A review by betweentheshelves
Sir Callie and the Dragon's Roost by Esme Symes-Smith

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! 



Expand filter menu Content Warnings