all your posts for last week – you are all truly amazing!

Much Love,



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10 Responses to “Pushing The Limits Read-A-Long Week 2”

  3. Heidi

    Wow you ladies were a little hard on Luke : ass clown and douche bag. I didn’t think he was all that bad. Maybe I miseed something?
    Pushy loved your amswer about reading everyone’s files! Yes, agreed it makes me nervous to think of Noah reading Echo’s file.
    Loved that scene with Noah and Ms. Collins. I liked her from the get go. If I were Noah I would be damn sure that I lived up to my brother’s expectations the best I could.
    I can’t get a read on Echo’s dad either, I think he means well, but man he sure can be a jackass!
    Danny, I love the name Karou as well and that was my favorite read of 2011!
    Great answers ladies, I love getting new perspectives, now for the rest of the book Luke will be the Assclown Douchebag!
    Heidi recently posted..Tell Me Something Tuesday #30My Profile

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  4. Natalia Belikov

    HOAHOAHA! I agree about the douchbag!! XDDD LOL! I hated him so much!! what an asshole good lord! and you have a little brother!! I dont because I am the baby sister lol!! XDD

    Great answers my dear ^.^ muah!

    btw, I just came back home and I noticed someone added my link to the linky. If it was you, thank you!! My post was scheduled so I wasnt here when it acme up ^.^ muah!
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  5. Liza

    I loved the name Karou too! I don’t have any kids and my cats are young still, so I don’t see a future cat, dog, or child Karou in my future. Echo though…still wouldn’t happen. Even to my future dog. Those names were just wrong especially after you find out the stories behind them.

    Danny commented on the loser-ish-ness of Luke and I think at this point any negative synonym is appropriate . He’s everything I hate about dumb YA boys. He thinks because he’s hot and popular he should be worshiped and adored. I think he needs to be slapped or something that doesn’t involve people fawning over him.
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  6. Mary @ Book Swarm

    Even bigger fan of Mrs. Collins now with what she did for Noah. He’s such a good guy as evidenced by his reaction to what happened to Beth (I was so worried for him!). And thank god Echo finally dropped that douche (lol, Danny!). She was only seeing him because of peer pressure & it’s good to see she’s moving past that.
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  7. Alison (AlisonCanRead)

    That reminds me. I need to get my post and answers ready to go. Interesting thought of Heather that Mrs. Collins left the file out for temptation. I wonder if she actually wants them to sneak in and look at them. Part of me says no, but another part thinks that she might think it would be good for them.
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  8. The Bumble Girl

    I am so happy to be reading-a-long with all of you! I posted my answers, and I am enjoying reading everyone’s different answers – especially when things are mentioned that didn’t even cross my mind!
    I am so “in” with Noah! Especially whenever they mention his little brothers, I get all teary eyed!
    And I agree, Luke was definitely the D-word and so much more! I hope to not have to read more about him at all for the rest of the book!
    Enjoy the rest!
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  9. Candace

    I really had a hard time with Echo’s dad too and really saw no positive in him at all. I didn’t think he could possibly redeem himself after treating her that way.

    I teared up too when Noah got to see his brothers and when Mrs. Collins found a way to give him a little something to prove to him that she has his best interests at heart.
    Candace recently posted..Confident Reads (3): Let’s Talk Covers (Pt 2) Guest Post with M.R. Merrick- The Magic of ArtMy Profile

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