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On the Fringe Courtney King Walker Books

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On the Fringe Courtney King Walker Books

When separated by the harsh reality of death, will love get a second chance?

Ever since 15-year-old Claire was four, Daniel has been a constant presence in her life. Not only are they neighbors, but his little sister, Addie, just happens to be her bestie while Daniel and Claire's brother, Matthew, are practically inseparable. Together the four of them have shared almost every noteworthy childhood memory. One day, a couple of months before his senior graduation, Daniel comes to some realizations about the nature of his feelings for his best friend's little sister. Unbeknownst to him, Claire has begun to notice him as well. They dance around each other for weeks, both afraid of admitting what they feel, the other's rejection, their siblings finding out. Then one fateful night, Matthew and Daniel attend a party, a gun is drawn and Daniel is shot and killed. Matthew, Claire and Addie are understandably devastated at the loss of Daniel, each grieving in their own, sometimes unhealthy, way.

Months pass and still grieving for Daniel, Claire finds her 16th birthday party taking a decided turn for the worst when she accidentally falls in the lake near her house, and can't pull herself out. When the fog finally clears from her mind, she's certain Daniel rescued her from certain drowning, and she suspects he's not completely gone from her yet.

Faced with the possibility of a second chance, Claire & Daniel struggle to make sense of Daniel's continued fringe existence and their feelings for each other as they come face to face with a vengeful spirit intent on the destruction of their happiness.

While I love many things about On the Fringe, one of the things I appreciate most about this book is how realistically Claire and Daniel are portrayed. They are not super-teens or overly adult, like many YA protagonists tend to be. I remember being 16. I remember the slightly lost feeling, trying to figure out where I fit into the larger picture, trying to define who I was and why I believed what I believed. Heck, some of those feelings never truly leave you. All that to say, I think Walker did an excellent job at communicating the complicated aspects of being a teenager - specifically a teen dealing with grief, loss and first love - in a very honest, genuine way. The trials they've been subject to and the obstacles to their relationship that Claire and Daniel face require a lot of maturity, and definitely give them a renewed perspective on life, death and what it truly means to love. They are both just wonderful characters who tugged on my heartstrings and who underwent a lot of individual development as the story progressed.

Speaking of my heartstrings being tugged, another thing Walker does very well is drawing readers in emotionally. Whether it be a grief-laden scene, a frightening scene, or a romantic scene, the emotions and character responses just seem so natural and grabbed a hold of me. Claire and Daniel's romance in particular, just inspires such bittersweet feelings. I mean imagine coming to the realization that you may love someone who's been a constant part of your life for almost as long as you can remember. But you've never had the chance to tell them before they're suddenly gone in the blink of an eye. You have had them for all that time, never realizing just what you had, never telling them how you felt and now you never will. It seems to me as if that's a different kind of grief - mourning the person as well as the possibilities that can never be. It's heartrending, and I believe Walker does an excellent job of communicating these complex emotions through Claire's grieving process as she can do nothing but keep on living in spite of her loss. I think it's a difficult skill to master - resonating with a reader emotionally on a very real level and generating genuine sympathy for a character and their fate. Yet, scene after scene, Walker accomplishes this so well.

Storywise, I felt at times as if the plot moved a little slowly, though it's one of those books that builds at a simmer until the climax. I also wasn't completely sold on the antagonist, who is certainly mean and frightening, but, for some reason I can't put my finger on, just wasn't quite doing it for me. I also found myself wishing for more of an explanation of the Fringe, the existence Daniel finds himself "living" in after his death. I was just hoping for a few more specifics on the purpose and the rules, even though I know that's not really the purpose of the story. I'm just insatiably curious and I don't like when certain things are left to interpretation or vagueness.

On the flip side, I adore the achingly wistful tone that pervades the entire book. The climactic scene is intense and worth the wait. Walker does a fantastic job of bringing the action to a boil and it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. And I love the conclusion. I wasn't sure quite how Walker would end On the Fringe, but I thought the resolution was a beautiful and fitting end to Claire & Daniel's story. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Overall, with a strong, emotional resonance, fantastically realistic teen protagonists and an achingly sweet romance, On the Fringe is a beautifully written novel about second chances, healing and the nature of love.


Tags : Amazon.com: On the Fringe (9780982500552): Courtney King Walker: Books,Courtney King Walker,On the Fringe,Lands Atlantic Publishing, LLC,0982500556,Romance - General,First loves;Fiction.,Ghosts;Fiction.,Revenge;Fiction.,Teens Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Fiction,First loves,Ghosts,JUVENILE FICTION Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural,Juvenile Fiction Paranormal,Juvenile Fiction : Love & Romance,Juvenile FictionLove & Romance,Love & Romance,Paranormal,Revenge,Romance & relationships stories (Children's Teenage),Young Adult Fiction,Young Adult Fiction Romance General

On the Fringe Courtney King Walker Books Reviews

On the Fringe wastes little time tying us up in emotional knots, dropping us immediately into the palpable tension that exists between Daniel and Claire as each starts to realize their feelings for the other extend beyond their roles as best friend and baby sister respectively. We find ourselves a little giddy instantaneously, though with that addictive buoyancy comes the weighty understanding that this sweet hesitancy is only going to be fleeting and temporary, soon to be replaced with darkness, pain, and loss. We almost wish this tale could be an adorable short story, taking us quickly through the developing romance and then leaving us breathless and content at the happy conclusion, but instead Ms. Walker plunges us under the light-infused surface and into depths that have us fully invested in Claire and Daniel's lives (or deaths as the case may be), ultimately extremely thankful for the gift of extra page time.

Claire is a young woman who's easy to like right off the bat, all twisted up with nerves as a result of her crush on someone who's been in her life for as long as she can remember, struggling to find a way to escape the classification of Matthew's Little Sister in the hope their relationship to one another can be redefined with more romantic-and less familial-feelings. When Daniel returns to her in less-than corporeal form, we don't get pages and pages of denial or repeated hows and whys from her, instead she accepts his new presence in her life with relative ease, crossing us over into the world of the supernatural in a seamless way that makes everything she's experiencing that much more believable.

Splitting the point of view equally between Claire and Daniel gives an interesting dual exposure to a ghostly world, Claire's limited understanding of it making us feel more comfortable as her reactions mirror our own, but at the same time, we also get a deeper look at spectral happenings as Daniel explores his afterlife and his unusual connection to Claire. As a result, we feel fully surrounded by the events taking place as opposed to simply viewing them as an outsider from a single fixed direction. In addition to learning the ins and outs of Daniel's non-life, we additionally get the return of a little of the giddiness we felt at the beginning, death having freed Claire and Daniel's mouths from the nerves that kept them closed until it was almost too late, and we finally get to see them communicate all the things that went unsaid previously.

Ms. Walker has written an enthralling ghost story, one with equal parts light and dark where we find ourselves both on the edge of our seats, while also blissfully warm and content as we watch two people robbed of their time together get a chance to reconnect. We are left with a bittersweet ending, one that feels right and wrong at the same time, leaving us with the wish that Ms. Walker would write an alternate ending just to satisfy the part of us that would see the supernatural element kicked up a notch to perhaps stretch the limits of believability for the sake of what our hearts want most. Then we could have both the practical and impractical at our fingertips-able to choose an ending based on our mood--but ultimately we can concede that events wrap up as they should, with Ms. Walker playing our emotions with a consummate skill we can't wait to experience again.

Rating 4/5
I absolutely loved "On The Fringe"! Daniel & Claire are compelling characters and you are rooting for them from the start. The story is part teen love and part ghost revenge. I was hooked and found it hard to put the book down. Courtney Walker has done a great job on her debut novel.
This is an excellent book for both young adults and more mature adults.
Clean read with an instant connection to the characters right from the beginning.
Intrigue and a heart warming love story that reaches beyond the grave!
I read the book in a day; I just couldn't put it down. Now my two teenage daughters are pouring over the pages instead of doing their homework. Great gift for anyone who loves the young adult genre!
A very enjoyable read!
This is a fantastic story written in a way that makes you feel that you are there in the story. It is beautifully written and keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. I just wanted to keep reading it more and more but sad when it ended because I wanted it to keep going. Author is very talented and look forward to more books in the future.
When separated by the harsh reality of death, will love get a second chance?

Ever since 15-year-old Claire was four, Daniel has been a constant presence in her life. Not only are they neighbors, but his little sister, Addie, just happens to be her bestie while Daniel and Claire's brother, Matthew, are practically inseparable. Together the four of them have shared almost every noteworthy childhood memory. One day, a couple of months before his senior graduation, Daniel comes to some realizations about the nature of his feelings for his best friend's little sister. Unbeknownst to him, Claire has begun to notice him as well. They dance around each other for weeks, both afraid of admitting what they feel, the other's rejection, their siblings finding out. Then one fateful night, Matthew and Daniel attend a party, a gun is drawn and Daniel is shot and killed. Matthew, Claire and Addie are understandably devastated at the loss of Daniel, each grieving in their own, sometimes unhealthy, way.

Months pass and still grieving for Daniel, Claire finds her 16th birthday party taking a decided turn for the worst when she accidentally falls in the lake near her house, and can't pull herself out. When the fog finally clears from her mind, she's certain Daniel rescued her from certain drowning, and she suspects he's not completely gone from her yet.

Faced with the possibility of a second chance, Claire & Daniel struggle to make sense of Daniel's continued fringe existence and their feelings for each other as they come face to face with a vengeful spirit intent on the destruction of their happiness.

While I love many things about On the Fringe, one of the things I appreciate most about this book is how realistically Claire and Daniel are portrayed. They are not super-teens or overly adult, like many YA protagonists tend to be. I remember being 16. I remember the slightly lost feeling, trying to figure out where I fit into the larger picture, trying to define who I was and why I believed what I believed. Heck, some of those feelings never truly leave you. All that to say, I think Walker did an excellent job at communicating the complicated aspects of being a teenager - specifically a teen dealing with grief, loss and first love - in a very honest, genuine way. The trials they've been subject to and the obstacles to their relationship that Claire and Daniel face require a lot of maturity, and definitely give them a renewed perspective on life, death and what it truly means to love. They are both just wonderful characters who tugged on my heartstrings and who underwent a lot of individual development as the story progressed.

Speaking of my heartstrings being tugged, another thing Walker does very well is drawing readers in emotionally. Whether it be a grief-laden scene, a frightening scene, or a romantic scene, the emotions and character responses just seem so natural and grabbed a hold of me. Claire and Daniel's romance in particular, just inspires such bittersweet feelings. I mean imagine coming to the realization that you may love someone who's been a constant part of your life for almost as long as you can remember. But you've never had the chance to tell them before they're suddenly gone in the blink of an eye. You have had them for all that time, never realizing just what you had, never telling them how you felt and now you never will. It seems to me as if that's a different kind of grief - mourning the person as well as the possibilities that can never be. It's heartrending, and I believe Walker does an excellent job of communicating these complex emotions through Claire's grieving process as she can do nothing but keep on living in spite of her loss. I think it's a difficult skill to master - resonating with a reader emotionally on a very real level and generating genuine sympathy for a character and their fate. Yet, scene after scene, Walker accomplishes this so well.

Storywise, I felt at times as if the plot moved a little slowly, though it's one of those books that builds at a simmer until the climax. I also wasn't completely sold on the antagonist, who is certainly mean and frightening, but, for some reason I can't put my finger on, just wasn't quite doing it for me. I also found myself wishing for more of an explanation of the Fringe, the existence Daniel finds himself "living" in after his death. I was just hoping for a few more specifics on the purpose and the rules, even though I know that's not really the purpose of the story. I'm just insatiably curious and I don't like when certain things are left to interpretation or vagueness.

On the flip side, I adore the achingly wistful tone that pervades the entire book. The climactic scene is intense and worth the wait. Walker does a fantastic job of bringing the action to a boil and it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. And I love the conclusion. I wasn't sure quite how Walker would end On the Fringe, but I thought the resolution was a beautiful and fitting end to Claire & Daniel's story. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Overall, with a strong, emotional resonance, fantastically realistic teen protagonists and an achingly sweet romance, On the Fringe is a beautifully written novel about second chances, healing and the nature of love.