#132 of 2011: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
I’m partly annoyed I cannot give this any more stars than three. I wanted to really delve into it and fall in love with it but the hour I was “allowed” to spend on it just wasn’t enough. That said, I kind of speed read through it, so if most of what I’m saying here is contrary to what the popularly agreed-with reviews say, there you go. There were a lot of things I liked about it - the fact that eery character was mysterious in his or her own rights, the fact that the characters had striking voices and that the issues “tackled” were the kinds that everybody could relate to, like well, peer pressure, identity crisis, teenage love, etc., that the story was fast-paced and knew well enough to not dwell in such small milestones. I was also really smitten by Officer After, whom I initially thought - like Meg - was a 40-something cop! He turned out to be way younger than that, and whew, he was hot in a The Bodyguard kind of way (not like I’m wishing to be the Whitney Houston character, no, or that Meg was like that character because she was far from it - she was danjerus and waahaaaayld, but of course, still cliched-ly sweet inside). For the love of me, I cannot remember what the mini conflicts were in the book, just that the problem was Meg and JohnAfter (I can’t get enough of that name) couldn’t be together for the most part. Which was quite a disappointment because there could have been steamier moments between them! I’m definitely re-reading this once I get my own copy - I want to prove all those reviews that say this is one of the best realistic YA novels ever…. right!
