Review: On the Fence by Kasie West

On the Fence by Kasie West
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Current Goodreads rating: 4.05

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.


YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ON THE FENCE ABOUT READING THIS ONE!!

If you don't smile while reading this book, you're not human.

Characters: OMG, the characters make this book!  First, there's Charlie.  Yeah, this girl is awesome!! She can take on those boys and handle herself, wahoo! However, she's only 16 and is pretty immature, doing things like throwing basketballs at people's heads or kicking them.  But, as the story progresses, she matures a little bit and becomes more comfortable with who she is and what she wants which made me happy.  The thing that I loved most about Charlie is her humor!! 

Charlie has 3 biological brothers (whom I adore), but she considers Braden, her brother Gage's best friend and their neighbor, one too.  She and her brothers are always bantering playfully, constantly trying to embarrass each other.  At the end of the day, they've got each others' backs though and are extremely protective of one another.  ON THE FENCE made me want to have more brothers.

But speaking solely about Braden, the love interest, he is sweet, athletic, funny (but not as much as Charlie's brothers), caring, and quite jealous!!  I didn't like him as much as the other boys and wasn't swooning over him until the very end because of his jealousy.  But how can I blame him?  Charlie wasn't making their getting together too easy either.

And last, but not least, Charlie's father is wonderful.  He is a single parent trying to raise a daughter, and he's doing the best he can which is sometimes awkwardly funny.

***** Characters from The Distance Between Us have cameos, and they're fantastic :) *****

Plot: What a perfect summer romance.  The romance part of the plot is predictable, but so, so sweet!  The Fence Chats made me want to have a neighbor as well.  The mysterious aspect involving Charlie's mother is interesting, not what I was expecting at all.  I do think it was a little hard to believe that Charlie couldn't remember the major secret about her mom's past.  She was 6 when it happened, so I would think that she'd be able to remember at that age where you're not really, really little but not older either.  I also wish there was more about her mom, but there are a couple of lines between Charlie and Braden that justify why there is not a whole lot of emphasis on the situation.      

Overall feelings:  Super funny and cute!  Definitely a nice romance for summer time and a contemporary about growing up and discovering yourself.  I love you, Kasie West and I will be reading Pivot Point soon.

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