Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Release date: March 17th, 2009
Publisher: Pocket Books/MTV Books
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Pages: 245
Source: From Erica at The Book Cellar
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

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....

Going Too Far is good. Really good. The kind of good that not only has you enjoying the book as you're reading it, but also has you thinking about the characters and their story long after you've finished it.

I adored Meg, and I think part of that is because of how much of myself I saw in her. Wanting to get away, away from high school and away from a backwater town? Yeah, been there, done that. Meg doesn't deal well with being stuck, in any sense of the word, and resorts to casual sex, drinking, and smoking pot as a way of coping with her situation. Then of course one night she goes too far, and her punishment is riding around with John After; local cop/hot guy, for a week.

And oh boy, John After. (This is where I'm trying to fight the urge to include a whole bunch of <3<3<3<3<3. Ah, screw it. I guess I just did.) John comes across as much older than his nineteen years, partly because he takes his job very seriously, but also because he had to grow up fast. While his friends all went off to college he stayed behind to protect and serve, and for a good reason.

I absolutely loved Meg and John together. They kept pushing and challenging each other, and there was this incredible sexual tension between them that had me cheering for them to figure out their issues and just hook up already. Going Too Far was everything I want from YA romance and then some, and I can't wait to get started on some of Jennifer Echols' other books!