Review: On the Fence

ON THE FENCE
Kasie West
Contemporary Young Adult
320 pages
HarperTeen
Available July 1st
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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.

MY THOUGHTS
On the Fence is a story as cute as they come, a lovable and endearing tomboy of a heroine charming us instantly as she tries to find a place for herself amidst the testosterone of her all-male family. As is commonplace for a Kasie West novel, humor and witty banter abound, adding new creases to our cheeks from smiling so frequently even as our heartstrings are tugged repeatedly when growing pains force Charlie into a sweet and poignant journey of self-reflection. As was the case with The Distance Between Us, there are a number of facets to Charlie’s life and her relationship with her family that could have been explored with more depth, but that mild complaint doesn’t detract from a hugely satisfying story overall.

Charlie has known nothing but contact sports and brotherly teasing her entire life, her hugely athletic and hilariously mischievous older brothers keeping her on her toes at all times lest she find herself on the losing end of a dare she didn’t know they’d issued. She has no concept of her appearance in terms of how physically attractive she might be to the opposite sex, but its refreshingly clear that she’s neither the falsely modest type nor the frustratingly self-deprecating type, her observations of her brother’s preferences in girls simply give her no reason to think she might be appealing to guys in all her sports-loving athletic glory.

Her changing relationship with next door neighbor–and brother Gage’s best friend–Braden is the kind that makes us suck in a breath and hold it whenever they’re together, hoping that if we don’t so much as breathe these two will find fewer obstacles blocking their path to happiness. That way of thinking of course fails spectacularly, and Braden and Charlie quickly discover that knowing one another as well as they do can cause as many problems to a fledgling relationship as not knowing someone at all. While there are a couple of miscommunications between them, they’re not of the overly irritating variety, rather they feel genuine in nature, the complications of a friendship as close as theirs something we can all relate to in one way or another.

The only other very small complaint aside from the aforementioned lack of exploration in certain areas is the brevity of our time with Charlie and Braden once they finally do get together. Majority of the book is the humorously tense (and sometimes adorably mortifying) progression of their friendship to something more, and while we can’t help but love all the build up, their time together is our reward and it’s cut just a touch short with the last page finding us long before we wish it to. Overall though, On the Fence is cute and flirty and pure fun, a story destined for the rereads shelf so we can experience Charlie and Braden again and again.

Rating: 4/5

Find Kasie

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

The Big Love Letter Event + Giveaway: Kasie West + Tiffany Schmidt

Today marks week two of The Big Love Letter Event, a joint month-long feature hosted by Danny from Bewitched Bookworms and myself, and I hope you guys are having as much fun with these letters as we are. If you didn't get a chance, be sure and check out last week's love song from Kaidan Rowe and Wendy Higgins!

First of all, I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! Valentine's Day is a bit of a polarizing holiday, with some people expressing enthusiasm for a day celebrating love in all its various forms and others not feeling it so much, but for me any holiday that encourages the consumption of large quantities of chocolate is epic and earns my wholehearted approval. I'm looking at you too, Halloween ;-)

As a result of the aforementioned polarizing effect Valentine's Day has on the masses, I thought it might be fun to acknowledge the myriad of emotional reactions to this holiday with not just one love letter today, but two. The first is from Kasie West, an author who rocketed onto my radar with last year's Pivot Point (I LOVE YOU TREVOR!) and has continued to impress me with her extraordinary sense of humor and her engaging, witty characters. She was nice enough to share a letter from Caymen from The Distance Between Us to her boyfriend Xander, giving all of us a sweet look at their relationship.

• • • • • CAYMEN'S LOVE LETTER • • • • •

Dearest Dollface,

This being our very first Valentine’s Day together, I expect a big gift. Maybe a small jet or a tropical island. See, doesn’t it sound ridiculous when you read it? So please don’t buy me a gift that you know I can’t come anywhere close to reciprocating. I’m thinking something like a pre-sipped beverage or a movie in your fancy theater room will be perfect. As for my gift to you, I was thinking of buying you a porcelain doll. I know how much you love them. I found one that looks a lot like you, well, I might have to add a pinky ring, but then it will be spot on.
 
But in all seriousness (because I can hear you saying, ‘now your real answer’), I adore you, Xander. The last few months have been the best of my life. It’s been amazing touring some of your hotels with you and I can’t wait to see more. Mainly because I like hanging out with you, not necessarily because your hotels are all that interesting. And thank you for pretending that hanging out in my tiny apartment is the highlight of your day. It makes my mom feel good. Okay, it makes me happy too.
 
Don’t ever leave me or I’ll have to kill you. And I don’t want to dig your grave alone. It would be very very shallow. Oh wait…they have machines for that. Never mind. I love you, babe. Happy Valentine’s Day. Now look up from this letter, give me one of your heart-stopping smiles, and kiss me.

- Caymen 

• • • • • • • • • • • 

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US

(Available Now)

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Find Kasie

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • JONAH'S ANTI-LOVE LETTER • • • • •

The second letter today is a bit of an anti-love letter written by Jonah from Tiffany Schmidt's upcoming contemporary young adult release, Bright Before Sunrise. In her email to me, Tiffany wrote "...my characters don't like each other that much early in the book"; a statement that had me pre-ordering it immediately because I'm a MASSIVE sucker for antagonistic relationships. Yes, please and thank you! I thought it was the perfect addition to this event and today's post in particular, so I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did!

From Tiffany:

This letter is written from Jonah’s point of view and takes place during chapter five (“How Do You Say ’50 Minutes of Torture’ in Spanish”) of BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE. If anyone wants to read those chapters (and a few beyond) they’re available on Wattpad.

Brighton-

I slash her name across the top of the back of an extra worksheet then glance around and fold that part under. I know what I’m doing is ridiculous, and it’s not like I’d ever actually give this to her, but maybe if I write it out, I’ll be a little less pissed.

And the only other thing I have to do until the bell rings is check my phone under my desk and wonder why Carly’s not texting back.
 
Get a clue. The fact that you’re hot doesn’t mean you get whatever you want. And I guess I’m a minority of one, because I don’t want you.
 
Not that I think you want me. I’d probably have to go through a 50-step background check before I was allowed to kiss you. And I’d never pass.
 
But I need you to leave me alone. I don’t want to volunteer on any of your stupid projects. I don’t want you to fix my locker. I don’t want you to say hi to me in the hallway and flash me that smile. The one that—for just a second—makes me forget why I hate you.
    
Everyone else ignores me. Why can’t you?

- Jonah

• • • • • • • • • • • 

BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE

(releases February 18th from Walker Children's

When Jonah is forced to move from Hamilton to Cross Pointe for the second half of his senior year, "miserable" doesn't even begin to cover it. He feels like the doggy-bag from his mother's first marriage and everything else about her new life—with a new husband, new home and a new baby—is an upgrade. The people at Cross Pointe High School are pretentious and privileged—and worst of all is Brighton Waterford, the embodiment of all things superficial and popular. Jonah’s girlfriend, Carly, is his last tie to what feels real... until she breaks up with him.

For Brighton, every day is a gauntlet of demands and expectations. Since her father died, she’s relied on one coping method: smile big and pretend to be fine. It may have kept her family together, but she has no clue how to handle how she's really feeling. Today is the anniversary of his death and cracks are beginning to show. The last thing she needs is the new kid telling her how much he dislikes her for no reason she can understand. She's determined to change his mind, and when they're stuck together for the night, she finally gets her chance.

Jonah hates her at 3p.m., but how will he feel at 3 a.m.?

One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself.

Find Tiffany

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Danny and I have an amazing giveaway to share with you all, one that will have 14 winners in total!

• Winners 1 and 2: Each will get a book of their choice from one of the authors featured during the event (open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to you!)
• Winner 3 : Signed Copy of Crash Into You by Katie McGarry (open US/CAN only) – Prize is provided by the author – A huge thank you to Katie!
• Winners 4- 14: Sweet Trilogy swag packs from Wendy Higgins (open internationally) - Prize is provided by the author – Thank you so much Wendy!

The giveaway will run until March 7th and you can enter via the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check back both here and at Bewitched Bookworms every Friday in February for more letters and a whole lot more love from these fantastic authors:

•      Wendy Higgins (Sweet Reckoning)

•      Katie McGarry (Crash Into You)

•      Kasie West (Split Second)

•      Sara B. Larson (Defy)

•      A.C. Gaughen (Lady Thief)

•      Tiffany Schmidt (Bright Before Sunrise)

•      Gena Showalter (The Queen of Zombie Hearts)

•      Nichole Chase (Recklessly Royal)

•      Lorraine Heath (When the Duke Was Wicked)

•      Lynne Matson (Nil)

Review: The Distance Between Us

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US
Kasie West
Contemporary Young Adult
320 pages
HarperTeen
Available now
Source: Borrowed from The Irish Banana Review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

MY THOUGHTS
The Distance Between Us proves yet again what a gifted storyteller Ms. West really is when we enter into this tale with the desire to read just a few chapters, but before long find ourselves hundreds of pages in and fair to snarling at anyone who dares interrupt us. While there are some situations and issues that could be pulled apart and examined far more closely, Ms. West is more content to stay on the lighter side of things with this book, clearly never intending it to be a hard-hitting exploration of modern social structures and class distinctions. Instead, it’s a quick and endlessly amusing read, with a few dramas here and there and certainly many a thing to think about, but for the most part she allows the entertainment value to shine through in all its humorous glory, leaving us smiling, content and warm.

Caymen is a young woman those of us with a sarcastic streak a mile wide fall in love with nearly instantly, the dry quips lost on so many of her store’s customers like cupid’s arrows for us, hitting center mass one after another until we’re full to bursting with amusement and affection. She certainly won’t be a character for everyone as a result though, a dry sense of humor not always something that comes across well without facial expressions or intonation to accompany it, but Ms. West handles it expertly, balancing Caymen’s one-liners with just enough seriousness to keep her from being over the top.

Caymen, while hilarious, is certainly not without her flaws, the largest of which is a prejudice against the wealthy she seems to have inherited rather than formed through any direct experience of her own. She’s quick to look for an interpretation of Xander’s words or actions that fits the negative picture of him to which she's desperately trying to cling despite his increasingly successful assaults on her defenses, proceeding to hold him to a higher standard just as she perceives everyone of his ilk holds her to a lower. Though we might wish for her to give Xander the benefit of the doubt and be as honest with him as he appears to be with her, she’s never cruel and she doesn’t play games, instead she slowly tests the waters with him, her hesitation and her anti-wealth flare-ups borne of a very real fear given the precarious situation with her mother and her mother’s painful past.

Those who enjoy young adult romances (like me) will likely thoroughly enjoy this contemporary stand-alone, things progressing with Xander slowly; a speed that fits Caymen’s distrust and dislike of all Xander represents to her and her mother. There is another boy in the picture briefly, but he remains far in the background and removes himself from any triangle situation with thankfully little drama, leaving us able to focus on Caymen and Xander the way we want to. As mentioned previously, the gap between the two of them in terms of economic class could have been explored with more depth, but the story Ms. West gives us keeps to the flirtatious fun of being seventeen and finding someone who causes dormant butterflies in our stomachs to spring to vibrant life, something that never once fails to satisfy in the end.

Rating: 4/5

Find Kasie

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Distance Between Us

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US

Kasie West

Contemporary Young Adult

Releases July 2nd from HarperTeen

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

First, I feel it necessary to confess that I am a Kasie West fangirl. Utterly and completely. I read Pivot Point earlier this year and fell madly in love with it, immediately adding Kasie to my list of auto-buy authors. While I initially despaired over the fact that I have to wait a full year (really, I should be used to this wait by now given practically every book I pick up is part of a series, but it kills me every time) for book two, I soon learned that Kasie was releasing The Distance Between Us in July. Cue insta-happiness. 

Second, I can't wait to get my lips hands on Xander this book!