far too

Going Too Far
$11.00
This coming of age novel really hits a great deal of issues and after you finish reading Meg's journey and why she acts the way she does, you will have a big smile on your face. Meg may act like a rebel, but she is still very much a little girl scared and alone, not sure where she's going or what her plans are. She has dreams and thinks she knows what they are, but all it takes is one person to show her that sometimes a person's future can be found right in their backyard and with those they call their friends.

We are given quite an introduction to Meg who is the only teenager in Shelby County, Alabama with blue hair. Meg hates her backwater hometown. She just can't wait for June to arrive to she can move to Birmingham for college. Meg acts out and gets into trouble. It should come as a surprise that she was able to get into college at all because she drinks, smokes pot and hangs out with older boys in college; especially certain bad boys. Her latest bad boy, or rather booty call, Eric, takes Meg and a few friends up on a bridge where a few years ago some teens who were just as stupid were killed by a train. Meg and Eric are about to engage in a little fun on the bridge when they are caught by the cops.

The cop who catches them reminds Meg of a forty something guy probably with a wife and a few kids. Meg gives him major attitude and thinks she will get out of this with no problems and go off to Miami for Spring Break. Meg is mistaken and the punishment for her crime is that she must ride in a police car on the overnight shift during the week of her Spring Break. Meg is not too happy about this, even more so, because the cop she will be with is the one who almost arrested her, Officer John After.

The officer with the funny last name is not anywhere near forty, but nineteen, only two years older than Meg and even went to her high school and was in her Spanish class at one point. John decided not to go to college even though he could have gotten a track scholarship. Meg really doesn't understand why John would want to be a cop in this town where nothing exciting happens.

John has a few choice opinions about Meg, just as she does about him. She thinks he is goody goody. A muscular and cute one, but all the same she thinks he is lame. John thinks Meg is on a path to destruction. For the next few days, as they ride side by side, they learn about one another and from that their opinions about each other change. Meg wouldn't mind getting into John After's pants, because she suddenly finds herself attracted to him and the way he treats her is unlike the other boys she hangs around with. Meg wants John to loosen up so he can confront his own issues. She wants to break down the walls he has placed around himself. John, in turn, picks away at Meg where he questions her reasoning for things. Why does she want to run away from everything she knows? What is her real reason for lashing out?

Both have deep seated issues and when John and Meg talk about what they're hiding and what they're afraid of, it's explosive and will open their eyes to things they didn't see before, where they will come to depend on one another and from that love will form between them.

Going Too Far is a great story about opposites attracting. John and Meg will have you in stitches because they are so funny and cute together. Meg has some major issues and acts out because of something horrible that has happened. When you find out what it is, you will be more understanding to her way of thinking. The reason she lives life on her own terms and acts as if each day is her last is because of a trauma she went through. At first I thought that this trauma wasn't really needed to move the story along, but then it all made sense. John is Meg's counterpart, the complete opposite of her in the way she thinks and looks at life. John is everything a young girl rebels against. He holds up a mirror to her, where he shows Meg in simple terms that bigger and better is not always the case.

I adored John. He is a wonderfully written young man who deals with life in a very mature way. I loved how he took Meg in hand and together they became a great unit. These two may seem so wrong for one another but Jennifer Echols' skill as a writer makes the reader believe in these two.

Going Too Far has an innocent feel but the subject matter is very much what teens must deal with from sex, drinking and even death. I really loved how John handles his attraction to Meg. He respects her and doesn't want to rush into things. It was also a nice change for Meg to be more the aggressor in their relationship.

This was the first book I ever read by Jennifer Echols and it certainly won't be my last, Going Too Far is a much recommended read. And if Jennifer decides to write a sequel showing us how John and Meg are doing together, I wouldn't mind that at all.

Katiebabs

Gone Too Far featuring Sizzla
$0.89

A Bridge Too Far [VHS]
$14.95
This was an ambitious film that succeeds in its mission of entertaining the viewer, but does not quite make it into the top-tier of war films. Operation Market-Garden was conceived by General Montgomery as an attempt to drive a nail into the coffin of the German Wehrmacht, and take the allies to the Rhine. Instead, the operation failed and remains controversial to this day. James Caan and Sean Connery in particular turn in excellent performances among an all-star cast.

I suppose what deprives this film of its fifth star is the simple fact that (in my opinion) it has a bit too much action and not enough characterization and storyline. There is just a lot of combat in this film, which is, after all to be expected. And the action somewhat swamps the storyline. Nevertheless, this is an excellent film that war-film buffs will enjoy more than once. RJB.

Too Far North
$0.99
A New Home, a little too far north.Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you're not wirelessly connected. And unlike RSS readers which often only provide headlines, blogs on Kindle give you full text content and images, and are updated wirelessly throughout the day.