Crash into You (Pushing the Limits, #3)(119)

Two against one.

My chest rises and falls, and I glance down the street, toward my uncle’s house, toward relative safety. I’m minutes away from curfew, I’ve got my father’s prescription in my grasp, but leaving a guy behind—it’s not how I was raised.

Knowing this has the potential to end extremely badly for me, I switch directions to join the fight.




Copyright ? 2013 by Katie McGarry





Playlist for Crash Into You

Songs for Theme:

“If I Die Young” by The Band Perry

“Lighters” by Bad Meets Evil featuring Bruno Mars

“Barefoot Blue Jean Night” by Jake Owen

“Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down Isaiah:

“Beverly Hills” by Weezer

“Speed” by Montgomery Gentry

“Shimmer” by Fuel

“Santa Monica” by Everclear Rachel:

“Mean” by Taylor Swift

“Little Miss” by Sugarland

“Fallen Angel” by Poison Songs for specific scenes:

The first time Rachel sees Isaiah: “Animal” by Def Leppard

When Isaiah decides he likes Rachel in the bar/apartment: “Possum Kingdom” by Toadies

Isaiah and Rachel’s first kiss: “Just a Kiss” by Lady Antebellum

Isaiah’s New Year’s Eve: “You and Tequila” by Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter Songs that represent Isaiah and Rachel’s future:

“Ours” by Taylor Swift

“Fast Cars and Freedom” by Rascal Flatts





Q&A with Katie McGarry

Q: What type of research did you have to do to write Crash Into You?

A: When it became clear that Isaiah was going to have his own book, I slightly panicked. I didn’t know anything about cars, and Isaiah was in love with them. Then when I realized that Isaiah was going to be involved in drag racing, I practically hyperventilated.

Thankfully I came across several people who were gracious enough to talk to me about cars and drag racing. Finding Ohio Valley Dragway, a legal dragway in the southwestern part of the county I live in, was amazing. There I met fabulous people who showed me their passion for cars and drag racing.

The best part? After signing my life away, I got to be a passenger of a car at a legal dragway that went 96.97 mph and did an eighth of a mile in 6.94 seconds. Of course, I did this with a helmet on my head and a fire suit, while strapped in by a five-point harness. This was a special onetime experience with professionals. In other words, don’t try this at home.

Q: One of Isaiah’s most pressing concerns in the story is figuring out how to support himself, because when he turns eighteen he won’t be able to continue living with his foster parents. Is aging out of the foster care system something teens actually face?

A: Absolutely. One of my goals in writing Crash Into You was to bring attention to this very real issue. One night while I was writing Isaiah and Rachel, this story came on my local news. If you’d like additional information, please visit this link: www.wave3.com/story/16975220/18-and-out-of-foster-care

Q: Part of Rachel’s narrative arc is learning how to face and no longer hide her panic attacks and their debilitating aftermath. You wrote about her symptoms and emotions in great detail. Have you ever had a panic attack?

A: Yes. I’ve had a few in my life and they were terrifying. Anyone who has read any of my books can tell that I am a huge advocate of therapy. Rachel suffers from extreme panic attacks, and I’m glad that by the end of the story, she stops worrying about what everyone around her thinks and begins to take care of herself.

Q: Crash Into You just might have more teen boy characters than anything you’ve written before! How did you keep the boys’ personalities distinct as you wrote?

A: Noah, Isaiah, Ryan, Chris, Logan, West, Ethan...oh, my, that’s enough to make a girl faint, isn’t it? Gavin and Jack aren’t technically teenagers, but they’re close enough that they’d undoubtedly make any female friend of Rachel’s swoon. Lord knows I’m fanning myself.

It was easy for me to keep these characters distinct because I think of them as very different people. I’m happy to share this cheat sheet that, until now, I kept locked away in my head:

Noah—the bad boy in a black leather jacket with a big heart reserved for his younger brothers and for Echo, the girl he loves.

Isaiah—tattooed, pierced, someone the world is terrified of, but who’s so loyal that he would die to protect the people he loves.

Ryan—a star athlete with the heart of a poet and the ability to love people for who they are, not what others see.

Chris—a generational farm boy, with a knack for playing baseball, who fell in love with his best friend at an early age.

And then there are my bachelors:

Logan—the boy genius who loves to live life on the edge.

Ethan—devoted brother and friend. Has a habit of putting everyone else first and himself last.

West—with his signature backward baseball cap, West is the ultimate big brother and ultimate player of the field.




Keep reading for an excerpt from DARE YOU TO by Katie McGarry.





Chapter 1

Ryan

I’M NOT INTERESTED in second place. Never have been. Never will be. It’s not the style of anyone who wants to play in the majors. And because of my personal philosophy, this moment sucks. My best friend is seconds from scoring a phone number from the chick working the Taco Bell counter, placing him in the lead.