My Thoughts On: On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker

Posted August 9, 2012 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 10 Comments


On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker
Published by Lands Atlantic Publishing
Publish Date: October 19, 2011
272 Pages
Source:  Finished copy from Author. Thank you!

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. –(summary excerpt from Goodreads)

On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker


My Thoughts:  On The Fringe by Courtney King Walker takes both romance and paranormal, blends it, and ends up with a great mixture of young love and suspense that keeps us turning the pages and feeling all kinds of emotions for the characters. 
The first thing you need to know is this:
Claire and Daniel are friends.
Then they get THE FEELINGS.
  
 
Claire and Daniel have never really declared their feelings for one another even though they’ve spent tons of time together. Claire and her older brother Matthew are best friends with Addie Holland and her brother Daniel, so of course the four did most things together.

Neither Claire nor Daniel really realized exactly when their feelings of friendship changed to those feelings, but neither could deny them and neither wanted to. A few glances at one another, a few gazes held a second longer than normal – and both Claire and Daniel suspected that they each felt the same way. Unfortunately, neither would get the opportunity to tell the other how they feel. Neither would get the opportunity to start a real romantic relationship…because Daniel is murdered.

The second thing you need to know is this:
This story is part GHOST STORY.
This story is also part ROMANCE.    
When Daniel is murdered, he doesn’t really go away. Daniels lingers on the fringe, between earth and beyond. He has no idea why he is stuck there, he only knows that he is. He can see the people he loves and he can hear them talk – but they have no idea Daniel is there. For a long time, things are lonely for Daniel. When Claire falls into the lake on her sixteenth birthday and Daniel is the only one around to rescue her, things change in a big way for the two of them

Claire barely believes she can see Daniel there. After all, he’s been gone now for awhile. But suddenly she wakes up after being pulled out of the lake, and Daniel is there. Right there. She can hear him and touch him. It only lasts a few minutes and then he fades away. But it was just enough – where Claire had no hope for happiness before, she suddenly has hope – because she realizes that Daniel may still be somewhere out there.

Claire becomes consumed with finding ways to see him again because she still loves him and she doesn’t want to let him go. Of course, Daniel is always around but Claire doesn’t know it. Eventually, they find a way that enables them both to see each other, talk to each other, and feel each other’s touch for a few minutes each night. It isn’t enough, but it is all they have. Now that their relationship has finally started to grow, they’re so happy! And then crazy stuff starts happening

The third thing you need to know is this:
There is some heartbreak but there’s also hope.
There is also a lot of suspense.
 
I felt like I wanted to cry when Daniel died because he died, then because they never got to tell each other how they felt, and then because Claire felt so hopelessly lost without him. BUT…things started looking up when they “found” each other again. Despite their odd circumstances (one alive, one not alive), their relationship progressed in the best way it could and the two even acted very much like young people who are in love. 

However…


There was something – another ghost, actually – that had an old grudge against Daniel and decided to get his revenge on Claire. He caused some major trouble for these two and he was actually a little creepy at times. The addition of this “bad guy” ghost with a grudge added tons of suspense and some mystery into this romance story. Every time Claire and Daniel thought things were going okay, he would show up and cause trouble. It took big, drastic measures to fight him off and make him stop the things he was doing.  

I’m not gonna lie, there were some scenes that had me turning pages fast. 

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On The Fringe is a lovely romance with a paranormal component to it that I enjoyed. I love the way there was some time given to getting to know Claire and Daniel before Daniel died, and I like the way the relationship developed between the two while Daniel was on the fringe. The story is told by both Claire and Daniel so it is great to get both points of view as all of the events unfold.

There are a few heartbreaking moments as Claire and her friends struggle to cope without Daniel and as he struggles with his loneliness and isolation on the fringe, but there are times of happiness and hope as well. Scattered among all of this are the scenes with the other ghost, the one I’m calling the bad guy, and these scenes are creepy and crazy. Claire and Daniel have a hard time figuring out exactly what it is the ghost wants with them – when they do, it takes a lot of work to get rid of him. The scenes when they are fighting him had my heart-racing.

I liked this book a lot. It was something different for me. I loved the easy style of the author and how it read so easily. The pacing was great and I was never bored with the characters or the story. I loved Claire and Daniel and all of the emotions they felt. I think people who enjoy YA romance stories would enjoy it as well as people who enjoy ghost stories. It is not overly romantic nor overly creepy and I think it is appropriate for all-ages YA readers and YA-loving adult readers. 

On The Fringe will appeal to fans of:

YA Romance: no love triangle

Ghost Stories
Suspense
Multiple/Alternating POV

On The Fringe by Courtney King Walker
is currently available for purchase.

**I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest opinion and review. I received no compensation for my thoughts. Thank you Courtney King Walker!

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Do you like ghost stories? 
Is ON THE FRINGE on your wish list?

Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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10 responses to “My Thoughts On: On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker

  1. This sounds pretty darn interesting. I love the whole idea of Daniel as a ghost with another ghost trying to get his "revenge". And I think the romance sounds sweet.

  2. oohh…the "FEELINGS!" Yes, love that:)

    So this one sounds a bit sad. I LOVE ghost stories, but when there is romance involved between a ghost and a lining person, it makes me feel all weepy like I do EVERYTIME I watch "Ghost" with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. But if it ultimately has a hopeful message, that can sometimes balance out the weepies. Sometimes 🙂

  3. Hi Asheley,
    I can't remember if I ever told you thank you for taking the time to read On the Fringe and for reviewing it here on your site. Good luck in 2013 with your 150 book challenge—your 2012 list was amazingly long! So impressed. Three I read that I don't think were on your list that I loved last year are: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork, Variant by Robison Wells, and The Syndicate by Shelena Shorts. Happy Reading! -Courtney King Walker

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