On The Fence by Kasie West Review + Giveaway

On The Fence by Kasie West
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen; 320 pages
Rating:

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.

First, I loved Kasie West's Pivot Point books so much. I know she has this book and The Distance Between Us but I'm not big on YA contemporary so I've put them both off. I've been told I should give them both a chance and since I absolutely love Kasie's writing, I figured, what do I have to lose? In this case, absolutely nothing because I freaking loved this book. I could relate to this a LOT from when I was younger. I have two older brothers and our neighbors growing up were two guys so it was like having four brothers, right? One of my neighbors flirted with me like there was no tomorrow but that was his personality. When I was young, I laughed but when I got older, I blushed. But, oddly enough, it was his younger brother (who was my age) that I liked. When I was five years old, I chased him around our yards trying to kiss him (you know how guys and girls had cooties at that age so clearly, he ran). I was successful, if you were wondering except I snagged him while in kindergarten, not our backyards. They moved away  in the fifth grade and I've been trying to find them on facebook or something since. A few years after they moved, they'd randomly stop by and it always put a smile on my face. I liked this neighbor, a lot, and to this day, I still think about him a lot. Plus, as a child and teenager, I was very athletic (even though I didn't have the athlete figure), I played a ton of sports and was always outside and I was a major tomboy. I was dared in middle school to wear a skit because no one ever saw me in one, I accepted and it was the most uncomfortable day of school ever.

So, enough rambling about how much this book reminded me of my childhood and let's talk about the actual book. Clearly, it's a bit different from my childhood because my case was more when I was younger and Charlie's is more her teenage years (she's sixteen when we meet her). And she's had a lot more things happen in her childhood than mine; like the fact that she lost her mom when she was only six years old and the fact that her dad raised her . . . as the only female in an all male household. Can we say . . . awkward?

I love love love stories that have to do with the protagonist falling for the best friend. These types of stories don't happen enough and when a best friend love interest is in the mix, they almost always walk away without winning the girl. I know a lot of people who have ended up, long term, with their best friend so see stories like this, well, it warms my heart. I absolutely loved Braden, not only is he charming and caring but he's already so close with the whole family. Charlie's father already trusts him but also trusts him enough to look after Charlie more times than you know. He's best friends with Gage, Charlie's closest brother (in age and in relationship) and has the respect and friend from Nathan and Jerom, too. But that's also puts him at a great disadvantage because, well, he's considered like family so there's that line that if you cross, there's no returning after that. It's always a tricky thing but you have to know whether or not the risk is worth it. You also have to know whether or not the interest is returned. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

I just love everything about this story. The part of Charlie growing up, becoming more feminine and especially keeping a secret from all the guys in her life because she doesn't want to be hassled but also because she's nervous. Then seeing her go out in public with girls she's made friends with from work while she's got makeup on and seeing guys pay her attention - it's all new to her. It's exciting to be right there with her while she's experiencing everything for the first time. For someone like myself, who was a tomboy and athletic, it's like reliving my story all over again.

It's a very fast, easy, fun read and something that would be great to take to the beach or any summer vacation. As I said in one of my goodreads status updates . . . Kasie West can do no wrong. I mean that. In fact, I plan on reading her other book, The Distance Between Us, next month just because of how much I loved this (especially since it's YA contemp).

Thank you so much to HarperCollins for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

One lucky winner will receive an ARC of On The Fence (which has been read once, by me, and I take VERY good care of my books). This giveaway is open to US residents only (sorry, I'm still working on sending out books from my last big giveaway so I'm tight on money). Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on July 7, 2014. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!

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