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Going Too Far (Paperback)
$10.56 - Save $0.55 (4%) - RRP $11.11 Free delivery worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 24 hours | |Short Description for Going Too FarA touching and romantic story from popular author Jennifer Echols about a troubled teenager and a rookie cop who strike up an unlikely friendship - and more.
Full description- Publisher: MTV Books
- Published: 20 April 2009
- Format: Paperback 256 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Fiction | Romance
- ISBN 13: 9781416571735 ISBN 10: 1416571736
- Sales rank: 9,955
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Reviews for Going Too Far
Review from ImLovingBooks.com
When I picked up Going Too Far I was in a bit of a reading rut. I wasn't sure if this book would help me to get out of it or not. It's a young adult contemporary romance, so it's a bit different than my usual paranormal reads. But really I had nothing to worry about because this was a phenomenal book. It hooked me very quickly and I literally sat down and didn't stand up again until I was finished. I just couldn't put it down!
Jennifer Echols has a very easy-going and witty writing style which I immediately connected with. But what was most engaging about this book were the characters. Both Meg and John are extremely dynamic and layered characters whose layers are peeled away as the pages are turned. Not only is the chemistry between them absolutely sizzling, but each of them individually are characters who were built so well. Like real people, their past experiences shaped them and made them who they are today. Their little quirks, feelings, fears, and irrational actions are all because of things that have happened to them in the past. It makes such a huge difference in understanding and relating to them when you understand why they do the things they do.
This book really blew me away. I loved the relationship and chemistry between Meg and John. But there were also huge surprises that I so did not expect throughout the entire book. Echols did an amazing job at giving us clues about certain things, without giving away the punch line. I'm really impressed.
Overall seriously this is such an amazing book. It managed to get me out of a post-Thanksgiving week reading rut I was having and I will definitely be checking out more by Jennifer Echols in the future. You will fall in love with these characters and their blooming relationship, and you'll have trouble putting it down until you find out how it all turns out in the end. My only problem? There's no more of them! I wish there was more to read about Meg and John. I absolutely loved them. by I'm Loving BooksEnjoyable read!
Meg is a bit of a daredevil. Understatement! She and three others get caught on a railroad bridge. Trespassing and putting yourself in danger? The girl has lost all sense of self-preservation it seems. Arresting officer John After comes up with a way to teach them a lesson. He lives for the rules and makes sure they aren't being broken. An upstanding citizen! When Meg starts pushing his buttons (the ones he didn't know he had), he doesn't know what to make of it. Would letting loose sometimes really be that bad? Meg on the other hand needs to get over her rebel phase stat. Self-destruction is not the way to go about things. Will these two be a perfect match or a beautiful disaster?
Having read the blurb I wished for a clean shaven guy and a blue haired girl on the cover. That wasn't the case. Normally I'm a big fan of close-ups, but for some reason I didn't like this one.
The first chapters gave me a very good and accurate idea of who Megan was. A troubled teenager lashing out at the world - including herself. She didn't know what she wanted; just what she didn't. Most importantly, Meg seemed to be someone who should evaluate her way of life to change things for the better. At first, I didn't think she'd ever agree to this assessment. I had to smile at her blue hair, because I, too, had it for a year or so when I was a teenager. Meg was definitely a handful: Pot, alcohol, mouthing off on the cop. More pitiful than likable, but that's what made the character so interesting. There was hope! I very much liked the storyline. Her punishment to be exact. A great idea and it worked like a charm. There had to be a way to bring these two individuals together, and the author did a wonderful job. At first, Meg didn't know what to make of Officer John After. It took her quite some time to realize her previous assumptions were wrong. His stoic self drew me in. I connected with John right away. A man in uniform. Yummi! Then again, sometimes it felt like his uniform / his job is what defined him...and nothing else. Along the way you'll ask yourself many questions. Sometimes that was a good thing - a lot of the times, however, I wanted to get to the answer already. What should've been anticipation was impatience.
Beware of Spoilers!
Meg is claustrophobic and not knowing why drove me nuts. She kept everything close to the vest. I knew something must've happened to her to make her act like such a jerk. Defense mechanism at its finest! Same goes for her hatred of anything remotely similar to a plan.
You have probably noticed that I didn't say whether I liked being kept in the dark or was annoyed by it. That's because I'm still not sure about the answer. Big issues - short read! Result? So-so. What I found absolutely endearing was when Miss Troublemaker suddenly realized she had a crush on John. Despite her attraction to him, she also noticed his unhealthy obsession with the bridge she and her partners in crime were trespassing on. In other words: She wasn't totally blinded by love. Thank god! It would've been very implausible (taking her previous wariness into consideration). I kept this observant streak of hers in mind and was disappointed that she didn't find out sooner what John's obsession was all about. Made no sense to me. A huge, HUGE plus? The interaction between Meg and John. True to their characters, funny, ... If I had to pick the one thing that I liked best about this book this would be it. Nonetheless, I had a really hard time deciding on a rating for this book. At page 95 I put it away...it took me a while to pick it up again. I liked it well enough, but it didn't blow me away. Character development? Oh yes! Also, I loved the ending. It's true that it takes hurting each other to let go of all the baggage and get a chance at a happy future together more often than one might think. In the end, it just wasn't enough. While reading, I often lost interest. The beginning was great; the ending was great, but the in-between - not the best young adult romance I've read. I think you should give it a try. But don't be disappointed if it isn't your cup of tea after all. 3 stars to Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols!
Beware of Spoilers!
A few of my favorite quotes for those of you who are interested:
° "We were about to screw on a railroad bridge. It was a shame we didn't like each other very much."
° "I could sort of see how it wouldn't feel like hell on earth to be his wife."
° "...I admire him from afar, but I knew I didn't have a chance with him. Suddenly I wished my hair was not blue."
° "Art is the most effective form of communication."
° "I do my homework clearly was the mating call for their species." by SaskiaReviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com
Meg pushes limits.
Right before Spring Break, she and her friends are found trespassing on a dangerous railroad bridge, under the influence. They almost lose their lives.
As punishment, they must forgo their trip to Miami Beach and instead each spend a week riding with a trauma unit in an effort to teach them a lesson.
Meg must spend the week riding in a police car with the officer who brought her in. She's unnerved to find that not only is he a few years older than she is and that they once had class together - but also that she's falling for him.
For Meg, the girl who doesn't plan anything and who runs away from any emotional ties, this week could spell out her downfall.
Jennifer Echols deals with the limits of life and shocking everyone in GOING TOO FAR, a novel readers won't want to put down. by TeensReadTooGoing Too Far has it all.
I had read several reviews about Going Too Far before I decided to buy it. I had kept staring at that beautiful cover a few times and asking myself what could have been behind it that so many readers were falling in love with it. Now I understand, now I don't regret myself for having bought and read it.
Actually, I had a copy of Going Too Far since April, and I admit that at that time I wasn't in the mood to read a romance or something, so I just left it on the bookshelf. Until one day and a few hours ago, when I was supposed to read another story, a Fantasy one. I was in the mood to read a good and light and complete romance, so I run into my room and I picked up Going Too Far-not knowing what to expect from this. It was already 11pm, but I could read at least 50 pages until I fell asleep.
I still wasn't so into the story when I stopped, but then in the following day, I picked up again from my bedside table and laid on my sofa. Then I was reading, flipping pages, being sucked by Echols' writing-even though I had felt kinda lost in the beginning, not because of the development of the story, but because of my own English knowledge, and in only a few pages I was already acquainted. I ended up reading Going Too Far all day long, carrying it with me all day long, thinking about how was it going to end all day long. I could not put it down. I read this 256-pages book in a little less than 24 hours, which I had never ever did in my whole life.
I could find myself into that story, with Meg and John everywhere. Each of them had passed through a lot in their lives and maybe that's why they connected so well, so deeply. In front of my eyes, they argued with each other, they learned lessons from each other, they fell in love with each other. And it all was so completely complex. Their relationship and what they said are too complex, but still simple because it catches you and you can relate yourself to it.
At the end, when I already had listened to many of their long and significant and challenging and entertaining and even lovely conversations, when I already had gone so many times to the diners with them and asked for The Meg Special so many times too, when I already had passed through all this with them, I cried. I cried just like Meg finally did, and it was like I could feel her pain and John's, too, somehow. I was way too absorbed by their story, like I never thought I would when I decided to dive into it.
I'm more than happy that I read this book. I'm happy that I met Meg because she a lonely and beautiful girl who made me think about the way I look at blue (or pink, or orange, or green) haired people and don't even know what is behind them, who they really are, what they have been through in their lives, or why they dye their hair colorful. I'm happy that I found John After (such a charming and handsome guy) because, besides I'm truly in love with him (ha ha) and that he has such a beautiful smile with such cute dimples, he was deep, he was good, he felt so much pain that he could not allow himself to be rid of this pain anymore. And only Meg could do this.
At last, but not least, I'm happy I found in Jennifer Echols' writing something I rarely have found these days. I found the characters' lines so real, fitting wonderfully well, that I kept some of them in my mind and so I was trying to retrospect everything in just a few minutes. I felt the complexity of the whole story-not that I have undestood every single thing, though. But I felt fulfilled. I felt that it was worth reading it.
Overall, it was so much better than I had first imagined and I highly recommend everybody to at least pick it up to read once. Because, well... It has it all. It's funny, romantic, lovely, dangerous, intelligent, real. It's fantastic, incredible. It's unique. by Raila Soares de AssisBreathtakingly Powerful
I absolutely LOVE this book!!!
This is by far the best book I have read in a long time. It is so unbelievably powerful.
We view the story from Meg's point of view, she's rebellious, she hates the rules and she does everything she can to break them. I can connect to Meg on so many levels that it's almost scary because I have been there, and in some ways probably still am. Meg has issues yes and they are very real, explain a lot and create a powerful yet vulnerable character.
John doesn't see it that way, he sees it as kids being reckless and breaking the rules for the sake of breaking the rules, and because of their own stupidity.
And so they are thrown together for a week's ride doing Johns grave yard shift. John orchestrates it to teach Meg a lesson because he has his own lesson to teach from pain he has felt in the past. The banter that ensues is absolutely hilarious, Meg constantly questioning and John trying to be an intimidating cop.
We start to see changes in the way Meg thinks, and I love the occasional loathing of her blue hair. What once seemed a good idea, now just seems silly.
Meg grows so much during this book that it's inspiring. John grows as well but as we are seeing his growth through Megs POV we don't see it as dominantly as Meg's.
The romance that buds between our main characters is beautiful. It isn't rushed, and there is a lot of doubt and going out on limbs. I loved how Meg was attempting to convince herself that she was developing Stockholm syndrome instead of admitting that she was starting to crush on a police officer.
I also loved the fact that to get around Meg's fear of commitment John would plan things without telling her and let her think that it was her idea. Of course she caught on after the fact, but it was still so beautiful to watch.
There aren't enough words I can use to explain how much I love this book, how much I can connect with it. I still get butterflies when I think about Going Too Far, hell I've even got butterflies right now as I'm writing this, I will probably get them again when I post it and a million times after that when I see it on various pages it ends up on.
As soon as I finished it I had the urge to read it again, I still do now and I think it's attempting to take up permanent residence on my bedside table just tempting me to pick it up and revisit the story of Meg and Johnafter.
I love this book so much and even if the idea of teen angst doesn't appeal to you, I still implore you to pick it up because it is a story so touching, so moving and so unbelievably powerful that even a person who doesn't cry often was brought to tears over.
find this review at storywings.blogspot.com by Amanda-Lee (StoryWings)
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a really great book. must read. by 
