On the Fence by Kasie West

Charlie has grown up in a house with three brothers (and an honorary fourth) so it’s no wonder that she’s such a tom boy. She can hold her own in any pickup basketball or backyard football game, but when it comes to girly stuff, she’s out of her depth.

First off, I have a big issue with the cover. Even at the end of the book, I don’t think Charlie would be comfortable in a dress. So…that cover is pretty inaccurate in my opinion. It just gives the reader a different perception of who the main character is going to be.

Anyway, this book was just okay for me. I really liked some of Kasie West’s other books (The Distance Between Us and the Pivot Point duology) so I just felt a little let down by this one. The main character, Charlie, isn’t as likable to me as some of West’s other main characters. Granted, I did not grow up with three older brothers, but I felt like Charlie was a little unrealistic in how callous/clueless she was at times. Even just having some girl teammates, it seems like she should be a little more aware of some things than she actually was.

I liked that Charlie’s brothers had pretty distinct and separate personalities, but the family feels a little off-balance to me. I think that Charlie should have had a younger brother. Either a fourth brother, or Gage should have been younger. I think that would have made the family feel more complete. The other secondary characters were a little one-note to me. They didn’t have much depth and some minor characters seemed completely unnecessary to the story. For example, Charlie’s roommate at basketball camp was only there so that Charlie could talk about her feelings instead of just thinking through them for the reader.

Lastly, I thought the ending moved way too fast. And the repeated use of the word “love” made me cringe every time. In the end, this book is just okay as far as YA contemporary romances go. I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn’t choose to read it again.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: None
Violence: Mild
Sexual Content: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han

Belly (short for Isabel) has been going to the beach house every summer since she can remember with her mom and her brother, Steven. They share the beach house with her mom’s childhood best friend and her two sons Conrad and Jeremiah. The three boys have always been their own little crew and all Belly wants is to be included. Finally things start to change the summer she turns 16. For the first time she feels pretty and she thinks the boys are starting to notice that too.

I did not particularly care for these books. Obviously Belly is going to be caught between the two brothers and we’re going to see how that plays out. Blah blah blah. First of all, I guess I didn’t particularly care for Belly. In the first book she’s too immature–always on the brink of crying or getting overly embarrassed. In the second book she’s grown up a little bit, but not really. In the last book she’s just okay. Secondly, I didn’t really like either of the brothers! It’s kind of a problem when you don’t like any of the three main characters. I could never take Jeremiah seriously and Conrad was too back and forth. Just make up your mind! I will say, though, that I liked both Taylor and Susannah.

Speaking of people going back and forth…Belly drove me nuts. The. Whole. Time. Pick a guy and stick with it. I just didn’t like that this one girl was pitting two brothers against each other. How awkward. These are people you have to spend the rest of your life with! They were easy reads, but I wouldn’t say they were necessarily fun. Mostly I was agonizing over how dumb the characters were and just wanted them to make up their minds.

Overall Rating: 2
Violence: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Moderate
Smoking/Drinking: Heavy