Review by Evelyn Hussey
Simon & Schuster, 2023
307 pages, paperback, $17.99 CAD, 9781534496545
Middle Grade, ages 8-12,
Graphic Novel, Fiction
“Thanks a lot! You almost got me kicked off the fencing team.”
“You started it!
“Ugh! And you don’t even know anything about fencing!
“Yes I do! I know I’m going to kick your butt for once and for all.”
“You can’t even remember that a foil isn’t called a sword! I wouldn’t waste my time fencing you. It’d be a joke.”
“You’re just scared to find out you aren’t as good as you think you are.”
“FINE. You want to do this? Let’s do it.”
“GREAT! I can’t wait. How about tomorrow?”
“My tryouts for captain are in three weeks. I’m not going to risk getting in trouble before then.”
“You sure you’re not just scared?”
“Hardly. Three weeks. Then I’m gonna crush you.”
GiGi and Lucy hate each other. They couldn’t be more different: GiGi is in eighth grade, popular, and outspoken, while Lucy is a new sixth grader and incredibly shy. Oh, and one more thing – they’re sisters. When Lucy challenges GiGi to a fencing duel in front of the whole school, GiGi has no choice but to accept. Who will win? And what will happen to the sisters’ relationship?
While GiGi is the queen of eighth grade and captain of the fencing team, Lucy is a shy sixth grader learning to stand up for herself. When their father died, everything changed between GiGi and Lucy. Now, the two sisters don’t get along at all. When Lucy starts at GiGi’s school, they try to avoid each other as much as possible – until GiGi trips Lucy in front of the whole school and Lucy challenges her to a duel. As the head of the fencing team, GiGi agrees, thinking there is no way her baby sister will beat her. Yet, as Lucy begins practicing, the sisters start to realize they have more in common than they’d thought.
It was a pleasure reading Duel by Jessixa Bagley. Once I started, I couldn’t put this story down. The dialogue is incredibly believable, and exactly how middle-schoolers tend to speak. This book perfectly captures how hard it is to be a young teen navigating the world and reminded me of my own time in middle school. From tricky friendships and conflict with parents to healing after loss, the issues that arise in Duel are tackled very well. Weaved throughout the story are flashbacks which show a happier time when their father was alive. Both GiGi and Lucy grieve their father in their own way, and Bagley does a wonderful job of showing the complexity and unpleasantness of grief. For instance, there is an exceptionally well-done scene where GiGi writes about hating her father for dying, a moment which is handled imperfectly, but beautifully by the other characters.
The illustrations throughout the graphic novel are simplistic but very readable and engaging. Each sister is distinct and has her own differently coloured text box. I also really appreciated the diversity of the plot which features two biracial girls who fence, offering valuable representation for middle-grade readers. Even though I read this book pretty quickly, the messages the story conveys have stuck with me: grief is not linear, families aren’t always perfect, and the people you love will show up for you.
Overall Duel was an incredibly well written and illustrated graphic novel. I would recommend it to anyone in middle school or anyone who may be struggling with a loss.
Evelyn Hussey is a BA Psychology student minoring in Creative Writing at UBC. She loves reading memoirs/creative nonfiction as well as realistic fiction. When she is not reading or writing she spends her time rock climbing, binging true crime content, or with her beloved dog, Dipsea.
YOUNG ADULTING 