Going Too Far by Jennifer EcholsPages: 245
Grade: 10+ (Sex, drug use, language)
Publisher: MTV Books
Source: Borrowed from library
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Description: All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over...
Thoughts: This was my first Jennifer Echols book but I sort of knew what to expect - grittier main characters and sex. Going Too Far definitely had those two qualities.
Meg gets busted for trespassing and must spend a week riding along with hard-ass cop John After. She’s determined to antagonize him and he’s determined to teach her a lesson. They end up being exactly what the other one needs.
This is one of the few books I’ve read where falling in love in 5 days didn’t seem at all insanely fast. I think the fact that the characters knew each other already (at least casually) and then were thrown together into a very intense situation with lots of time alone together is what made the "insta-love" okay.
I’ve heard that Jennifer Echols doesn’t sugar coat her characters and that definitely held true. Going Too Far had much grittier characters than is normal for YA. I liked that Meg wasn’t a virgin and wasn’t apologetic about it. I also liked that she’s a pretty brazen and that John doesn’t really mind it or think less of her for it - I mean 6:01 on Thursday? Wow, just wow. (Read the book) Even though Meg appears to be self centered and a bit selfish at first, she ultimately proves to be the opposite. She’s a much deeper character than she first appears to be.
I really loved John After. I loved that he became sexier to Meg as she gets to know him. I loved that ultimately it was him, not his face or body that made her lust after him. His buttoned up act at the begining was a fun contrast the the youthful and semi-irrational guy he became at the end. It was nice to see his character arc follow the opposite of Meg’s (going from too mature to a age appropriate immature). Meg an John ultimately balance each other out.
Eric was a little bit of an exaggerated douche’ - right down to “daddy is a lawyer” - I liked when Meg took him to town about how his dad doesn’t give a shit about him and wouldn’t waste time getting revenge on his girlfriend. The side characters in Going Too Far added some nice color and comic relief, though ultimately were irrelevant to the story.
I enjoyed Going Too Far and wouldn’t hesitate to read another of Jennifer Echols’ books.
