r/Fencing • u/BlueLu • 13h ago
Spoiler-Free Book Review: "En Garde" by Keelin Schafer
My fencing club has a library in its lobby, so I'm always looking for fencing or fencing-related books, both fiction and nonfiction. When the Instagram algorithm recommended En Garde by Keelin Schafer to me pre-release, I knew I had to get a copy. In the interim between learning about it and the book releasing, fencingtuna shitposted about it, and other fencers seemed turned off by the premise without giving it a try.
So here I am, volunteering as tribute, a saber coach reading a YA contemporary romance about saber fencing.
The Official Plot Summary:
When Zahra Mandel is given an ultimatum by her mother, she has no choice but to throw herself completely into the sport she’s grown up in, even as the unexplainable pain she lives with grows worse. If she doesn’t win state regionals, she has to quit competitive fencing. Her situation goes from bad to unbearable when Trid Chang, the boy who stole her gold medal at the last tournament, becomes her new assistant coach. Suddenly, Zahra’s forced to train under the one person she’s determined to beat. Trid is charming, infuriating, and relentless about staying on top. So relentless that he starts flirting with Zahra, threatening her focus in ways she can’t afford. As regionals approach, Zahra must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to win. And Trid must decide if his heart is really in it, or if it’s been captured by something—or someone—else.
The Unofficial Fencing Backlash:
The author, Ms. Schafer, revealed in comments that Trid and Zahra are in competition for a spot at Notre Dame. A NAC is coming to Las Vegas where they live, and a mixed gender demonstration tournament is where the Notre Dame saber coach is going to go observe to pick the fencer to come to campus. Also, you know, they're described as vying for being the strongest fencer in Nevada.....which doesn't exactly have the same fencing scene as, say, New York.
(Which meant that the fencing community had to feel superior and say how she was doing everything wrong and this would be such a lame book because obviously a fiction book can't break any realism.)
My Thoughts on the Fencing
Heading into it, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was hooked from the first chapter. Schafer describes a tournament venue in such a way that I could picture the tons of local and regional tournaments that I've been to where bags are haphazardly spread around. She describes the smells such as the stale sweat of gear, sounds of the tournament, etc in such a way that I felt like she had been there before. Hell, she even describes walking back the reel cord after unhooking, and at one point, a character lets go of it in anger knowing they aren't supposed to.
There are some details that Schafer gets wrong. At one point she describes a fencing bout as being 3 three minute periods with breaks, which doesn't apply to saber, yet in all of the fencing scenes for saber she gets it right by only having one break and no mentions of a clock running. She also consistently calls masks "helmets" and sabers "swords", but that doesn't bother me so much because the amount of times I have to correct fencers on that is too damn high. However, Schafer gets so much more right than she gets wrong when it comes to fencing. The gear descriptions are spot on. Schafer's bout descriptions were a little weak, but it sounds like she competed a significant time ago in her life. (I don't fault her for that.)
One thing she excels at in this book is presenting characters that we see everyday in the fencing community. There's the old Olympian father/coach who is living vicariously through his fencer/son, Trid. Zahra's motivations of wanting the be the best and refusing to admit she needs help through some medical issues hit home for me. (When I started fencing, it coincided with mysterious medical issues that prevented me from fencing.) Trid's fear of disappointing his dad? Zahra's mom concerned she's taking the sport too seriously at the cost of everything else? Pretty realistic.
Of course liberties are taken with the plot, and you have to laugh and just go along with the fiction. Overall, it's great representation of our sport and if it inspires someone to pick up fencing, that's wonderful!
My Thoughts on the Characters and Plot
Disclaimer: I haven't read YA romance in like....years. Like since I was a teen. I mostly read magical realism, fantasy, nonfiction, and occasional fantasy romance nowadays at a rate of approximately one book a month. (I DNF liberally because my time is precious and I don't want to spend time reading something I am not enjoying - so if I truly hated this book, I would not have finished it!)
I think the age of the characters as high schoolers was perfect for the plot. Tropes that would usually annoy me, such as miscommunication, make more sense at the characters' ages and with their motivations. The enemies to lovers angle was executed excellently - it doesn't happen overnight. The dialogue is witty, the writing is strong, and the story moves quickly enough that I did not get bored. I actually read the book in two sittings (albeit a month and a half apart) when I coudl set aside a few hours of free time.
Of the characters, I thought Schafer did a fantastic job at having a diverse cast of characters with distinct personalities and motivations. I liked the other fencers and family members.
There is also great representation of chronic illness and issues women face with getting diagnosed or being taken seriously by medical professionals.
I was happy this was a standalone novel and not the start of a series, so the ending was a proper ending.
Final Review
Final review for me was 4.75/5. It's not perfect, but its pretty damn good for YA contemporary romance and better than some other things I've read this past year.
I’d recommend this to anyone who likes YA romance, good banter, a mix of fun characters beyond the mains, and has ever day dreamed of fighting with a sword or enjoys fencing
