Review: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: November 26, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: young adult contemporary romance
Format/Source: DRC, Netgalley
Status: book 3 of the Pushing the Limits companion series

Summary:

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this novel by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

Crash Into You is the third book in the Pushing the Limits companion series, and this time, it's Isaiah's story. I read all three books back-to-back so it was wonderful staying in the story and just jumping from one couple to the next. It helped me to see the characters from so many perspectives. In Pushing the Limits Isaiah is Noah's bro, Echo's surprising source of comfort, and Beth's secret admirer. In Dare You To, it's obvious he yearns to be Echo's savior, but he can't give her everything she needs and she can't give him that either, which is really heartbreaking. Now, being in Isaiah's head in Crash Into You, we see just how much Beth's choice affected Isaiah and how he moves on from there.

Isaiah is not really the bad boy you want to think he is. Katie is really good at having the not-that-bad-boy-or-girl because Noah and Beth are totally the same. It's more like they are teens who had a crap-ton of bad circumstances in their lives that have knocked them down over and over again. In Isaiah's case, he doesn't know who his dad is, and he has serious Mommy Issues, although it's not immediately clear why that is. I think it would be so easy for Isaiah to allow himself to fall into the bad habits that surround him, but I really respect that Isaiah has a plan for his future, and he's really hard working for it. And the thing is, it's totally doable. I love that Katie doesn't push the typical college tract for Isaiah, whose talents lie in other places. Instead of having some crazy pipe dreams, Isaiah works for a realistic future doing what he loves. I also love how obvious it is that people respect Isaiah, something particularly noticeable during his interactions with Abby, Zach, and even Eric.

I found Rachel fascinating. There's so much going on with her. She's the youngest of five no six no five children. She has four older brothers (well, one is a twin), and she's haunted by the ghost of her older sister–who died before Rachel and two of her brothers were even born. There are a lot of demons lurking in the Young's seemingly perfect family. Rachel is super insecure due to crippling panic that attacks when she is forced to speak in public, but she has to hide it from her family, who treat her with kid gloves. She's got this persona of being shy and weird at school, and, oh yeah, she feels like she's being forced to replace her sister, despite being her own person. It's cool to have a girl who's into a typical guy hobby. I think that adds so much depth to Rachel's character. Here's this amazing talent that proves she can be better than the boys, but she's forced to downplay it around her family, even though it's the one thing that could really heal her. CATCH 22!

The minor characters in Crash Into You are just as amazing as those in the previous books. Katie does a wonderful job of balancing favorite familiar faces and some new ones as well. First, Logan. I read Dare You To, and all I could think of was "PLEASE write Logan's story!" (for the record, Katie's thinking about it! Also, I totally nominated Logan for the "Secondary Character Most in Need of His Own Book in EpicReads' Book Shimmy Awards. Noms are open until Dec 1. GO VOTE) I adore Logan. Every time I see him, I want to know more about him. Noah and Echo make their reappearance as well. Like with Isaiah's very reasonable future goals, I love that Katie shows off life after The End. Their book may be over, but their lives aren't. They have Real Life to take care of. This shouldn't really be a surprise to readers who started with Pushing the Limits as Noah has already made some super adult decisions, but it's nice to see that Katie didn't just hand them the perfect life.

The first of the newbies is Abby, the street rat/drug dealer who is just about the only person who doesn't ask anything from Isaiah, ever. More than anyone else, she understands the precarious nature of Isaiah's position. In Pushing the Limits it seemed that Isaiah, Beth, and Noah were an inseparable trio (and even Katie thought Beth & Isaiah would end up together), with Isaiah and Beth especially connected with their similar pasts. But I love that Katie has pushed this story and really dug deep to find surprises and new information. Abby actually is kind of bad. I mean, she really does bad things. But once again, Katie found the good in her, or rather, she used Rachel to draw that out. VERY surprising bramance, and I loved it. West and Ethan are the most present of Rachel's brothers, and I have no doubt they'll be big in Take Me On (well, it's kinda West's book so....). There's not a lot to say about the Young boys, but I really enjoy their presence.

There's a lot of high-speed action (see what I did there?!) in Crash Into You and a much more dramatic plot than before. I would never dismiss the hardships Noah, Echo, Beth, and Ryan faced in the first two books, but I do feel like Isaiah and Rachel have much more at stake for them. In the first two books, I had faith that things would work out because the characters just seemed to have the abilities and circumstances that made for Happily Ever After. Crash Into You, however, had me on the edge of my seat (well, my bed). I really didn't know things would work out, and that terrified me (because, guys. Guys. Stuff happens, and it's crazypants). I was so emotionally invested in Isaiah and Rachel's story that it felt like everything was happening to me, and I love that in a book. I love being so drawn into a story that I forget who I am a little bit. Katie is a master of that.

If you're not into contemporaries, I can't guarantee that you'll love Crash Into You or the rest of the Pushing the Limits series, but I can tell you that they are darn well written and they're engrossing. Katie has created a world full of a full spectrum of amazing characters. I ran the full gamut of emotions while reading the series, and at the end, all I wanted was more. Thankfully, I won't have long to wait, and neither do you. West's story Take Me On is set for a May 2014 release.

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About the Author:

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

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Giveaway:

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Katie, and I was able to get copies of Pushing the Limits and Dare You To signed for one lucky winner. Open to US & Canada. Ends 12 AM Nov 26. All giveaway policies as stating in the Review & Site Policies tab will be enforced. I reserve the right to disqualify any entries not in accordance with those policies. Best of luck!

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