What we discover though is that Aiden has a secret from his best friend Harvard he is in love with him. Aiden is a love ‘em and leave ‘em guy, and one of the running jokes in the novel is that he can’t remember anyone’s name. Boys literally throw themselves at him, as he is gorgeous and he knows it. The fact that he is gay is not a big deal to anyone in the novel, which is kind of refreshing to see. Aiden is sort of the Lothario of Kings Row, and, in one of the sharp updates that writer Brennan makes to the teen coming of age/romance novel, he is also gay. Aiden can be brilliant on the piste, but he is unreliable. He is the exact opposite of a “team player” and is much more concerned with his love life than fencing. Harvard’s best friend and teammate Aiden is a different story. He is an upper classman, and he is known, liked and respected both among teammates and at Kings Row.

Team Captain Harvard is on board with the coach’s plan. First there is the duo of Harvard and Aiden. Two sets of relationships are central to the novel. She wants her players to know each other and trust each other, but personality conflicts and secrets will be major obstacles to achieving this goal. Coach Williams believes that in order to reach their potential, her fencers must stop hyper-focusing on their own individual development and must instead work on team building. The four main characters - Nicholas, Seiji, Aiden, and Harvard - are all members of the Kings Row fencing team, and their coach is committed to bringing her team to the level of greatness it deserves. In Fence: Striking Distance, Sarah Rees Brennan takes some typical teen story tropes and gives them a much needed “zhuzh.” It’s hip, it’s funny, and its four main characters have interesting, complicated relationships that feed the plot.įence: Striking Distance takes place during the first months of the school year at an elite, all-male boarding school known as Kings Row. I know she has reviewed the original series of graphic novels upon which it is based, and I just want to say again THANK YOU FOR THIS! I had never heard of the series or this author before, but I am definitely in for the follow up, which is due out this May. This YA novel came to me courtesy of fellow Cannonballer CoffeeShop Reader, who sent it as part of the 2020 Holiday Book Exchange. This is an original novel based on C.S.Pacat’s Fence comic series, illustrated by Johanna The Mad.

Sarah rees brennan fence book 3