Foiled, Jane Yolen & Mike Cavallaro. ISBN: 9781596432796
Read August 28
YA Graphic Novel, urban fantasy, fencing heroine, first of series?
Aliera Carstairs (excellent name, by the way) is a fencer; foil, not saber or epee. But,
she's not a rich fencer. So when her thrift-store-obsessed mom finds a 2
dollar practice saber with a gaudy enormous gem stuck to the end, she's
delighted to have it. She's a little more conflicted about Avery -
the new boy in school, and her lab-partner for frog dissection. He
apparently likes to stab and slice things. (About the time of that
revelation, the alert reader may also notice some interesting happenings
with crows.) The action here is pretty slow, mostly introductions
to Aliera's regimented life, lofty goals for her foil-fencing, her
conflicted feelings about Avery, and her relationship with her disabled
cousin. The end picks up dramatically, with a complication regarding
Avery (which I really really like) and the resulting introduction to a
colorful world that Aliera (and perhaps her cousin?) will be spending
future installments learning about and adventuring in.
The only quibble I have with the art is the occasional side-profile
where people (especially their mouths) look just odd. I also thought
that the grey-scale went on for just a smidge too long. I understand
why it was done, and think it's really a powerful and clever
application, I just was getting a bit dreary when faced with all the
unremitting grey for so long.
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