Book: On the Fence
Author: Kasie West
This sweet, clean teen romance is a breath of fresh air. As a regular reader of young adult romances — to screen them for inappropriate content before I allow my daughters to read them of course — I’ve seen a growing and disturbing trend: an increase in raunchiness in books written for teens. But this cute romcom is an exception.
Synopsis
Charlie is the youngest of four and the only daughter in a single-parent family. She’s grown up in an overprotective testosterone-fuelled circle of sports, pranks and rough-housing.
She has no clue about things such as make-up and fashion, until she gets a job at a boutique with a quirky, mother-to-all boss.
Her new job interferes with her exercise-’til-she-is-exhausted strategy, which causes her recurring nightmares to return. During her middle-of-the-night walks, she finds an ally and confidante in the boy-next-door, Braden, who grew up as another of the brothers in her family.
Reviewer’s thoughts
On the Fence has some pretty dark twists for a light romcom, but I like that it touched on edgier subjects despite remaining clean and simple.
Considering most romances have a scripted formula, I like the fact that this book was able to surprise me.
For those who like to know going in; this book has tomboy, boy-next-door, best-friends-to-“lovers”, new-friendships-with-girls tropes.
Enduring popularity
I was also surprised to learn that the book was first published in 2014 but is still in print, that’s why it was included among this year’s lists of recommended books by Jonathan Ball.
Spice level: Salty
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