Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston

I enjoyed the book, but there’s some issues that lowered my overall enjoyment. Callie seemed to have a lot of internalized misogyny that affects how they view Magic and themselves. This I understand is due to their abusive relationship with their mother. They’re so focused on proving they’re not a girl that anything deemed girly they keep at arms length.

Even though it’s heavily highlighted and the main theme of the book, they don’t realize that the transphobia is heavily rooted in misogyny and anti-magic sentiment. They know that it’s wrong but doesn’t connect the two. Highlighting that intersectionality somehow would’ve been nice. Eventually they learn to find magic useful and not something to resist, but that’s different than actually respecting it and the people who typically wield it.

Callie’s flaws weren’t really fleshed out or highlighted like the other characters. Everything was black and white, right or wrong. And everything wrong had nothing to do with them. They always knew what was the right thing to do. The other characters had more depth and thought to them than Callie. They had flaws and struggled not just externally but internally as well.

I really enjoyed the book but I think another character should have been the strong pillar of justice and righteousness instead of Callie. There could be some more depth to Callie in the next book but I’m not sure after reading the synopsis.

Content Warnings

joanna_banana's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I listened to this with my 11 year old daughter. I enjoyed the story and the statements on gender identity and being who you truly are, fully. The writing wasn’t the best we’ve read and the story lacked some creativity in parts. Felt like they had a statement to make (an important one) and constructed a narrative around it instead of having a compelling story they wove commentary into. So I guess it felt stilted at times. 5th or 6th grade readers would enjoy it and hopefully continue a conversation about standing up for yourself, who you are, and what you believe in.

Content Warnings

eruanna317's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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ashylibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This series opener is an action-packed hero adventure set in a magical medieval world. A nonbinary teen finds themselves amid a centuries-old war where they are forced to fight both bigotry and monsters.

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star_charter152's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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