Crash Into You - Katie McGarry

Pages: 384

Publisher: Mira INK

Release Date: 6^th December 2013

Edition: e-proof, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Pushing the Limits, Dare You To

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes the explosive new tale of a girl with a reckless streak, a street smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane.

The girl with straight A’s, designer clothes, and the perfect life – that’s who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she’s just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker – a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind. Isaiah has secrets too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel.

The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks – and no matter how angelic she might look. But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.

Crash Into You is an adrenaline-fuelled, seductive and thoroughly addictive addition to the Pushing the Limits series and I loved it.

Pushing the Limits was one of m favourite books of last year and yet I was a little disappointed when I read Dare You To in the summer. It made me a little apprehensive about reading this, but Isaiah and Rachel’s story was absolutely gorgeous and I fell head over heels for them. Though there were some stereotypes and clichés: bad boy and good girl, Rachel’s innocence and naivety, and the control the boys in this novel have over their girlfriends made me grit my teeth, but I managed to dismiss them and love the story anyway.

Crash Into You sizzled and sparkled with the chemistry between Rachel and Isaiah and their relationship had interesting dimensions. The connection of cars and speed is an unusual one for YA and I loved it. I really enjoyed that Rachel genuinely loves cars and knows about them; they make her feel powerful and independent, she’s not just pretending to get the attention of her brothers or a boy. I also think that Katie McGarry is brilliant for including swearing, and proper swearing, because that’s how teenagers speak. She doesn’t sugar coat the insinuations of disgusting people like Eric and the language you use when you’re angry. It’s refreshing to see.

As I’ve come to expect from this series, Crash Into You tackles some tough issues head on. The theme of foster care and the hardships and struggles of growing up in the system in the US (I’m not sure how different it is to ours, if I’m honest) was once again prevalent. Isaiah’s desire for freedom and escape from the people who control his life made my heart ache, especially when he hinted at the things he went through as a child. Then came the reasons behind he went into foster care and the poverty aspect of it. I loved how Rachel’s character made it clear that the line of problems isn’t separated by money, though of course it is in a way. The pressure and constrictions of Rachel as a member of her family were astounding and it made me hate her parents, her brothers and even her sister Colleen. They were very powerful story lines.

Now I’m back in this world with full-on love I can’t wait for book four in the series, Take Me On, which stars Rachel’s brother West.

Thanks to Mira for the review copy.

Sophie