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A review by citrus_seasalt
Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith
4.0
Interesting allegory, decently twisty in the short period where the cursed forest was part of the plot, and the characters were fun, but this was surprisingly draining. I’m gonna blame the constant, plot-relevant transphobia for that.
While I feel a lot of these messages are important for kids to read, eventually it started to feel like therapy-speak (particularly with the two major “I can still love you and feel ___” discussions, which, in the case of the first one, I think a twelve year-old should’ve taken a couple more chapters, or maybe even a book??, to get to that conclusion), and I feel like the Big Emotional Discussions took up way more pages than the action. I am conflicted as to what to think of them, though? Because while they were long, and they were frequent enough to be a little annoying, they were also pretty plot relevant despite messing up the pacing. 🤔I’ll attribute that to this being a debut novel.
Also, regarding the boys being forbidden to use magic, and them being physically harmed into not using it anymore… did anyone else catch onto that being a conversion therapy allegory?? I mean, come on!:
While I feel a lot of these messages are important for kids to read, eventually it started to feel like therapy-speak (particularly with the two major “I can still love you and feel ___” discussions, which, in the case of the first one, I think a twelve year-old should’ve taken a couple more chapters, or maybe even a book??, to get to that conclusion), and I feel like the Big Emotional Discussions took up way more pages than the action. I am conflicted as to what to think of them, though? Because while they were long, and they were frequent enough to be a little annoying, they were also pretty plot relevant despite messing up the pacing. 🤔I’ll attribute that to this being a debut novel.
Also, regarding the boys being forbidden to use magic, and them being physically harmed into not using it anymore… did anyone else catch onto that being a conversion therapy allegory?? I mean, come on!:
- It perfectly fine for girls to have it, but not boys. In that case, it’s seen as a sign of personal failing or weakness. (heterosexuality vs gayness??)
- Peran intending to “purge” the magic from Edwyn by leaving him with no room to think about or focus on it?? Along with a couple other torturous methods and Edwyn + Willow being assumed to be “broken” bc of their magical ability.
- The only other main male magic user, Neal, IS GAY!
(I am hoping that means that Edwyn and Willow are canonically queer!! That would add to the metaphor/allegory.)
Also, Elowen and Callie’s romance was very cute. I loved the longing, and the queerification of the brave knight + princess(/occasional damsel?) trope LOL. I do understand if some people think it fits a bit too well into heteronormativity (Callie being the more masculine one and putting on this heroic persona and whatnot), but I think they each had their moments of saving each other, in more than one definition of the word. Ugh, I wish it was a slow burn, though!! I’ve gotten into so many series but none so far where they canonize a romance in the second or third book. Can we bring that back in fantasy, please😭😭💔💔
AND!! BISEXUAL DAD, LETS GOOO!!! I feel like Papa was a little too perfect, but I liked his maturity. Some of his more snarky lines kind of feel like when you revisit a kids book as an adult and start realizing the unresolved ethics issues in it. (I think the main reason I liked those parts is because they reminded me of my own late dad, though.)
On the topic of dads, Lord Peran was a pretty good depiction of emotional abuse and how parents can manipulate their kids(biblically accurate fatherly guilt-tripping)(look. I never said Papa was the only dad in the book to sometimes remind me of my dad ok), but also, his evilness was so repetitive. It made him a very one-note character. Who am I to complain, though. Some kid readers probably need an on-the-nose personification of toxic behavior—without the morals or toxicity being muddied— being called out and exiled. But, I’m sure book 2 is gonna address Elowen and Edwyn’s complicated feelings about that.
Gonna be reading book 2, too. Hoping for more magic, Elowen to maybe take on that deal from the dragon because she was considering it for a little too long, and a lot of trauma.