On the Fence

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte “Charlie” Reynolds is just as rowdy and athletic as her three brothers, but her summer job at a girly-girl boutique is causing her to look at her tomboy life in a new way. It is also making her miss her mother, who died when Charlie was six. Charlie unexpectedly opens up about this to her neighbor Braeden—who is like a fourth brother to her family—during a middle-of-the night conversation across their backyard fence. The midnight conversations keep happening, but the closer they become at night, the more their true feelings conflict with all that is happening under the sibling-like façade they keep during the day.

On the Fence is contemporary young adult perfection. The confident, loveable Charlie is a refreshing teen protagonist who is sensitive to the hurt she unintentionally inflicts on others as she stretches her wings. She is a girl who readers will really connect with, and likely look up to, as well. There are ten significant secondary characters in this story, but with West’s superb characterization, each one is effortlessly real and memorable. The book is filled with charming touches, like Charlie’s tough, police officer father who is secretly intimidated by his task of parenting a teenage daughter. Instead of a sagging middle, this book’s midpoint packs a twist that keeps the pages flying all the way to the end.