Review: On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker

On The Fringe by Courtney King Walker

publisher: Lands Atlantic Publishing

release date: October 19, 2011

paperback, 288 pages

intended audience: Young adult

rating:




source: received from author for honest review

description:
Claire is struggling to overcome the murder of her childhood friend and secret crush, Daniel. Everyone else seems to be moving on with their lives, but she's still trying to cope. The fact that she finds herself alone and drowning on her 16th birthday isn't helping.

Neither is thinking she sees Daniel's face in murky water as she mysteriously resurfaces. But something happened during those four and a half minutes that will make her realize it was not just her imagination.

As Claire and Daniel try to grasp a possible reconnection, other grudge-holding beings have plans of their own. Now, the two of them have to decide if their fleeting relationship is worth the possibility of Claire being trapped on the fringe forever.

Beautifully told, On the Fringe intertwines fresh ideas about devotion, revenge, and the consequences that come with life and death.

Review: I loved this book. More specifically, I loved Claire and Daniel. The love story in this book is one of the sweetest, most captivating loves I've read in a long time. Why? Because the two main characters, before realizing they were in love, had known each other almost their whole lives. There is something so infinitely romantic to me about having a person in thousands of your memories, having stored up good times and bad times, pranks and adventures, over twelve years and then one day coming to the realization that this is the person that makes your heart race and the one you don't ever want to live without. For all of you YA readers out there who can't take one more bout of the dreaded "instalove"---On the Fringe is about as far from that as you can get. I was completely smitten with these two. They were really just two very normal kids, not stunningly beautiful or extraordinary, Claire is even described as a little uncoordinated and awkward.

On the Fringe is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. You can feel each characters emotions, especially Claire's, but also the other characters as well, no matter how they handle it, show it, or bury it. The story being told alternately from Claire's and then Daniel's perspective, really gave us the full story from all sides and that worked for me. There are some great emotional scenes between Claire and her best friend, Addie, and for Claire and her brother. I really enjoyed all the shifts in each relationship throughout the story. I also loved how present Claire's parents were. There are also some very spine-tingling moments, as well as plenty of excitement and danger, thanks to a very insane and angry spirit looking for revenge.

Mostly, it's about what you would give, what limits you would go to for that impossible second chance. It's about being surprised by love and how powerful it can be. It's also about missed chances, remorse, misconceptions, and revenge. On the Fringe is an excellent debut, and I'll definitely be on the look-out for more from this author in the future.

Visit Courtney King Walker's site here.

Purchase On The Fringe at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

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