{Joint} Review: On the Fence by Kasie West

Title: On the Fence
Author: Kasie West
Series: n/a
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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.

Jen:  Although I've loved every single one of Kasie West's books -- and I've read them ALL -- I think On the Fence will go down as my favorite. Well, at least until her next novel is released. :) Best friend romances are my absolute favorite because from the get-go, you know the characters know each other and the risk of insta-love is fairly non-existent. Having said that, this may also be my favorite best friends romance. I loved this story THAT much.

April:  I have only read one other Kasie West book so far and that was The Distance Between Us. I loved it, but if I had to choose a favorite, On the Fence wins hands down. I adore best friend romances and I have to agree with you, I think this may be my favorite one too. I think that has a lot to do with the characters. West just has this way of making you fall in love with them.

Jen:  She does, doesn't she? I mean, I love that Charlie's a tomboy who finds her girly side, but I also love all of her brothers and her dad and the influence they have on her, besides the swoony Braden. But what I loved best was how much effort Braden puts into convincing Charlie that she's perfect the way she is, that she shouldn't change for a guy or pretend to be something she's not so that a boy will like her. That is such a great message, one that more girls need to hear.

April:  Absolutely, it's the best message for girls. As a mom of a young girl, I want her to read books like these. Books that will show her that being yourself is what's most important. Never change for anybody. Her dad and brothers were a real trip for sure. They made me laugh numerous times. One other thing I really liked was how she tied this story in with The Distance Between Us. I knew going in that there was a cameo appearance, but I thought it was just Caymen and Xander. Not another character I had loved, but made me so happy when she showed up.

Jen:  I love when authors do that, too...just give you glimpses of characters from previous books. It's just nice to know that they're still doing okay. ;0) What else was great about this story was those fence chats. My goodness, the honesty that pours out from both Charlie and Braden...it was refreshing to see the wall come down between them, even though there was technically a fence separating them. Even if the potential for something more between them hadn't been there, I would still have loved this aspect because it felt so genuine and we learned so much about the characters and their families through these talks.

April:  Those fence chats were killer. I looked forward to every single one, they really were the highlight of the story for me. I didn't really connect the whole walls coming down, and fence thing, but yes! Great symbolism. Another thing I found really interesting was the mystery behind her mom. I wasn't expecting any serious undertones, but I felt like they added some depth to the story.

Jen:  I had a feeling there was more to the story, especially since no one seemed to want to talk about it, but I tried not to dwell on it too much while I was reading. I did like how the family seemed to have pulled together over the years and practically made Braden one of their own since his own home situation wasn't ideal. Besides those fence chats, I liked the closeness, the bonds between all of the characters. And I also enjoyed the competitive nature between them. So much fun watching them all try to outdo each other, especially when it came to their wacky dares.

April:  Their dares were hilarious. Especially that first one we are introduced to, I will admit I may have gagged a bit. lol Too Funny. My ending thoughts are... On the Fence is a great summer read. And I know that we said that last Friday about Since You've Been Gone, but we have just been so extremely lucky when choosing our buddy reads/ listens. *high five*

Jen:  *return five* We have definitely had some great luck picking our summer reads. But it also helps that we've had really good experiences with both of those authors prior to their new releases, too. =D I highly recommend this one, though...even if you've never read a Kasie West book, even if you don't normally like contemporaries. This book is just too much fun to pass up!

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels, published through Harper Teen are: PIVOT POINT, its sequel SPLIT SECOND (Feb 2014), and THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US (a contemporary novel). I also have two more contemporaries, ON THE FENCE coming out July 1, 2014, and THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND coming out the summer of 2015. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

Find Kasie:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads