Excellent book, I want to push it at all misfit teenagers (and the adults they grow up to be). It’s a self-aware portal fantasy, done super well. 13 year old Elliot, upon discovering that he can enter a magical world, immediately tries to improve it: he smuggles in ballpoint pens to use instead of quills, calls out cross-species racism, and promotes diplomacy over war. His changing relationships with his warrior peers, elf Serene and awkward scion Luke, work as a beautiful heart to the story. (Fans of the relationship dynamic in Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series will enjoy this one too.) I couldn’t wait to finish this book and also never wanted it to end.
Tag: author-sarah rees brennan
Fence: Striking Distance, by Sarah Rees Brennan
This reads like a fanfiction of a sports anime, which I guess it kind of is since it’s a novelization of the comic series originally by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad. (I haven’t read the original material either but from what I know of Pacat, I’m sure it’s quite faithful to the original.) The fencing is present but somewhat disappointingly muted; instead, the focus is on the characters and their stumbling, often-hilarious journey towards romance. Predictable sweetness, with occasional biting social commentary.