Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Sixth-grader Lucy is dreading being in middle school with her older sister GiGi. When GiGi trips Lucy in the cafeteria on the first day of school, Lucy challenges GiGi to a duel.  The two girls were trained in fencing by their late father, and GiGi is the star of the middle school fencing team.  As they prepare for the bout, each girl is plagued with insecurities, both of them dealing with the grief of having recently lost their father.  Their mother, barely holding it together as she processes her own grief while trying to keep the family functioning, is not much help.  The whole school gets involved in the match, and the pressure becomes too much for both girls.  On the big day, they finally open up and confess their feelings to each other and to their mother, allowing themselves to move toward healing.  The duel still takes place, but it’s a friendly match now, resulting in a surprising and satisfying outcome.  Includes an author’s note telling of her experiences that inspired the book.  320 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  This middle school graphic novel by a husband-and-wife team explores grief and sibling rivalry sympathetically.  The artwork cleverly helps tell the story with color-coded boxes showing each girl’s thoughts and blue pages to indicate flashback scenes.  A page from their father’s fencing manual begins each chapter, with the fencing information reflecting what’s going on in the story.

Cons:  Although I appreciated the fencing manual chapter openings, I found myself skipping them after the first few chapters.