For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows — including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she’s spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.
To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can’t solve Charlie’s biggest problem: she’s falling for Braden. Hard. 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.
I can’t believe it took me so long to actually read one of Kasie West’s novels… shame on me! And I have to thank Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much, because she lend me the book, the actual book, so I could finally read it.
This is such a cute contemporary! Like I said, this was my first Kasie West’s book, and I found the writing really enjoyable. It’s a simple and fast read, and it made me emotional and laugh too. I’ll be sure to check out some more of her books soon.
While I found Charlie relatable and I felt for her, she wasn’t always the easiest character to love. She was too brash sometimes, and little in touch with her feeling. She was also very unsure of herself in certain areas, and it was painful to read about. While I understood why she did it, I didn’t like that her first reaction was to run away from her problems, but with that said, she does grow a lot during the book, and by the end of it, I loved her to bits.
I loved loved loved all of her family and friends. Her 3 brothers were hilarious, and I really liked that they knew she could do anything. Their dad was great, even if the poor guy didn’t quite know how to handle a teenage girl. And Braden… well… he was dreamy! I mean, the guy told her that she was perfect just the way she was. He loved her, but he always pushed her and never went easy on her. He opened up to her and was always there. I loved him.
This was a cute contemporary, but it was about more than just romance. It was about family and loss. About knowing yourself and learning how to accept yourself, because only then will others do it too. It’s sweet, romantic and sad, and I would totally tell you to read it.
Now I just need to go read more of her books… 😉
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