Charlie's mom died when she was 6, so she's been raised by a Dad and three older brothers and next door neighbor boy Braden. She's a fantastic athlete and has no problem holding her own against the guys in games or understanding them. But when it comes to girl stuff, Charlie is absolutely clueless. Thanks to a few too many speeding tickets though, she needs a job and finds herself somehow working at a little fashion boutique. She's totally getting a crash course in fashion and all stuff girl. When Ashley, the makeup artist, at work invites Charlie to hang out with some other girls after work, Charlie finds herself for the first time on the receiving end of a group of guys trying to pick up girls and gets invited to an A's game. Charlie hangs out with guys all the time, but none of them ever seem to notice her as anything other than a teammate. It feels refreshing to get noticed, but when Braden ends up as Ashley's date for the A's game, Charlie finds herself not ok with that. And on top of that, Braden seems to think that Evan doesn't really like the real Charlie. He calls her out for being fake and not being her true self. Charlie has to sort out things about why Braden and Ashley together bothered her, figure out who she really is, and deal with the issue of not having a Mom there for her. Thankfully, whenever she needs him, Braden always seems willing to meet at the fence for a talk.I always find friends to more relationships refreshing. Insta-love is over-hyped, and I think teen girls need a more realistic picture of how love develops, slowly and even surprisingly. This is a cute, clean romantic realistic fiction about two good friends realizing that they are more than just friends. Charlie's brothers are hilarious secondary characters and definitely help create the atmosphere of the family. I can totally imagine a teen girl being scared to show up in makeup in front of older brothers who only ever see her as an addition to their sports competitions. Braden and Charlie both have some deeper issues they help each other with, so the relationship isn't one sided and it helps demonstrate how good they are for each other. I loved that their relationship was built on their understanding and care for each other's inner selves, and so little on physical qualities (though they both find each other attractive). That was another refreshing aspect so healthy for teen girls to see. And I liked that Charlie found a balance of being her sporty self and realizing she was an attractive young woman too. She realized she was ok with some lip gloss and mascara AND could still play in the weekly football games, and a guy would like her just the way she was.Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content beyond a kiss. Dreams of a car accident involving a dead person play heavily into the story and are sometimes a little bit described. So I actually really enjoyed this more than The Distance Between Us. A good rating does not always mean a good book. For TDBU I gave it 4 stars because I liked it and thought it was a cute summer read. For On The Fence though, my opinion completely differs. Sure pieces of the ending transgressed quicker than I expected or perhaps not in the way I entirely loved it, but it wasn't like TDBU with it's ending and stort overall. On The Fence feels less complicated yet really intense in emotions. Though I do roll my eyes a bit about her venture into the world of girls, I don'r hate the way on which Kasie West introduced tomboy Charlie to a world ahe didn't understand. I do have a few cons about the whole story lingering in my mind however you, as a potential reader only need to know that thepros outweigh the cons. Pros: Charlie, Braden, the brothers (Omg I love them, love them, love them!), seeing old faces aka cameos of characters from TDBU(seriously this made my day, you don't know how much I love seeing characters I know cameoing in another book), Charlie's progression from tomboy to not so much a tomboy and there are more pros. Cons though…well I did have some issues with some things but in hindsight they're so minor they don't really count.
Do You like book Die Nacht Der Gestohlenen Küsse (2000)?
Absolutely amazing! Couldn't stop reading till five in the morning! Really worth it!
—Zoe
This book made me laugh out loud so many times ;D
—kevs
