On the Fence by Kasie West
Genre: YA Romance/Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.
To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. 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.
MY OPINION: *****
This is most likely my favorite Kasie West book. I mean, all of her books sound generally the same, but this one was super fun! I liked how this book showed a character changing A LOT throughout the book and she learned some lessons, changed her life, and made some cool changes to herself that really helped her in the long run. Although all of this change happened, I think that one of the biggest messages in this book was just to be yourself.
This book was very predictable/cliche but it was still fun to read, which is surprising since I generally like harder books that are more difficult to decipher.
I liked Charlotte as a character. I like how she had a little bit of a masculine side (tomboy) but she was also had a feminine side as well. She had four brothers and no mother, so of course that influenced her life. She is a big sports player, and does things that boys do and "normal" girls don't. I am not a tomboy but I do know people who are, and they are really cool and awesome people. I think that this book was about trying to explain that even though you may be different from the norm, you should just be yourself. People will like you better that way.
Charlotte's dad gave me mixed feelings. At some points, he was a normal dad, at others he was mean, being a police and all, and at some scenes, he was just plain awkward. Who keeps a book called "How to Raise a Teenage Girl" under their pillow??? That was weird but also hilarious to read, despite that scene, which was very emotional. Charlotte's dad was funny but his punishments were harsh, honestly.
I am not going to talk about Charlotte's brothers as much since they weren't really drawn upon too often. They were all the sporty and defensive type, and they were HILARIOUS. Their actions were super amusing and at some points made me even laugh, which is rare for me. Gage was the goofiest and definitely my favorite of the three. When he accompanies Charlotte to find a job....HAHA
Braden was not my favorite character for many reasons. One, because no offense, he struck me as a coward. Two, because he seemed a little bit snooty. Three, because he was just plain annoying. Braden was an awesome friend, but he was weird and kind of annoying.
Charlotte is so OBLIVIOUS. How did she not know? It was 100% obvious in my opinion. Then again, girls never admit things, honestly..
I liked the fence scenes the best. They were romantic and nice, though a bit on the cheesy side in a way. I liked how they really talked in these scenes. It was funny how much people changed in this book. Even in real life, people are always different during the day when they are around other people and at night when they are alone or with just one or two other people.
Evan was weird. Charlotte meets him at this random place when she isn't the real her. I think that that was cool, but she should have really gotten to know the guy before deciding to date him. Evan was awesome but I can understand why Charlotte dumped him.
I LOVED THE REFERENCES TO
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US IN THIS BOOK. I'M NOT SURE WHICH ONE CAME OUT FIRST. That was awesome since I had already the other book.
Linda was a strange character, but I liked her. She seemed like this woman who didn't have kids or a husband, but she was willing to be motherly towards people who were going through hard times or didn't have a mother. The sad thing was, I think she and Charlotte could have become a lot closer if Charlotte hadn't lied to her.
I keep calling the protagonist Charlotte. I gotta remember she's Charlie.
OK, I'm going to cut it short. I would recommend this book to romance and YA fans who also like a little action and SPORTS.
Main Character: Charlotte
Sidekick(s): Braden, Linda, Gage, Jerom, Nathan, Dad, Skye, Amber, Evan, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, love (at times)
Realistic Fiction/Romance Elements: This was all very realistic and it also was very romantic and featured a romantic relationship.
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