Middle Grade Monday: Duel by Jessixa Bagley and illustrated by Aaron Bagley.

Image: Simon & Schuster

Duel by Jessixa Bagley and illustrated by Aaron Bagley. 320 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, November, 2023. 9781534496545. (Review of finished, purchased copy.) 

Happy Monday! It is the final Monday of the 2023- 2024 school year and we have a heat wave this week in the northeast. Middle Grade Monday features Duel by Jessixa Bagley and illustrated by Aaron Bagley. 

Siblings fight, but sisters, Gigi and Lucy's bickering is next-level and about to get worse. Gigi is a popular eighth grader. She's also a good student and star fencer. In fact, she will probably be named captain this year. Lucy is entering sixth grade and terrified of not fitting in and being as good as her sister. When Gigi humiliates Lucy in the cafeteria on the very first day of school in front of the entire school, she grabs Gigi's foil from her fencing bag and challenges her to a duel. Both girls end up in the principal's office and their over-worked, stressed out mother manages to talk the principal out of suspending them, but she's done. Now that the gauntlet has been thrown on multiple levels, Gigi and Lucy are committed to their duel and the entire school is taking sides and bets.

This sibling rivalry story is unique. Each chapter opens with a page from a fencing guidebook, the significance of which, I will not spoil. The full-color art is expressive, with flashback action presented in blue tones for contrast. This graphic novel will have wide appeal. I loved it. Stay cool and happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday and arc review: Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Image: LBYR

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes. 234 p. Little, Brown and Company, March, 2020. 9780316493802. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher, ALAMW)

Middle Grade Monday features Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Donte acknowledges his privilege. He lives with two loving parents in a nice house, in a nice town. He actually likes his parents. They can afford to send him to a private school to get the best possible education. Still, he would prefer to be back in his old neighborhood in New York City because, as one of few black students at Middlefield Prep, he experiences outright racism and micro-aggressions daily. According to his teachers, he is just not fitting in. Not like his brother, Trey. Trey fits in. While both boys are biracial, Trey's skin color favors their's dad and Donte's favors their mom. 

When Donte gets arrested and suspended from school, he's in a bad head space despite the support and love of his family. He wants to get back at his main tormenter. But how? He has to do it in a way that won't get him in trouble. Donte decides on the fencing mat. Alan is captain of the fencing team. Does Donte have the stuff?

Jewell Parker Rhodes delivers another solid, engaging middle grade story that deftly presents a myriad of issues without feeling issue-laden. And she does so in just over 200 pages! I was fully invested and taken by Donte's voice from page one and read it in one sitting. I would love to reread this with my ears if there are plans for an audiobook. I am also eager to see the finished copy and its art. Terrific read! I can't wait to share this with my students who are fans of hers. 

Teen Tuesday: Fence by C.S. Pacat

Image: Boom Studios

Fence by C.S. Pacat. Illustrated by Johanna the Mad. With Rebecca Nalty. Fence series #1. 112 p. Boom Studios, July, 2018. 9781684151929. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Fence by C.S. Pacat. This is book one of a planned ten-book graphic novel series featuring sixteen year old Nicolas Cox, an untrained fencer with so much raw talent he is accepted into an elite private school to train and fence. His roommate is an aloof and unfriendly fencing phenom. This brilliantly illustrated graphic novel brings the fast paced intensity of fencing to life.

Books one and two were on display at my town library so I grabbed them and fell in love. I don't know why this series isn't getting much attention. I can't wait for the next installments to drop. 

Fact Friday and Audiobook Review: Proud (Young Reader's Edition): living my American dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Proud: living my American dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad with Lori L. Tharps. Unabridged audiobook on 8 compact discs. ~9.2 hours.  Read by the author. Hachette Audio, 2018. 9781549172908. (Review of audiobook borrowed from the public library. Own Young Reader's Edition.)

Fact Friday features Proud: living my American dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad. Muhammad is the first hijabi to win Olympic bronze and one of few people of color in the predominantly white sport of fencing. Her memoir covers her life growing up in Maplewood, NJ, a suburb of Newark through the 2016 Olympics, where she and her teammates captured the bronze medal in the saber event. 

As the only Muslim in her class, she often encountered racism and micro-aggressions. But when she began wearing hijab, comments and taunts escalated and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she often faced blatant hatred. She found strength in her religion, her close-knit family and sport. However, competing in sport was often a challenge due to the necessity to be covered modestly. When Muhammad was in eighth grade, her mother noticed the fencing team practicing at their local high school. The team members were covered from head to toe in protective clothing. Ibtihaj would not stand out. But, she eventually would stand out as a fencer.

Participating in a predominantly white sport as the first muslim athlete brought many challenges, adding to the stress and loneliness of high caliber training and competition. Honestly, I don't know how she did it. The racism and animosity were relentless and infuriating. This is an inspirational and important story. Hand to fans of sports memoirs and fencing fans.

I accidentally ordered the wrong edition of the audiobook from the public library. The adult version is narrated by the author, whose performance, though earnest lacked variety of expression and nuance. The Young Reader's Audiobook is read by someone else, I assume a professional reader and will check that out when my hold comes up. I recommend reading this with one's eyes.