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A review by ezwolf
Sir Callie and the Dragon's Roost by Esme Symes-Smith
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, War, Violence, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Transphobia, Death, Child abuse, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Medical content, and Confinement
Minor: Homophobia, Ableism, and Deadnaming