Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith. Labyrinth Road, 2023. 9780593485774
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5+
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Fantasy
What did you like about the book? Callie’s dream is to become a Helston knight, fighting tough battles and becoming a brave champion of strength like their retired hero Papa. But the world of Wyndebrel does not favor their dreams. Only boys are supposed to train with swords, and girls are left to learn magic – not the cool, awe-inspiring magic that can change the weather or grow forests, but simple, small, feeble magic to do household chores. Callie is nonbinary, so they don’t fit anyway, and they don’t care. They are going to earn their knighthood no matter the rules. So when their Papa is summoned back to the field once more, Callie jumps at the chance, leaving their peaceful home of acceptance and into the exciting city of Helston. However, despite their hopes, Helston’s people, especially their Chancellor (aka the worst), are just too intolerant and refuse to see Callie as anything except a girl. But Callie will not succumb to their strict rules and soon finds companions. There’s Elowen, the daughter of the Chancellor who resents her confinement and limited magic, her twin brother Edwyn who seems just as bad as his father until Callie realizes his haunting secret, and then there’s Willow, the prince of Helston, whose timid nature gives way to a big open heart. All four are being stifled and beaten by Helston’s oppressive regime against gender, magic, and acceptance, and Callie realizes that the war against the dragons outside the city may not be as important as the war within Helston’s own walls. But together, the four kids might be able to fix that.
Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston is a fantastic fantasy novel of heart, passion, and refusal to submit to prejudice. It is one of the growing number of fantasy middle-grade novels that openly fights gender binaries and expresses a love for nonconforming gender types and issues, normalizing it in Callie’s voice and opinions. Their fight is tough, demanding, and relentless as their enemies can be downright evil. Readers might see the villain’s extreme cruelty as cartoonishly, but the crimes they commit in the story cannot be portrayed in cartoons and real-life people like this do exist. Callie has one of the strongest and most determined personalities in middle-grade fiction, refusing to back down, stay silent, and conform to the nonsense happening to them and to their friends. They are also smart, fighting with swords and with words and learning to view the world with a critical eye. Elowen, Edwyn, and Willow are all equally wonderful, each having their own very distinct personalities, problems, and ways to overcome them, and the four create a beautiful bond of understanding, solace, and comradery. The plot is exciting, adventurous, and satisfying, held together by a sense of justice and fighting for what’s right. Easily one of middle-grade fantasy’s “Must-Reads” of 2022 and beyond.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No!
To whom would you recommend this book? Kids who like fantasy, fighting for justice, and who are figuring out/accepting their own gender identity. There’s nothing really like it in middle-grade fantasy novels (I can name a bunch of YA titles) except for Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha Lee, but I can name a bunch of graphic novels: The Tea Dragon Society or The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill, The Deep and Dark Blue by Nikki Smith, The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang, Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag, and Snapdragon by Kat Leyh.
Who should buy this book? Elementary & middle schools and public libraries.
Where would you shelve it? J Fiction or J Fantasy
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Laila Carter, Cheltenham Township Library System, Glenside, PA
Date of review: January 20, 2024
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