On the Fence Review

Title: On the Fence
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 1st 2014
Source: eARC for Review
Rating: 3/5

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.

Review:

After hearing many great things about Kasie West's sci-fi series and her previous contemporary novel I was excited to give her a shot. I was very intrigued by the concept of On the Fence, a tom boy who is interested in her best friend who also happens to be her neighbour and so close she considers him a fourth brother. Ultimately the plot of On the Fence is what I loved them most.

I read through On the Fence in only a matter of days (quick for a university student such as myself) because it was very addicting and drew me in. Kasie West is also a very good writer who draws you in through the power of her words. While I enjoyed the book and loved the plot I had a few minor issues:

1) I don't see how a tom boy, such as Charlie, would ever get a job a clothing store. I just doesn't seem realistic.

2) I didn't really like Charlie as a character. I like and admire her getting down and dirty being one of the boys. What I didn't enjoy was her tendency to lie and alienate herself by saying constantly that she is not a "normal" girl as is there was a definition to what a normal girl is. By the end of the book Charlie does become somewhat of a different person and I did appreciate that.

3) Charlie and Braden's relationship. For the majority of the book you could she that there was a romantic relationship forming, but it just took way to long to develop. It isn't until about 90% of the book that Charlie realizes that she is in love, and from there the last 10% try to jam in everything that should have happened between them earlier.

Overall On the Fence was an enjoyable read, and I would recommend it to conptempory fans who are interested in reading a story through a tom boys perspective. I did have some issues with it, but I don't think it will be an issue for everyone. It would make  a great summer read!!