Close Modal

On Guard!

A Marshall Middle School Graphic Novel

Hardcover (Graphic Novel - HC)
5.81"W x 8.31"H x 0.97"D   | 21 oz | 12 per carton
On sale Jun 10, 2025 | 256 Pages | 9780593649985
Age 8-12 years
Reading Level: Lexile GN530L | Fountas & Pinnell W
FOC May 12, 2025 | Catalog April 2025

See Additional Formats
Grace is trying to find her footing in 7th grade, but between a best friend break up and her rocky relationship with her mom, it isn't easy. Is the middle school fencing club the answer to finding her people...and maybe even herself?

On guard? Ready? Fence!

Grace isn’t ready for a new school year. Her best friend Ava dropped her at the end of last year, the dust is still settling from her parents’ messy divorce, and things are not going well between Grace and her mom. Mothers and daughters are always so close in movies. But that’s never been Grace and her mom. So now Grace has no friends, no hobbies (band was Ava's thing), and home feels even more complicated than school. There's not a single place Grace can just relax. Until, she sees the school's fencing club practicing. They look so sure of themselves. So steady. It may not solve everything…but could this be a place Grace can finally belong and be herself?

“A great story about a kid finding her footing (and a cool new sport!) despite the shifting sands of divorce.” –Lucy Knisley, New York Times Bestselling creator of Stepping Stones
Cassidy Wasserman is an artist in the game industry and is making her Graphic novel debut with On Guard! When she’s not creating, Cassidy enjoys épée fencing, listening to musicals, and agility training with her dog, Zag. Cassidy lives in the mountains of Maine, where she is working on her next graphic novel. View titles by Cassidy Wasserman
Available for sale exclusive:
•     Afghanistan
•     Aland Islands
•     Albania
•     Algeria
•     Andorra
•     Angola
•     Anguilla
•     Antarctica
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Argentina
•     Armenia
•     Aruba
•     Australia
•     Austria
•     Azerbaijan
•     Bahamas
•     Bahrain
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belarus
•     Belgium
•     Belize
•     Benin
•     Bermuda
•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Botswana
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Bulgaria
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cameroon
•     Canada
•     Cape Verde
•     Cayman Islands
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Croatia
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Cyprus
•     Czech Republic
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Denmark
•     Djibouti
•     Dominica
•     Dominican Rep.
•     Ecuador
•     Egypt
•     El Salvador
•     Equatorial Gui.
•     Eritrea
•     Estonia
•     Ethiopia
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Faroe Islands
•     Fiji
•     Finland
•     France
•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
•     Gambia
•     Georgia
•     Germany
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Greece
•     Greenland
•     Grenada
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guam
•     Guatemala
•     Guernsey
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Guyana
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Hungary
•     Iceland
•     India
•     Indonesia
•     Iran
•     Iraq
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Israel
•     Italy
•     Ivory Coast
•     Jamaica
•     Japan
•     Jersey
•     Jordan
•     Kazakhstan
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Kuwait
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Laos
•     Latvia
•     Lebanon
•     Lesotho
•     Liberia
•     Libya
•     Liechtenstein
•     Lithuania
•     Luxembourg
•     Macau
•     Macedonia
•     Madagascar
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Maldives
•     Mali
•     Malta
•     Marshall island
•     Martinique
•     Mauritania
•     Mauritius
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Montserrat
•     Morocco
•     Mozambique
•     Myanmar
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     Nepal
•     Netherlands
•     New Caledonia
•     New Zealand
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Nigeria
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     North Mariana
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Pakistan
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Philippines
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Puerto Rico
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Romania
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Saint Martin
•     Samoa,American
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Singapore
•     Sint Maarten
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     Spain
•     Sri Lanka
•     St Barthelemy
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Sudan
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Swaziland
•     Sweden
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Tanzania
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Tunisia
•     Turkey
•     Turkmenistan
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA
•     Uganda
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     United Kingdom
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vanuatu
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Western Samoa
•     Yemen
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
"Readers will commiserate with the emotional journeys in this simply presented, deeply affecting story." —Kirkus Reviews

"[A] memorably action-driven story about friendship and personal strength." —Publishers Weekly

"[A] solid coming-of-age story....With plenty of ups and downs, this middle school sports story will appeal to fans of friendship-themed narratives." —School Library Journal

About

Grace is trying to find her footing in 7th grade, but between a best friend break up and her rocky relationship with her mom, it isn't easy. Is the middle school fencing club the answer to finding her people...and maybe even herself?

On guard? Ready? Fence!

Grace isn’t ready for a new school year. Her best friend Ava dropped her at the end of last year, the dust is still settling from her parents’ messy divorce, and things are not going well between Grace and her mom. Mothers and daughters are always so close in movies. But that’s never been Grace and her mom. So now Grace has no friends, no hobbies (band was Ava's thing), and home feels even more complicated than school. There's not a single place Grace can just relax. Until, she sees the school's fencing club practicing. They look so sure of themselves. So steady. It may not solve everything…but could this be a place Grace can finally belong and be herself?

“A great story about a kid finding her footing (and a cool new sport!) despite the shifting sands of divorce.” –Lucy Knisley, New York Times Bestselling creator of Stepping Stones

Creators

Cassidy Wasserman is an artist in the game industry and is making her Graphic novel debut with On Guard! When she’s not creating, Cassidy enjoys épée fencing, listening to musicals, and agility training with her dog, Zag. Cassidy lives in the mountains of Maine, where she is working on her next graphic novel. View titles by Cassidy Wasserman

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

Praise

"Readers will commiserate with the emotional journeys in this simply presented, deeply affecting story." —Kirkus Reviews

"[A] memorably action-driven story about friendship and personal strength." —Publishers Weekly

"[A] solid coming-of-age story....With plenty of ups and downs, this middle school sports story will appeal to fans of friendship-themed narratives." —School Library Journal
Penguin Random House Comics Retail