Pushing the Limits READ-A-LONG ~ Week 1

I absolutely loved Pushing the Limits so I decided to participate in the Read-A-Long from July 31st-August 28th.  For 6 weeks we'll be reading and discussing the book, so if you'd like to join head over and sign up!  It's going to be lots of fun, and there are lots of fun prizes to win.

 
1. The story starts out with Echo’s thoughts on how she wants to answer her therapist’s questions (snarky and caustically truthful) which are quickly juxtaposed to how she does (milque-toasty and banal).  Who do you think she hides the truth for more, her parents or herself?
I think that because her dad is so controlling and over-bearing she has no desire to talk about things in front of him.  I'm sure there's a part of her that wants to hide the truth from herself, but for the most part it's her dad she is hiding from.

 2. We see Mrs. Collins, the school therapist, interact with both Echo and Noah in the first few chapters. From those interactions, what do you think of her? Is she a prototypical caricature of state care? Or do you think she’s there to make an honest difference in the lives of those she’s there to help?
Oh I love her!  She wants to help Echo and Noah, even if it's by tough love.  And I love how she handles Echo's dad.

3. Noah has two friends, Beth and Isaiah, who have his back no matter what--through thick and thin--and he has theirs. Consequently, his life is a little easier because he has two people who know about his situation. Echo only has one close friend, and Lila will barely speak to her in school.  Do you think Echo would have had an easier time coping and moving on if she had friends like Noah does?
Definitely!  Most of her friends aren't real friends if you ask me.  Especially Grace!  Echo has no one she can really talk to, no support.

4 . Echo fixates on a colorful ribbon that sits on the school counselor's desk during their one-on-one sessions.   Do you think this is a case of "Oh, look at the pretty ribbon. Let me zone out while staring at it" , or could it have a deeper significance!
I immediately felt like the ribbon was special!  It was just too much of a coincidence and Mrs. Collins was too nonchalant about it.

 5 .) Noah and the jacket... Already when Noah and Echo meet for the first time, Noah got angry when Echo forgot her Jacket (pg 34). Then on Echo’s Birthday party Noah gave Echo his jacket when he saw that she forgot hers (pg 54). There is a significance behind his anger when Echo has no coat and it tells already so much about Noah! 

a) Why do you think is Noah so focused on Echo and her Jacket and what does that tell you about Noah's character?
I think it shows us that the Noah the world sees is not the real Noah.  He makes himself look like a bad boy that cares nothing about others, but that's not how he really is.

b) Show us your  favorite jacket! Either with you having it on or alone!I got this jacket at the end of the season last year and I haven't gotten to wear it yet, but I love it!!  Can't wait for cold weather so I can wear it! 




6. Echo wears gloves all the time to hide her scars. Not only for her sake, but obviously also for the others. When Noah sees Echo’s scars for the first time he’s shocked.
a) Do you think this was the moment he began to see Echo in a different light?
I don't think he realized just how badly Echo was emotionally scarred, but when he sees the scars on her arms he realizes that she didn't hurt herself, that she was hurt by someone.  So yes, I think he begins to realize she's totally different from the way people see her.

b) Show us your favorite pair of gloves!
 
I bought a new pair of gloves too, and they're black with the cool sticky fingers so you can use your phone.  Sorry, no picture.  They're packed away with the winter clothes.