Reviews with content warning for Classism - Fence Vol. 1

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Fence Vol. 1 by C.S. Pacat

6 reviews

robinks's review

informative tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Cliffhanger ending! There were a lot of unanswered questions at the end of this volume, and a couple things alluded to that could’ve been made clearer. I wish there was a little more explanation about fencing terms in the beginning, as it would make it easier for me to piece together the action scenes.

It seems we are being set up for an enemies to lovers situation, which isn’t my favorite, but I want to meet the Exton team so I’m going to keep reading.

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kassidyreads's review

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lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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spooderman's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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annoyedhumanoid's review

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this was the graphic novel that got me into graphic novels, so i have it to thank for that, plus, it's why i'm in fencing club right now, which is why i'm rereading it. unfortunately, it wasn't as good as i remember. let me start with the good: the story is dramatic, some might say overly so, but i'm a fan. i love Bobby and his friendship with Nicholas. it's a pretty accurate depiction of fencing!

now, the not-so-great:

i found the art underwhelming.
i have to talk about the weird gaze this graphic novel takes. the two main characters, roommates, and rivals are both high school freshmen, and this is the start of the school year, so most likely 14 years old, possibly 15 [edit: the book's synopsis says Nicholas is 16. i'm still going to talk about the weird gaze though]. yet they're undeniably sexualized to some extent: Nicholas discovers his roommate is Seiji by walking in on the latter taking his shirt off, with sunlight streaming in through the window casting a gleam on his torso. there's a cell with Nicholas showering, censored by a rubber duck. expository "we're fencing now" cells are often closeups of the bare torsos of people in the midst of changing into their gear. this is arguably a romance/gearing up to be a romance, so i understand perhaps planting seeds of attraction between characters, but this just feels a little icky. also it doesn't help that these high schoolers are all unrealistically slim and muscular.
there wasn't very much content to it. i first read it digitally and so had access to a few volumes at once. this time around i read it physically and only got the first volume from the library, and it was over very quickly.

to clarify the "it's complicated" diverse cast of characters: it's diverse in all respects except gender—it's an all-boys boarding school, so the only women are the coach and her assistant but they're side characters.

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peachmoni's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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reallife_kazbrekker's review

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Good start to a series I'm sure i'll enjoy!
Already loving some of these characters and can't wait to see what will happen to them and who they'll end up in a relationship with!

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