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

Pivot Point and Split Second by Kasie West

This is a review on both books and may contain spoilers.

Addie Coleman lives in a community where nearly everyone has a special power. Her dad is a human lie detector, her best friend can remove memories, and Addie is a searcher. This means she can see both outcomes of a decision before she makes it. When her parents tell her that they’re getting a divorce, Addie makes the most important search of her life. Which parent does she want to live with? In the end, it will all come down to who she doesn’t think she can live without.

This was such an interesting premise to me. Addie’s power isn’t your most common super power, but it seems really useful. In her search, she sees herself staying in the Compound with her mom and dating Duke Rivers, the star quarterback or living with her dad in Texas and dating Trevor who is an injured quarterback. It’s interesting to see where the individual story lines converge like when the Compound football team comes out to play Addie’s new high school’s team. I also liked seeing Addie’s relationship with each of her parents. Addie and her parents are just good people trying to make the best decisions that they can. I liked that there wasn’t too much angst or drama between her and her parents (unless you call dying some of your hair dramatic).

As far as the other characters, I loved Trevor and was rooting for him and Addie the whole time. He was just a very sweet and genuine character and I thought he was really good for her. Also, I didn’t like Duke because he felt way too cocky to me. Laila was a good character, but she definitely made some decisions that annoyed me. I liked how she got more narrating time in the second book though because it made me like her more. Connor was also a great character (even though I think he probably deserves better than Laila). He’s very complex with his bad boy exterior and his good guy interior.

Overall, a good series. I enjoyed the premise immensely and of course watching Addie fall in love with Trevor (twice) was fun. Though there were times when the books made me super anxious and I couldn’t always tell where the plot was going, I think Ms. West was able to wrap everything up very nicely in just two books.

Overall Rating: 4
Violence: Moderate
Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Moderate
Smoking/Drinking: Mild