Fence: Striking Distance

by Sarah Rees Brennan, Johanna The Mad (Illustrator), C.S. Pacat (Created by)

Overview

The boys of Kings Row bout with drama, rivalry, and romance in this original YA novel by The New York Times bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan — inspired by the award-nominated comic series by C.S. Pacat and Johanna The Mad.
 

Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion who dreams of getting the proper training he could never afford. After earning a place on the elite Kings Row fencing team, Nicholas must prove himself to his rival, Seiji Katayma, and navigate the clashes, friendships, and relationships between his teammates on the road to state championships — where Nicholas might finally have the chance to spar with his golden-boy half-brother.
 
Coach Williams decides to take advantage of the boys' morale after a recent victory and assigns them a course of team building exercises to further deepen their bonds. It takes a shoplifting scandal, a couple of moonlit forest strolls, several hilariously bad dates, and a whole lot of introspection for the team to realize they are stronger together than they could ever be apart.
 
The first installment of this enticing original YA novel series by Sarah Rees Brennan, rich with casual diversity and queer self-discovery, explores never-before-seen drama inspired by C.S. Pacat's critically acclaimed Fence comic series and boasts original cover and interior art by Johanna The Mad.
 
Text and Illustration copyright: © 2020 BOOM! Studios
Fence(TM) and © 2020 C.S. Pacat

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316456678
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	136,422
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Sarah Rees Brennan is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling YA author of over a dozen books, both solo and co-written with authors including Kelly Link and Maureen Johnson. She was long-listed for the Carnegie for her first novel. She was born in Ireland by the sea and lives there now in the shadow of a cathedral, where she's working on—among other things—her series of tie-in novels with the hit Netflix show The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Her most recent standalone novel, In Other Lands, is a tale of love, friendship and wings starring the crankiest boy to ever stumble into a magic land and was a Lodestar Award and Mythopoeic Award finalist.


Johanna The Mad is a Mexican digital artist and illustrator currently working on the sports comic series Fence (nominated for a GLAAD award under the "Outstanding Comic Book" category).

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Fence: Striking Distance:
One of Buzzfeed's 10 Young Adult Books to Read Just in Time For the 2020 Olympics
One of BookRiot's Summer 2020 YA Books: Your Reading List is Hot, Hot, Hot!


"Queer-affirming.... Fans of C.S. Pacat's graphic series Fence may wish to reenter this world in novel form."—Kirkus

Part sports story, part romance, this novelization of C. S. "Pacat's comic series is a laugh-out-loud funny dive into camaraderie and identity.... A satisfying but open ending will leave readers eager for the next installation in this worthy adaptation."—Booklist

"Brennan plops the reader into the 'Fence' universe without a backward look and darts forward with admirable speed.... Romance and comedy compete for top billin.... A solid buy where the graphic novel series is popular, or for libraries looking for a fun book to bump up their LGBTQ+ selections."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/18/2020

Gr 9 Up—Welcome to Kings Row, where the only thing more exciting than fencing are the boys' funny antics while Coach tries to get them to become an actual team. Austin and Harvard are entering an interesting period in their lifelong friendship (complete with "dating lessons"), Seiji is learning all about pranks and maybe what being a friend means, Eugene is bringing his weightlifting bros around, and Nicholas is just really confused all the time. All of these things build on each other, and humor and romance ensue. In this easy-to-read novel based on the graphic novel series, fans will enjoy revisiting their favorite fencers—each chapter is told from a different boy's perspective, along with a digital illustration of that character. This helps to better show the variety of ethnicities represented, including Black, white, and Japanese American. Brennan plops the reader into the "Fence" universe without a backward look and darts forward with admirable speed; new readers may be slightly lost at first, but will quickly be swept up in the characters' charisma. Heavier subjects are lightly touched upon (racism and classist bullying), but multiple gay characters are widely accepted, free of any drama. In this first installment of a series, romance and comedy compete for top billing in an entertaining read that will please readers looking for lighter fare. VERDICT A solid buy where the graphic novel series is popular, or for libraries looking for a fun book to bump up their LGBTQ+ selections.—Kerri Williams, Center Moriches Free P.L., NY

School Library Journal

2020-07-14
Fencers face a challenge from their coach—learning to work as a team—in this novelized continuation of a sports romance comic series.

Kings Row, once underdogs despite being from an elite Connecticut boarding school with a long history of fencing, have won their first match of the year. Despite their potential, they are failing at bonding as a team. Nationally ranked prodigy Seiji doesn’t know the first thing about making friends. His roommate, Nicholas, a White scholarship student, feels like an outsider surrounded by his wealthy classmates. White playboy Aiden couldn’t care less about anyone on the team except their captain, Harvard, who (according to their coach) needs to learn to prioritize himself once in a while. In the midst of their teamwork training, Harvard awakens to his sexuality, and Aiden battles jealousy to preserve their friendship. Although the romantic subplot includes a contrived scenario of dating lessons, the tension between Harvard and Aiden adds urgency to the story. The queer-affirming bubble of Kings Row drifts between fluffy escapism and realism: While the world imagines a place without hate for queer people, it withholds the same treatment for other differences. Harvard, who is Black, and Seiji, who is Japanese, remark on their experiences with racism. Bullies harass Nicholas for his socio-economic status. After a high-intensity buildup, readers may wish for a clearer resolution of the central romantic drama.

Fans of C.S. Pacat’s graphic series Fence may wish to reenter this world in novel form. (Romance. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews