Rowena’s review of On the Fence by Kasie West.
She’s a tomboy. He’s the boy next door…
Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she’s got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she’s falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.
Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.
I’ve been meaning to try out a Kasie West book for a while now and haven’t gotten to any of the books that I have. When this book came into my life, I did a happy dance and then immediately dug in. And I finished the entire book in one sitting.
This book had everything that I love in a book. An interesting protagonist, an adorable love interest and a cast of characters that round the book out. I completely adored this book, even when Charlie needed a swift round house kick in the ass. And trust me, she did sometimes.
Charlie was a tomboy (surprising, considering the cover, I know) who liked rough housing with her three brothers and her neighbor, Braden. She’s got a smart mouth, a pretty big temper but even when she was gettting on my nerves, I liked her. I felt for her and was humbled by her. She goes through a lot in this book, trying to come to terms with things that come to light over the course of the story. Things that really knocked her on her ass. But seeing Charlie trying to come out on top made me happy for her when she finally gets things right.
Braden was a pleasant addition to the story. The feelings, the jokes and just the way that he was with Charlie made me smile like a crazy person throughout the entire read. He made an already pretty great story, even better and I liked that about him. I liked that he was so mad at Charlie (and jealous) because she wasn’t being true to herself and I loved the way that he fought her at every turn to stop being who she’s not. I love that he knew her so well and that he competed with her. I thought they were well suited for each other and when Charlie came back from basketball camp and the feels that were in the air? Oh man, it took me back to high school and I nearly swooned with all of the feels. I ate it all up.
Aside from both Charlie and Braden, I loved the rest of the characters with Gage being my favorite. His wit and his charm never failed to charm me and I loved the way that he was with both Charlie and Braden. His sister and his best friend. I loved that the story wasn’t about Charlie falling in love with her brother’s best friend even though that happened because I think it would have been a completely different story. The rest of Charlie’s brothers were all great as well and even Charlie’s Dad. Braden was right when he told Charlie that she was lucky to have them…and I’m glad that Charlie knew it.
Overall, this story rocked my socks. It was fun and it was cute and it is definitely something contemporary YA fans out there will enjoy. I definitely recommend this one.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5
This book is available from Harper Teen. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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