Book Description

Nicholas, the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion, is a scrappy fencing wunderkind, and dreams of getting the chance and the training to actually compete. After getting accepted to the prodigious Kings Row private school, Nicholas is thrust into a cut-throat world, and finds himself facing not only his golden-boy half-brother, but the unbeatable, mysterious Seiji Katayama…

Through clashes, rivalries, and romance between teammates, Nicholas and the boys of Kings Row will discover there’s much more to fencing than just foils and lunges. From acclaimed writer C.S. Pacat (The Captive Prince) and fan-favorite artist Johanna the Mad. 

Review

Thoughts and Themes: I had been putting off reading this book because it is always a hit or miss with books that revolve around sports. I figured I should finally read it though since I was going through all of the graphic novels really quickly. I’m glad that I decided to pick this one up as it was one that I couldn’t put down. I’m really sad that the library doesn’t have volume 4 since I need more of all these boys.

The books are a quick and easy read which made it a lot of fun to read in between my homework assignments. I loved that it really doesn’t matter if you know anything about fencing, I liked that they walk you through a lot of the fencing rules and the matches. I also really liked the shenanigans the boys get into when they aren’t fencing.

Characters: I loved all of these characters and how different they all are. I loved each of their distinct personalities and the friendships that they have with each other. I liked the rivalry between Seiji and Nicholas that is included in all three books and how that develops. I also love the friendship between the previous team members and Bobby and Nicholas.

I also really enjoyed the diversity in this book, you get a range of sexualities even if they aren’t explicitly stated. I also really liked the racial diversity in the characters as well as the diversity in economic status. I liked that we got to see both rich kids and then scholarship kids, and everyone else in the middle. I thought that was a great addition to be able to see that Nicholas was still a great fencer regardless of where and how he got his training.

Writing and Art Style: I loved the art style in this book, it is really cute but there is also some intense moments that you can clearly see from the looks of the boys’ faces. I love that you can see the feelings right on their faces without there having to be words and how the story tells itself through the images often times. Sometimes when I read graphic novels I can’t distinguish the characters from each other so I love how in this one they are all very different from one another. I like that they all have distinct looks.

Author Information

C.S. Pacat is the USA-Today best-selling author of Dark Rise, the Captive Prince trilogy, and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence.

Born in Australia and educated at the University of Melbourne, C.S. Pacat has lived in a number of cities, including Tokyo and Perugia, and currently resides and writes in Melbourne.

Book Description

Snap’s town had a witch.

At least, that’s how the rumor goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a Crocs-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online. It’s creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it’s kind of cool, too.

Snap needs a favor from this old woman, though, so she begins helping Jacks with her strange work. Snap gets to know her and realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic—and an unlikely connection to Snap’s family’s past.

Review

Thoughts and Themes: I’ve been reading a lot of graphic novels recently and have been enjoying them quite a bit. My only thing with them is sometimes they are too short and I’m left wanting more of the characters and their world. This one was different though because while I loved it so much, I felt that it was just the right length and everything was covered in the few pages it had.

There was so much to love about this book and most of it was in the characters and the diversity within those characters. I also really enjoyed the world that you get to explore in this book and how it gets introduced to you.

Characters: I really enjoyed all the characters that you get to meet in this book and loved the diversity that is included throughout. I loved that the majority of the characters in this book are LGBTQ+ or people of color. I thought that was great to see and to have magic exist for both of these communities when often times I don’t see magic with LGBTQ+ characters or people of color.

I really like how Snap and Jacks are both shown to outcasts with the people their age as well as the rest of the neighborhood. I think this adds to what draws them together and why their relationship gradually develops. I liked how Jacks

I really liked Snaps and Lu’s friendship and how that begins and unfolds. I liked how Lu was a part of what seemed to be the popular crowd but how Snap and her became friends because Snap didn’t question or judge Lu for being a Trans girl.

I really liked how the mystery of the demon that has been following Snap’s family unravels and how we figure out things about that. I thought that was a great addition to the book and liked how that character played out.

Writing and Art Style: I actually wouldn’t have normally picked this up just based on the cover because of the darker colors but I am glad that I did. I loved the art style in this one and how each character looked different. I loved how the colors added to the mystery of the story and added to the story telling. I also liked how we got to go back and forth between Snap and Jacks time together as well as Snap and LuLus time together.

Author Information

Kat Leyh is a Chicago based writer and artist. She’s best known as the current co-writer and cover artist for the series Lumberjanes, and for her queer superhero webcomic Supercakes. She’s also worked as a cover artist, and back-up writer/artist for several BOOM! Studios series.