ONE FOR ALL

In 17th-century France, a chronically ill girl vows to avenge her father’s murder.

Tania de Batz’s constant dizziness renders her an outcast in her small town. Prospective suitors dismiss her as weak, former friends bully her, and even her own mother seems ashamed. But her father, a retired Musketeer, has always supported her, teaching her to be a talented fencer against societal norms. So when he’s brutally murdered, Tania is stunned to learn his final wish: that she attend finishing school in Paris. At the Académie des Mariées, however, girls actually study to be undercover Musketeers, learning to wield swords as well as feminine charms on unsuspecting men as they uncover and thwart plots against the king. Despite her dizziness and initial distrust of the whole endeavor, Tania gradually finds her footing and bonds with her three fellow Musketeers, who each express distinct personalities. But when Tania falls for her target, a boy who might possess information about her father’s death, she jeopardizes the Académie’s reputation and future. Amid suspenseful spying and code-breaking, Lainoff deftly explores chronic illness and internalized ableism; others’ ignorant comments and Tania’s struggles with pervasive self-doubt are painfully realistic. The Musketeers’ unwavering support is heartwarming, smoothing a somewhat predictable ending. Two girls are queer; in the predominantly White cast, one girl is cued as a person of color. An author’s note explains that Tania, like the author, has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

An insightful, affirming tale of swordplay and sisterhood.