Another fabulous installment

Things start to heat up in volume 3 of Fence, as the school wide tournament for a place on the fencing team finally comes to a close. Our protagonist, Nicolas Cox, knows he is the illegitimate son of Robert Coste, a world famous fencer, and the half brother of the world’s number one, Jesse Coste. Nicholas finds himself rooming with and starting a rivalry with Seiji Katayama, the world number 2 and Jesse’s ultimate rival. While Seiji makes the team with ease, Nicholas has to fight tooth and nail for every win and every point. The two face one another in this volume and sparks fly as their styles and personalities clash. Without giving too much away, their relationship is very interesting and I’m excited to see it get explored more as the volumes continue.

Another fun aspect of this volume is we are able to get more backstory into the other members of the fencing club/team and who they are. Kally is a great character who is trying to balance his love for fencing with his academic scholarship, and Eugene is a bro on the surface who underneath is just trying to make his family proud. We also get insight into Aiden’s character as a charming playboy who may be yearning for someone, and the all around lack of parents some of the kids have in their lives. It’s a bit sad, but also very real and important, and the surprise appearance of someone intricately tied to the team is a real cliffhanger at the end.

Absolutely check this book out if you like sports, slow burn romance and crisp art!

Title: Fence
Author: C.S. Pacat
Format: Paperback
Pages: 112
ISBN:  9781684153343

Three Descriptors: Diverse, Engaging, Coming of Age