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A review by lunarchfey
Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan
5.0
4.5/5 stars
I honestly loved this. I was already a Sarah Rees Brennan fan (pro tip: read In Other Lands) and a lot of that same style popped off the page here. I had trouble putting it down. I was reading it on my phone while out for lunch. There were several laugh-out-loud moments, at least one moment of helpless sobbing, and just generally a good time.
As a note: this really should be read AFTER reading the four graphic novels, as it picks up immediately after. It's not a novelization of them, it's a sequel and continuation. Probably you could just pick up the novel, but the graphic novels are good and nice to look at, so reading them will help.
It was pretty trope-heavy: if you like things 'feeling like' fanfic, going heavy into YEARNING and fake dating, that sort of thing, you'll have a grand time. If you want more realism and nuance and high stakes, for sure not the book for you. There is virtually no 'plot' to speak of and very little fencing. The characters are somewhat exaggerated, almost to the point of caricature at times, but this does a much better job than the graphic novels of grounding them, expanding them, making them real people with backstories and emotions. Again, like In Other Lands, Brennan has this way of making exaggerated and sometimes unlikeable characters very likeable, giving them depth and making you care about them, and she didn't disappoint in that here.
I am picking up the next book immediately and really hoping that
Also, I'm not generally a fan of misunderstanding-slash-miscommunication as a plot or conflict driver, which... this book had in spades. I still liked it a lot overall but that's holding me back from a five star rating. Still, it was one of the most memorable reads I've picked up lately with strong writing and the good good feelings, so it gets a pass.
I honestly loved this. I was already a Sarah Rees Brennan fan (pro tip: read In Other Lands) and a lot of that same style popped off the page here. I had trouble putting it down. I was reading it on my phone while out for lunch. There were several laugh-out-loud moments, at least one moment of helpless sobbing, and just generally a good time.
As a note: this really should be read AFTER reading the four graphic novels, as it picks up immediately after. It's not a novelization of them, it's a sequel and continuation. Probably you could just pick up the novel, but the graphic novels are good and nice to look at, so reading them will help.
It was pretty trope-heavy: if you like things 'feeling like' fanfic, going heavy into YEARNING and fake dating, that sort of thing, you'll have a grand time. If you want more realism and nuance and high stakes, for sure not the book for you. There is virtually no 'plot' to speak of and very little fencing. The characters are somewhat exaggerated, almost to the point of caricature at times, but this does a much better job than the graphic novels of grounding them, expanding them, making them real people with backstories and emotions. Again, like In Other Lands, Brennan has this way of making exaggerated and sometimes unlikeable characters very likeable, giving them depth and making you care about them, and she didn't disappoint in that here.
I am picking up the next book immediately and really hoping that
Spoiler
Harvard & Aiden get a resolution in the next one, oh my god.Also, I'm not generally a fan of misunderstanding-slash-miscommunication as a plot or conflict driver, which... this book had in spades. I still liked it a lot overall but that's holding me back from a five star rating. Still, it was one of the most memorable reads I've picked up lately with strong writing and the good good feelings, so it gets a pass.