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.
REVIEW
Kasie West is one of my favorite authors since I read her duology book, Pivot Point, which I have huge love for. Then, I also pretty enjoyed The Distance Between Us. Those books were such a page-turner and I had a big smile on my face while reading them. So, I had great expectation when I started On The Fence but sadly I have to say this book would be the least favorite. Might be not favorite at all.
Charlotte “Charlie” Reynolds grew up as the only girl in her family. She has three ((hot)) brothers and her father was cop. The only thing that got my attention from the book was the beneath in her family. First, the interaction between Charlie and her brothers. They were so close, it made me envious. The thing her brothers did that led Charlie wondering why a guy never ask her out, it was GOLD. They were protective, but SWOONY. That particular scene in the soccer field AH CUTENESS. Second, the relationship between Charlie and her father. It tore me up. He tried his best to raise her. He was tough but sweet.
Other than that, I don’t know what’s interesting in the book. I didn’t find it how special the fence chats were. Every time Charlie and Braden chatted on the fence, I couldn’t help it to wonder “Gurl, weren’t you scared going out of the house in midnight? I can’t even peek in through my window.” Whatever, I knew this is weird or probably nonsense, I worried more about ghost might appear instead of focusing on their midnight chats on the fence. The ending between Charlie and Braden was also predictable. It was worse when I didn’t even feel sparks between them. Then again, I know she was a tomboy. A tomboy always relates to sports but why it had to be all sports?! A lot of sports were talked in the book which I didn’t really understand.
On The Fence is a big disappointment. It didn’t live up my expectations. I didn’t get the jokes and sarcasm from this book that I anticipated for. West was good at throwing jokes and sarcasm in her books but WHY. This book fell so flat on me. Despite to all that said, I’m not giving up on her and feeling excited for her upcoming book, The Fill-In Boyfriend.
MY RATING
The Book Exponent 