Going Too Far mini review + interview with Jennifer Echols

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Pub. Date: March 2009
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 256
Format: paperback
Source: from author

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 a real nice read. I won't say I love it like crazy but it's a book that I'll remember for a while. The plot was fresh and genuine - it told about the love between a young cop and a rebellious girl who were both stuck because of the past. The places the romance settled were rather different than those in other YA books; not school, home or the likes but mostly police station and accident/crime whereabouts. This brought new feelings to the story - sometimes I thought I was reading a mixture of chick lit and teen lit. The characters were likeable too. They were quite the opposite in the beginning; one was mature, thoughtful and overprotective while the other was wild, childish and careless; yet later, they turned out to be so alike. To be honest I was annoyed by the way they acted at first but when their secrets were revealed, it made sense. Their couple moments were something you would enjoy. They werereally exciting, or should I say - hot, but never went over the top.

Rating: 3.5/5

The review is short hey? But don't worry. I'l bring you something cooler today. An interview with Jennifer Echols : ). She's been interviewed like hundreds of times at other blogs so I tried to come up with uncommon questions. I hope you guys don't get bored and go away *sniffs*

-How did you come up with the title? And the characters name?

My original title was Boy in Blue, but my editor thought it sounded too young. We went round and round with lots of titles. A railroad bridge is sort of a character itself in this book, and there’s a 1970s World War II movie called A Bridge Too Far, so I thought of the title Too Far. My critique partner thought Going Too Far might be better, and my editor liked it.

Meg is named after Meg Ryan, though she doesn’t act much like her in this book.
John was named this way. My critique partner and I were discussing interesting names. She said she went to school with a guy named John After, but everybody said his name as one word, Johnafter. I said that sounded like a terrific name for a character. She said, “No, I said John ACTOR, not John AFTER.” I said, “John After is a better character name.” So John was named because I can't hear!

-What was your first impression when you got to see the book cover? Happy? Surprised? Satisfied?
All three! I think it’s perfect for the book.

-In the book, Meg was a naughty and wild girl. She did a lot of bad things. So have you ever done anything bad before?
Of course not!!!

-What's your favorite scene from the book? And why?
Chapter 14. It’s the last scene I wrote because I originally didn’t want it in the book, but my editor convinced me.

-Which character from your books that you're most related to?
Definitely Lori from The Boys Next Door!

-Tell us something about your next book the Ex Game.
It’s about a snowboarder who challenges her ex-boyfriend to a battle of the sexes on the slopes.

-Have you read any YA books recently? Can you recommend us some?
I just finished Deb Caletti’s Honey, Baby, Sweetheart. Right now I’m reading (and loving) Susanne Colisanti’s When It Happens.

-A little game for fun
Happy ending or unhappy ending? Happy ending, always!
Good guy or bad guy? Good guy gone bad. Bad guy making good.
Black or white? Shades of gray.
Tea of coffee? Coffee.
Icecream or cake? The one that’s chocolate.
Hardcover or paperback?
Trade paperback: pretty but not overpriced!

Thanks Jennifer for dropping by. I'm so excited about her upcoming book The Ex Game. Who doesn't love stories about Ex-es? And I'm a little bit disappointed Jennifer didn't do anything bad when she was a teenager. Could have been more interesting if she've had (shhh don't tell her I said that!)