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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://esymessmith.com
CITY: St. Louis
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
Identifies as they/them. Labyrinth Rd., Penguin Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married.
EDUCATION:Aberystwyth University, undergraduate degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and editor. KinderCare, childcare worker. Has also worked in the food and coffee retail business.
AVOCATIONS:Sherlock Holmes fan fiction, role playing games.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
[OPEN NEW]
Esme Symes-Smith, who uses they/them pronouns, was born in Exeter, not far from Cornwall in the southwest corner of England. Their time there growing up was an inspiration for the setting of their first published novel, Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston. Before that, however, Symes-Smith went to Wales to earn their undergraduate degree, then got married, and then moved to Missouri in the United States. Symes-Smith met their wife through a shared interest in Sherlock Holmes fan fiction, and Symes-Smith takes it as a compliment when people say their novel reads like fan fiction.
Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston is set in 14th-century England and focuses on a twelve-year-old nonbinary who dreams of becoming a knight, but everyone around them believes that they are a girl who should learn magic instead. Callie soon finds there are others like them, who are trapped in roles that they are not suited for. Callie and their new friends are soon wrapped up in an ancient war as they deal with threats from without and within. Interestingly, Symes-Smith has talked about how Callie was not a nonbinary character initially, but the act of writing Callie as nonbinary pushed Symes-Smith to explore their own identity. Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston is the first of what is planned as a four-part series. The reviewer for Kirkus Reviews praised this debut, calling it “fierce, heartfelt, and determined” and writing that “the resolution balances hope with the lingering suspense of lurking danger.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2022, review of Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston.
ONLINE
Esme Symes-Smith website, https://esymessmith.com (May 31, 2023), author website.
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com (November 7, 2022), Mimi Koehler, author interview.
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com (December 16, 2022), author interview.
St. Louis, https://www.stlmag.com (November 8, 2022), Christine Jackson, “Esme Symes-Smith Launches a New Fantasy Series with ‘Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston,'” author interview.
After cutting their teeth on a steady diet of fanfiction in the South-West of England, Esme Symes-Smith wandered north to Wales for their degree in Literature and Creative Writing then promptly migrated to Missouri after meeting their wife on Tumblr.
Esme has been a ghostwriter, an editor, a frozen-yogurt seller, a caffeine dealer, and now wrangles preschoolers for a living.
They have a severe tea problem.
Fall 2022 Flying Starts: Esme Symes-Smith
By Michael M. Jones | Dec 16, 2022
Comments Click Here
Esme Symes-Smith
There was little doubt that Esme Symes-Smith would become a writer. Born in Exeter, in the southwest of England, they spent a great deal of time in Cornwall, which would later influence the setting of their debut novel, Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston (Labyrinth Road), a middle grade fantasy in which a nonbinary would-be knight pushes back against gender stereotypes and restrictions. “I’ve always been writing, since I was 12,” they say. “It was pretty much the only thing I could do.”
At 18, Symes-Smith went to Wales to study creative writing and English literature at Aberystwyth University. “My degree was basically useless as far as writing goes,” they say, “but it was a really nice time to take myself seriously and give myself permission to do what I wanted, even if it wasn’t very practical.”
During that time, they met their wife-to-be on Tumblr, through a shared love of Sherlock fan fiction. “All Brits will invite you to tea,” they say. “She actually accepted. Six months after we started talking, she turned up on my doorstep and stayed with me for months. We decided to get married, and moved to America. No regrets.”
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Deciding to focus on original work instead of fan fiction, Symes-Smith wrote their first novel during NaNoWriMo in 2013. “Drafting is the easiest part!” they say. “Then you have to learn how to revise, then you have to query, then you go on sub, and it’s really hard.” Nevertheless, that first book eventually secured them an agent. “I originally found Megan Manzano during Pitch Wars, before they were an agent. I didn’t get into Pitch Wars, but I saw their manuscript wishlist, and it was pretty much the book I had written in 2013 and had been revising since.”
By the end of 2019, Symes-Smith felt ready to query. In the meantime, Manzano had become an agent with D4EO Literary.
“Sir Callie was my 2020 book,” Symes-Smith says. “We were a week into the first big quarantine. I was deeply depressed and miserable, so I figured I’d write something just for me that was completely joyful. It was going to be the ‘kid knight’ book of my soul.” The book went on submission in February 2021 and was quickly picked up by Liesa Abrams, editor-in-chief of Labyrinth Road, a new Random House Children’s Books imprint, for its inaugural list.
When they’re not writing, Symes-Smith, who lives in St. Louis, works part-time at KinderCare, teaching toddlers and infants. “I love it with my whole heart,” they say. “The parents and kids and my co-teachers are absolutely fantastic, and I get as much time as I need for my writing. It also gives me a reason to step away from the computer and be around human beings. It’s a nice balance.”
While writing Sir Callie, Symes-Smith came to a surprising revelation regarding their own identity. “It started off as a ‘girl knight’ book,” they say. “Callie wasn’t nonbinary in the first draft, and it made me question my own biases towards sexism and femininity as I was writing. I didn’t want it to be about a kid who wasn’t like other girls. It turned out Callie just wasn’t a girl, and that was different. They had to question their identity and why they felt different. So I was in the middle of the second draft and having these conversations with myself, and I realized Callie wasn’t cis. It felt like a personal story, and Callie feels like such a ‘me’ character, and what did that mean for me?”
Stepping away from the manuscript for a week, Symes-Smith realized that they were nonbinary as well, and the act of writing had offered them the opportunity to work it out for themself.
They’re hoping that readers will take away the message that there are different ways to be brave and to be a hero. “It was disheartening to me to see children vilified if they weren’t good and shiny, so I wanted to present options for children,” Symes-Smith says. “You don’t have to be a brave hero. You can make mistakes and still get a chance.” Describing Sir Callie as a “2020 book set in 14th-century England,” they conclude that “it’s about that kind of helplessness and frustration, knowing that things aren’t right and not being able to do anything about them in a big way, but you can in small ways.”
Currently, Symes-Smith is waiting on copyedits for book two of what they hope to be a four-book series. And while they’ve been granted a great deal of creative freedom, they say, “My editor won’t let Callie and Elowyn kiss until the last book.” It looks like readers will just have to wait for that moment.
Esme Symes-Smith launches a new fantasy series with “Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston”
Symes-Smith injects magic and adventure into medieval Cornwall with a fantasy story centered on a 12-year-old nonbinary knight named Callie and their new friends.
BY CHRISTINE JACKSON NOVEMBER 8, 2022 12:25 PM
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Screen Shot 2022-11-07 at 10.44.48 AM.pngPHOTO BY COREY BOYLES. COURTESY OF RANDOM HOUSE.
Esme Symes-Smith has always been a fantasy reader. They thrived writing fan fiction online, and were immersed in the world of Harry Potter for decades (before J.K. Rowling began sharing her anti-trans opinions). Now, Symes-Smith has created their own fantasy world, one that they say is made for anyone and everyone, with the first installment of a new adventure series, Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston. In it, Callie, who is nonbinary, wants to be a knight—but the rigid hierarchy of Helston says they should be learning magic. Joined by some new friends—the twins, Elowen and Edwyn, plus crown prince Willow—Callie proves that, no matter what the world expects of you, you can be a hero on your own terms. We caught up with Symes-Smith ahead of their book launch at The Novel Neighbor to talk about the merits of fantasy, creating Callie, and their own journey.
What drew you to fantasy to begin with?
I've always been like a fantasy reader. I grew up on the Tamora Pierce books, specifically [the characters] Alanna and Kel. They were my absolute favorites when I was a kid. I did a lot of fan fiction, and I was deep into Harry Potter nonsense for 20 years, and then J.K. Rowling came out and was awful. So I've so I've always been interested in fantasy, and it's always been a really good vessel important conversations. Even in my fics, I was always really focused on domestic issues and social issues within the context of fantasy. I feel like fantasy is a safe place to explore scary things. Callie was the first book I set out to just have some fun with. It was an adventure book and I wrote it in 2020, when we just got into quarantine. I had just submitted my first book, which didn't end up selling, so it was really pretty miserable. I just wanted to write something fun and fluffy—the girl knight book of my dreams. But like every other thing I write, it always ends up a little bit heavier and a little bit deeper than just your regular fantasy. I really enjoy using magic as a metaphor for other things. I always have.
Tell me about creating the world of Helston.
Helston is actually a real place in Cornwall. Though the Helston in the books is very different, it’s based on Tintagel, which is right on the cusp of Cornwall. I really loved this real/fantasy aspect of Cornwall. It was where I grew up. So when it came to creating the landscape of the world, I really wanted to go back. It was a love letter to the places I grew up in.
What a cool opportunity to inject some magic into a world you already know.
Yeah, and I feel like a lot of American authors treat England as a fantasy land. I know all of my fantasy author friends from the U.S. are very invested in making their worlds very British, which cracks me up. So it made sense to me that I would take from Dartmoor and Cornwall and Devon when it came to creating Callie’s world.
When it came to creating these characters, was it Callie who came to you first, or did they all sort of emerge together?
It’s funny. I got the inspiration a day before the April NaNoWriMo in 2020. Someone had tweeted about wanting a story about Alanna, Jonathan, and Thayet, who are the characters from [Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness] books. It’s kind of a scrappy knight, a prince, and a lady. And I was like, Ooh, that sounds like a really good combination to me. I really want to write that friendship group. So Callie came first, and they were very easy to work with. Willow came second, and he was always very much himself, which was really cool. Elowen took a little bit to get into and to find her, because she's very, very closed off. She's kind of the first proper girl character I've written comfortably. I was always drawn to the boy characters and the non-binary characters. So it was really fun to dig into her and keep her very feminine. It took a lot to question my own views on femininity and girls. Especially because I didn't want to make it seem like Callie wasn't a girl because they didn't want to be a girl or because they didn't like female things. They're just not a girl because they're not a girl.
Why was it important for you to bring some of these discussions about identity and gender into this fantasy space?
So, originally Callie was not non-binary. I think I did a draft and a half where Callie was a she/her girl. Then I was deep into draft two—I think it was when Callie and Elowen were having their first conversation and Callie’s being a bit defensive about femininity and Elowen—and I was kind of questioning myself. Callie felt like a very much “not like other girls” character. And Callie’s always been very much me, kind of my personality, my story. So I was questioning myself and my assumptions about girls and femininity, and then I realized that Callie wasn't cis, and I was like, Oh, god. Because 1. I don't want to write outside my lane. And 2. Callie was always very me, so what did that mean for me? I had to take a step back and do some soul searching. And that was when I realized I was non-binary, too. So we were kind of working that out together. I really wanted Callie to be the example for other kids as to what it's like on the other side of that trauma of working out who you are and being denied who you are.
Crafting their character while figuring out your own must have been a really interesting experience.
Totally. And it was really cool to go through that process together. Even though it was just me, I went through it with Callie. And they're much more self-assured than I am. They were kind of the example for me as well. It was like a week before J.K. Rowling came out with that awful, transphobic letter, and it was just like the biggest kick in the teeth in the world. I was left with a lot of feelings there, because I cannot emphasize enough how deeply embedded into Harry Potter that I was. It was my everything. And then, I remember reading that letter, and it felt like parental rejection. It really did. It was exactly the way that my mother always made me feel. And it was just that realization that, no matter how much you love someone, they can still hate you. It's real grief. And we knew that she wasn't great for a very long time. I knew as a kid that [J.K. Rowling] didn't like people like me. I was always very much a Slytherin. I loved Draco, Snape...the flawed characters. And she always made it really, really clear that she didn't like those fans. She didn't like those characters. Anyone who didn't come out of abuse shiny and happy and forgiving was bad in her eyes. As a kid going through some of the stuff that I went through, I came out angry. And I kind of knew that there wasn't really a place for me in that world. Because Harry Potter was so embedded in the real world, that was a really rough thing. Honestly, in creating Callie and the story of the Helston kids, I really wanted to make it clear that there's a place for everyone, regardless of how they turn out or what their journey's like to find a home and be safe and loved in the end.
So in creating your own fantasy world and series, you got to sort of correct what was wrong with the one you grew up on?
Yeah. I didn't really experience a lot of queerphobia in my childhood, but I experienced a lot of weird rejection when it came to the way that my family is and the way that I am. It always made me feel like I had to forgive people for unforgivable things and I had to present myself a certain way to be worthy of my own redemption arc. But that's not true. And I love that.
Tell me about some of the pieces of yourself that you’ve put into these characters.
Honestly, I feel like all of my characters are a little piece of me. I think that's why fiction is such a good vessel for working yourself out as a writer. Callie is very obviously an Aries, like myself. But you know, there’s people like Willow, who feel and love so deeply that it hurts them. I remember feeling like that, and it really sucks. But Willow is an example of the kind of kid that I would like to be. I would like to continue to maintain my softness. During the time of 2016 to 2020, I just felt so angry and hard all the time, and it was exhausting. So, with Willow, I really wanted to create a character who is able to maintain that softness and that sweetness even through adversity. I think Elowen is the least like me, but I think she represents all of the girls that I've known in my life—the very cis girls who love makeup and love pretty things, but are also badass in their own way. You can be both. And Edwyn is all of my rage, and all of my resentment, and just the desire to be loved by someone who you know is never going to love you. His journey best represents my own internal journey.
As somebody plays a lot of D&D and other RPGs, I find fantasy to be a really good lens to explore things about yourself and figure things out in space that feel both real and unreal.
Yes. It’s great! And I feel like a lot of middle-grade books, especially books set in contemporary times, sometimes feel almost too close to home. The glass case drops, and it's just a bit too raw. So I feel like fantasy maintains that kind of fence where you can see it, but you don't have to touch it.
Your release date is around the corner, and some folks have gotten a chance to meet Callie and their friends already. What has the initial response been like?
It's been amazing. I've been very reflective on it these last few weeks, because I've been working up to this point my whole life, and it doesn't feel real. I don't think it's ever going to feel real. But I've been very lucky in my journey. My publishing team really understands the mission that I wanted to achieve for this book, and they've supported me and elevated me. From conception and drafting, I spent a lot of my time on Twitter, especially in 2020. And I really wanted to share the journey from conception all the way through to whatever end it took with everyone. The response to Callie and Willow and Elowen—all of them—has just been insane, and I love how everyone can take something a little bit different from the book. Everyone has their favorite characters for different reasons. Certain parts resonate with certain people, and it's just been so much more than I ever could have allowed myself to dream. I grew up with fan fiction. I posted regularly, and the validation was very addictive. I love being read, I love being reviewed. And when you're writing original fiction, you don't really expect to have that connection with your readership. But I have, all the way from the beginning. I never expected [Sir Callie] to go anywhere. I didn't expect this book to publish. I certainly didn't expect it to publish as well as it has or have the critical reception that it has. It blows my mind every time that someone reads it and is excited about it. Or, if I'm talking about it and someone's like, "Oh my gosh, I wish I had that book when I was a kid." It just blows my mind. It really does.
The response has been so strong that you’re already promising the next installment. What can you tell me about where Callie’s story goes from here?
I just handed in Book Two for the second to last time. It needs a copyedit, but it's done apart from that. It's crazy. I've seen a cover, and it's flawless. I just love this book so much. The first book we revised to get sold, so a lot of choices were made because of the market. Book Two, my editor and I had worked together. She trusted me to do what I needed to do. I trusted her to tell me if I needed to change anything. So I really drafted it just for myself again, and then I gave her the synopsis and said, “If you want anything big changed, let me know.” And she didn't. So Book Two is the most “Esme” book that I've ever written, and I can't believe that I get to publish it. It's wild. I did have a little hiccup because, for a moment, I thought, Oh, maybe it's going to be a magical school series. They're going stay in Helston and Callie’s going to learn how to be a knight. But, you know, I realized that the story as a whole, especially for the other kids, needed to be something different. They needed to keep going on their journey and find their own answers, find their own paths. So it is really important for me to get them out of Helston. Book Two is really about questioning the stories we're told and the assumptions that we make, so it's been really fun to turn a lot of the things that Callie and Co. think they know from Book One on their heads.
Is there anything else that you really want folks to know about this story or these characters?
I'm really excited for kids to really understand that there are different kinds of brave and there are different forms that bravery can take. However you're feeling in the moment, whatever you're capable of right now, that is enough. Even if bravery means sitting still and being quiet, that is just as brave as standing up to your enemies and fighting them off. That's the thing that I really want kids to take away from this book.
Catch Symes-Smith at The Novel Neighbor (7905 Big Bend) for a launch event and conversation with author Catherine Bakewell on November 8.
Q&A: Esme Symes-Smith, Author of ‘Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston’
Mimi Koehler·Writers Corner·November 7, 2022·5 min read
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The Nerd Daily recently had the chance of chatting with Esme Symes-Smith, debut author of the upcoming middle grade fantasy novel Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston! Featuring a nonbinary knight as a protagonist and a fierce battle for acceptance, we of course couldn’t wait to chat with Esme about their debut novel, their favourite middle grade tales and so much more!
Hi, Esme! Thanks for joining us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Thank you for having me! It’s an honor!
So, I grew up in the Southwest of England, in an area that really inspired the landscape of Callie’s world. I was very embedded in all things magical, from books and stories, to the ancient moors in Devon and Cornwall. I have always loved story-telling, and spent the majority of my adolescence writing for my friends. It was inevitable that I would end of chasing the dream of publication!
I moved to the US in 2013 after meeting my wife the previous year through Sherlock fanfiction, and since then I have done NaNoWriMo religiously, collected a glorious found-family of my own, and settled down into a life that is all my own. Sometimes you need an ocean’s worth of space to find yourself!
Lightning round: what was the first song you can remember listening to, the first book that made you feel seen and a compliment you never get tired of giving others?
Song: Puff The Magic Dragon
Book: WENDY by Karen Wallace
Compliment: ‘This reads like fanfiction’
Tell us about your experience as a debut author! What are you most excited about once readers can hold Callie’s story in their hands and what might make you feel a bit anxious?
I have been absurdly lucky with my debut experience! Every day, I’m truly blown away by the care and dedication the team at Labyrinth Road has given to me and Callie. I’m still waiting for the shoe to drop, or to wake up from what feels like an impossibly sweet dream, but so far I guess it’s real??
I’m super excited for readers to get caught up in Callie’s head, and I hope that sharing that PoV will let a little of Callie’s fierce determination rub off! I think we all need a friend like Callie fighting in our corner! I’m always anxious that I’m going to inadvertently hurt the readership this book is for. I know this story is not an easy one, and our characters face so much hurt and cruelty. It was important to me to portray this struggles accurately and unflinchingly, and I hope my author’s note prepares readers enough, but I always worry that someone will head into this story unarmed.
Now, tell us about Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston! What can readers expect?
A fun adventure mixed with a heavy story about fighting bigotry and abuse, where winning doesn’t always feel like winning but the triumphs are worth striving for. Ride-and-Die friendships, messy recovery and heaps of righteous indignation!
Also biscuits (the British kind), first crushes, and dragons!
Callie faces a lot of bigotry in the royal capital of Helston but doesn’t let anyone get in the way of their dream of becoming a knight. What do you want readers to take away from Callie’s resilient fight for a better Helston?
That for as long as there is hope, those who abuse their power and try to crush us cannot win. It’s hard—I wrote Callie during 2020 and the book is embedded with all my 2020 rage at the cruel, wanton unjustness of the world. There are so many moments where the fight feels hopeless and impossible, to the point where it might not even be worth it to keep going. Edwyn, in particular, is the embodiment of this mindset, where it’s safer and easier to give into the status quo. But Callie’s arrival in Helston blows that wide open. The book is really about the Helston kids’ arc from hopeless to hopeful, and Callie is the bridge; the proof that there is life on the other side of trauma. Whether it’s looking at the bigger picture of Helston’s bigoted society, or the more personal conflicts between the children and their parents, it was crucial to me that the book gives everyone hope without condition. Everyone is permitted the chance to redemption. Except Peran. Peran can go stand in a corner by himself.
Callie’s story also features some fan-beloved tropes such as found family. What are your favorite tropes to read and write about?
I’m a sucker for disaster bis and himbos, and Nick is an absolute dream in that regard. I adore complex redemption arcs, villain origin stories, and sunshine/raincloud dynamics. With a background in fanfic, Sir Callie is created for trope-blocks!
There are so many moments in Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston that made my heart soar – from the way Callie (and their dads) embraces their new friends to how they continuously grow with every step they take in becoming a knight. Did you have a favorite scene or plotline while writing the novel?
See also
Authors in Conversation: Nicole Kornher-Stace and Carlos Hernandez
Edwyn’s arc will always be precious to me, especially as it’s very much the beginning of his story. Growing up, I feel like fiction always drove home that those who have suffered abuse have to forgive and let go and come out shiny in order to be worthy of a happy ending. As an angry, messy kid, that was really hard. Edwyn’s journey is very winding in a ‘one step forward, two steps back’ kind of way, but he is still equally worthy of love as the others.
With November being National Novel Writing Month, do you have any tips or tricks for aspiring authors out there?
FINISH THE BOOK! No, seriously, get to The End. It is the single most empowering moment, finishing your first novel-length work, and it truly makes you feel like anything is possible!
With Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston releasing soon, are you already working on the sequel? If so, can you tell our readers a bit about what’s in store for Callie and their friends?
Book 2 is DONE! I’m so excited to share it, and I can’t believe we have to wait a whole year! I love Book1 with my whole heart, but Book2 is probably the most Esme thing I have ever written!
A few things readers can look forward to are Trans dragons, questioning the nature of stories, magical queer community, familiar characters in unfamiliar shapes, and a lot of drama.
Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for us?
YES!
Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria by George Jreije.
The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud
We Are The Song by Catherine Bakewell
And some 2023 books to look out for:
Heroes of Havensong by Megan Reyes
Don’t Want To Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton
Alex Wise by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Jude Saves the World by Ronnie Riley
Symes-Smith, Esme SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON Labyrinth Road (Children's None) $17.99 11, 8 ISBN: 978-0-593-48577-4
An aspiring knight stands against the injustice at work in their own kingdom even as war with a vengeful witch looms on the horizon.
Twelve-year-old Callie longs to train in the royal capital of Helston, but the rigid laws of the realm forbid it. Only boys may pursue knighthood, and only girls may learn magic, but Callie isn't either. When the lord chancellor demands that Callie's father, the former king's champion, return to Helston to train the crown prince for an upcoming tournament and the rising threat of war, Callie seizes the chance to go with him, determined to prove their worth. With the help of two unexpected new friends--the lord chancellor's daughter and the crown prince--Callie rallies the courage to fight for change. Passing descriptions of background characters indicate diversity in the wider world; the central characters are White. Callie confronts transphobia and internalized shame. When well-meaning but flawed adults try to press for insubstantial change and unfair compromises, Callie and their friends refuse to give up or stop questioning the discrimination within their society. Gentle and affirming romance blossoms gradually throughout the story. A frank and vivid acknowledgement of menstruation stands out as an important moment of inclusion within the coming-of-age narrative. The resolution balances hope with the lingering suspense of lurking danger awaiting Callie in future adventures.
Fierce, heartfelt, and determined. (Fantasy. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Symes-Smith, Esme: SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A719982948/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5130d470. Accessed 14 May 2023.
Symes-Smith, Esme SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON Labyrinth Road (Children's None) $17.99 11, 8 ISBN: 978-0-593-48577-4
An aspiring knight stands against the injustice at work in their own kingdom even as war with a vengeful witch looms on the horizon.
Twelve-year-old Callie longs to train in the royal capital of Helston, but the rigid laws of the realm forbid it. Only boys may pursue knighthood, and only girls may learn magic, but Callie isn't either. When the lord chancellor demands that Callie's father, the former king's champion, return to Helston to train the crown prince for an upcoming tournament and the rising threat of war, Callie seizes the chance to go with him, determined to prove their worth. With the help of two unexpected new friends--the lord chancellor's daughter and the crown prince--Callie rallies the courage to fight for change. Passing descriptions of background characters indicate diversity in the wider world; the central characters are White. Callie confronts transphobia and internalized shame. When well-meaning but flawed adults try to press for insubstantial change and unfair compromises, Callie and their friends refuse to give up or stop questioning the discrimination within their society. Gentle and affirming romance blossoms gradually throughout the story. A frank and vivid acknowledgement of menstruation stands out as an important moment of inclusion within the coming-of-age narrative. The resolution balances hope with the lingering suspense of lurking danger awaiting Callie in future adventures.
Fierce, heartfelt, and determined. (Fantasy. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Symes-Smith, Esme: SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A719982948/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5130d470. Accessed 14 May 2023.