It’s just that if I was winding down and saw Aiden was next, I’d say, “Well, I can read one more” regardless of the time. When I was reading before bed, I’d almost always set the book down if the next chapter was Nicholas. I don’t think it’s possible to write that many perspectives without some being more compelling than the others. While overall I liked all four of them, one could argue that that’s at least one POV too many. The novel balances four different POV characters: Aiden, the charming heartbreaker Harvard, the over-responsible captain Seiji, the socially-confused future Olympian and Nicholas, the untrained and overeager newbie. The coach assigns the four boys a series of team-building exercises and the team carries them out to… middling success. It’s about a fencing team struggling with teamwork. Pacat and therefore didn’t know what kinds of characters and storylines she had to work with. I know that Brennan has written for other people’s characters before-she writes short stories for Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters-but I’m not at all familiar with C.S. The writing in In Other Lands is great, but the creative story and hilariously adorable characters are the stars. It’s based on a graphic novel series (also called Fence) by C.S. I was slightly hesitant going into it because it is not entirely original. That book happened to be Fence: Striking Distance. I loved it so much that I promptly bought the next book by Rees Brennan that I saw.

Pacat's critically acclaimed Fence comic series and boasts original cover and interior art by Johanna The Mad.A few months ago, I read Sarah Rees Brennan’s novel In Other Landsand absolutely adored it. 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. 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. 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.Ĭoach 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. 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.

Fence striking distance