Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Sir Callie and the Dragon's Roost

I didn’t think this series could get better, but Esme Symes-Smith proved me very wrong! This part of Callie’s journey is even more dark and challenging than it’s predecessor—and non of its characters shy away from the tough decisions their faced with. Callie grows and learns through painful life lessons that mirror the real world, and for that, this book stands apart. An incredibly important book for those who feel persecuted just for being who they are.

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ezwolf's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

My favorite redheaded pre-teen knight is back! I really love Sir Callie. And I love that Sir Callie is Sir Callie because characters that aren't male using "sir" or "prince" as titles is one of my favorite things. Callie also continues to be one of my favorite characters in general because they have no qualms about facing adults and letting them know when they're wrong.

This story moves us on to what happens after the happily ever after. The villain is defeated (seemingly anyway) and Callie and friends are starting to bring change and be accepted for who they are. But things aren't fixed so easily and the kids quickly learn change is hard. And that everything is not always so black and white/right and wrong. A lot of the story is about recognizing and working on internal bias and even though this is done in a fantasy setting, it's an important lesson to learn.

As much fun as it is for books to come up with their own terms for the queer community, I really appreciated that the vernacular used for the queer characters was from the real world. I think knowing the real words for things is important, especially at an age when there's so many new things happening. There was a character who used she/they pronouns which I loved since I feel like it's rarer to find characters who use more than one set of pronouns.

The ending of this did rip my heart out a bit, so I eagerly await the next Sir Callie adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

Helston seems to be heading the right direction all thanks to Callie and their friends. Boys and girls are allowed to pursue what they want to pursue, be it magic or becoming a warrior. But not everyone is so keen to see Helston change. Especially as outside forces start to seed a fear of magic in the town.

Callie notices the suspicious glances thrown towards themselves and their friends, but feels powerless to do anything about it. When the peace finally shatters, Callie and their friends find themselves fleeing the city. As they seek refuge in the most unlikely place, Callie realizes everything isn’t what it seems. And their whole world is thrown into question.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of Sir Callie and the Dragon’s Roost by Esme Symes-Smith to review! I absolutely loved the first book when I read it last year, so I was excited to see where Callie went next. And I was not disappointed!

What I appreciate about this series thus far is that Symes-Smith does not shy away from difficult topics. One of the main themes about this book in particular is that kids can handle more than adults think they can. Callie and their friends are kids, but they are repeatedly thrown into adult situations by the adults. And the adults keep lying to them about what’s actually going on. All they want is to be treated as equals if they are going to be forced into a war that the adults created.

There are also a lot of great discussions about queer identities throughout this book; especially about labels and how they mean different things to different people. You might think this is out of place in a fantasy book, but it flows really well with the overall story. They also coincide with discussions about trauma and the ways that a non-accepting society can attribute to that. Which is really relevant to current discussions about censoring books.

In addition to all of this, there’s also found family, great characters, interesting magic systems, and fun adventure. So much for middle grade fantasy readers to love. I honestly don’t think that I have a bad thing to say about this book. And I hope it gets into the hands of readers that need it!

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robin_leeann's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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