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Sir Callie #4
Sir Callie and the Final Stand
In the conclusion of this bestselling fantasy series a nonbinary knight-in-training, a reluctant crown prince, a fierce young witch, and her resilient twin brother must fight for the heart of their kingdom against tyranny, once and for all.
Helston and its champions have been torn apart by war. Finally reunited after being scattered across the realm fighting personal battles, Callie, Elowen, Edwyn and Willow must prepare to step into the roles they've been training Champion, Witch, Knight and King.
Even if it feels like their best will never be enough to conquer the infection of hate that has spread across Wyndebrel, even when their numbers seem so small compared to the might of their enemies, they must hold true to their to create a better and safer realm for everyone.
With the aid of Eyrewood, Fairkeep, and the dragons, they are as ready as they’ll ever be to ride on Helston and Dumoor, to confront the newly crowned King Peran and the Witch Queen, and finally define what peace truly means. And there is a single truth Callie and friends must cling The battle is still worth fighting even when victory seems impossible.
Helston and its champions have been torn apart by war. Finally reunited after being scattered across the realm fighting personal battles, Callie, Elowen, Edwyn and Willow must prepare to step into the roles they've been training Champion, Witch, Knight and King.
Even if it feels like their best will never be enough to conquer the infection of hate that has spread across Wyndebrel, even when their numbers seem so small compared to the might of their enemies, they must hold true to their to create a better and safer realm for everyone.
With the aid of Eyrewood, Fairkeep, and the dragons, they are as ready as they’ll ever be to ride on Helston and Dumoor, to confront the newly crowned King Peran and the Witch Queen, and finally define what peace truly means. And there is a single truth Callie and friends must cling The battle is still worth fighting even when victory seems impossible.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published October 14, 2025
8 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Esme Symes-Smith
4 books197 followersAfter 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 ghost-writer, an editor, a frozen-yogurt seller, a caffeine dealer, and now wrangles pre-schoolers for a living.
They are nonbinary and have a severe tea problem.
SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON is their debut middle-grade novel, slated for Fall 2022 with the launch of Penguin Random House's new imprint, Labyrinth Road, with a second book in the series coming later.
Esme has been a ghost-writer, an editor, a frozen-yogurt seller, a caffeine dealer, and now wrangles pre-schoolers for a living.
They are nonbinary and have a severe tea problem.
SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON is their debut middle-grade novel, slated for Fall 2022 with the launch of Penguin Random House's new imprint, Labyrinth Road, with a second book in the series coming later.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 7, 2025
When I catch you Esme! ESME WHEN I CATCH YOU!
Why would you do this to my poor fragile heart???? I’m just a girl 😭😭
Why would you do this to my poor fragile heart???? I’m just a girl 😭😭
October 27, 2025
Esme Symes-Smith, consider this my strongly worded email to you. (spoiler-free, of course, for my friends who are yet to complete the series).
With absolutely nothing but love in my heart: how dare you. Four books, 1,547 pages, (I checked) of the most devastating, heart wrenching, spectacular fiction I have ever read. I laughed, I felt sick, and I cried and cried and cried, and I would not trade a single moment of any of it for the world. I won’t ever recover.
The way queerness is painted with such intention and love, and so effortlessly, healed a part of me that I didn’t even know was wounded.
So, thank you. Thank you from me, the adult who was lucky enough to be introduced to Sir Callie, and thank you from the kid I was, who feels seen in Callie and Willow and Edwyn and Elowen. The knowledge that there are kids out there who will find these books and meet heroes that reflect them, will know that they’re not alone in the way they feel or in their identity, fills me with too much hope to properly articulate.
Sir Callie, as a series, is a triumph, and The Final Stand is a perfect, graceful conclusion.
With absolutely nothing but love in my heart: how dare you. Four books, 1,547 pages, (I checked) of the most devastating, heart wrenching, spectacular fiction I have ever read. I laughed, I felt sick, and I cried and cried and cried, and I would not trade a single moment of any of it for the world. I won’t ever recover.
The way queerness is painted with such intention and love, and so effortlessly, healed a part of me that I didn’t even know was wounded.
So, thank you. Thank you from me, the adult who was lucky enough to be introduced to Sir Callie, and thank you from the kid I was, who feels seen in Callie and Willow and Edwyn and Elowen. The knowledge that there are kids out there who will find these books and meet heroes that reflect them, will know that they’re not alone in the way they feel or in their identity, fills me with too much hope to properly articulate.
Sir Callie, as a series, is a triumph, and The Final Stand is a perfect, graceful conclusion.
October 28, 2025
I genuinely don’t know where to begin. I feel so privileged to have a series like this in my life. It has healed something in me whilst also causing me the most amount of stress and joy. I cried way too much but what a perfect finale.
Every character is handled with such care and encouraged to be completely themselves. They have realistic worries and anxieties that are not always immediately solved, it is something they have to keep working through. A story like that is surprisingly hard to come by, especially in middle grade.
I’m so grateful to Esme Symes-Smith for creating this world where kids aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves but are still given the space to be kids. They do have to fight one hell of a battle to get there though.
Being an adult reader of the series I can’t help but think about the kids that have found or will find this series and are able see themselves represented in these characters. I know I would’ve killed for this series as a kid. Callie, Edwyn, Elowen, and Willow will be sticking with me for a long time.
Enough rambling for me go read this series!!! It will destroy you but it will build you back up and encourage you to be a better person. I cannot recommend it enough. (apologies to all my friends who i’ve pulled into this emotional turmoil, i’m sorry but also not really cos you got to read one of the best middle grade series out there.)
Can’t wait to see what’s next from Esme Symes-Smith!
Every character is handled with such care and encouraged to be completely themselves. They have realistic worries and anxieties that are not always immediately solved, it is something they have to keep working through. A story like that is surprisingly hard to come by, especially in middle grade.
I’m so grateful to Esme Symes-Smith for creating this world where kids aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves but are still given the space to be kids. They do have to fight one hell of a battle to get there though.
Being an adult reader of the series I can’t help but think about the kids that have found or will find this series and are able see themselves represented in these characters. I know I would’ve killed for this series as a kid. Callie, Edwyn, Elowen, and Willow will be sticking with me for a long time.
Enough rambling for me go read this series!!! It will destroy you but it will build you back up and encourage you to be a better person. I cannot recommend it enough. (apologies to all my friends who i’ve pulled into this emotional turmoil, i’m sorry but also not really cos you got to read one of the best middle grade series out there.)
Can’t wait to see what’s next from Esme Symes-Smith!
November 3, 2025
Sir Callie has and will always be just a beautiful story about fighting for what matters and being yourself, I have adored every minute of it even when it made me cry.
The thought of so many trans and queer kids finding these books warms my heart, everyone deserves to see themselves represented and these books do such a good job.
Shoutout to my friends who recommended this series to me and made sure I always had a copy of the next book ready to read, this story was exactly what I needed.
The thought of so many trans and queer kids finding these books warms my heart, everyone deserves to see themselves represented and these books do such a good job.
Shoutout to my friends who recommended this series to me and made sure I always had a copy of the next book ready to read, this story was exactly what I needed.
November 1, 2025
I got so teary all the fucking way through this
So much hope and strength and survival in this series. A fantastic, joyful ending. Thank you to Esme Symes-Smith; the child I was, who’d never read anything with queer characters until YA, is so happy this exists.
So much hope and strength and survival in this series. A fantastic, joyful ending. Thank you to Esme Symes-Smith; the child I was, who’d never read anything with queer characters until YA, is so happy this exists.
December 12, 2025
Snot-nose ugly crying after finishing the epilogue of one of my favourite series' of all time. I have so much I want to say but first of all: thank you, Esme. As a queer adult who spent a lot of his life trying to accept himself, Sir Callie's story was life-altering. And I just know Sir Callie's story is going to touch the hearts of all the young queer children who feel lost and need someone like Callie to tell them that it's all going to be okay in the end.
Sir Callie is a series about survival, acceptance and hope in dystopia. And I feel so priviledged to have been able to read it.
Before I go into my review, I want to quickly rank the series from favourite to least favourite as is tradition.
1. Sir Callie and the Witches War (3)
2. Sir Callie and the Dragon Roost (2)
3. Sir Callie and the Final Stand (4)
4. Sir Callie and the champion's of Helston (1)
Witches war will always be my favourite for many reasons. Mainly because I felt it had the strongest plot in the series. Each pov felt earned, the dark and gritty atmosphere reflected just how dire their fight was becoming and it had some beautiful character growth!
I don't think the first Sir Callie book was bad. Not at all. I think it just suffered from "first book" syndrome, where character introductions are the main focus, so nothing major happens and so it tends to automatically sink to the bottom.
Onto my thoughts! I placed SCATFS second to last in my ranking because, while it did an amazing job of handling difficult topics such as abuse, both physical and emotional, transphobia and coercive control, it unfortunately lost its footing in other areas. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
What I liked
- The characters. I love them with all my soul! From the moment I met Elowen, Edwyn, Willow and Callie in the first book, I immediately formed a connection to them. They feel like real people. Like I could just pull them out of the book and tell them how proud of them I am. Each character was carefully given their time to shine and resolve their lingering conflicts and get the happy ending they deserved. Callie became a knight like they'd always dreamed of, Edwyn managed to break free from his father's control and accept love from others, Willow finally spoke about his genderfluidity and became king and Elowen made peace with the fact that her mother was abusive and was able to shed that part of her life behind her.
- Elowen's turbulent relationship with her mother was handled with care and their final confrontation hit the hardest.
"I hate feeling this way. I hate scrabbling for a desperate hold on the reality I know to be true as she continuously tries to drag me back into her delusion."
"This is what my mother does-she wants me to argue and get upset, and prove her right. I could recite a whole tome of reasons why we don't owe them gratitude, or go through every bit of evidence that what she calls lies are solid, irrefutable facts. But I know none of it would matter. She is as confident in her version of the truth as I am in mine, and she will not yield until I accept hers."
This scene scooped out the flesh in my chest and left me empty. Seeing Elowen finally accept the truth about her mother was a hard pill to swallow but it was necessary. She'd consumed her mother's inspid poison for so long, believing it was easier to keep the peace than to protest. So I cannot explain the how much of a relief it was to see her finally call her out on her bullshit and walk away. As you should, Elowen.
- The epilogue was beautiful, no notes. I haven't read an epilogue this good since Jade Legacy. I loved the little update we got on all the characters! And the fact that it was Neal and Nick's wedding made it all the better. Their relationship stole the show imo.
- Speaking of relationships... Nick and Neal have got to be my favourite couple of the entire series. Every scene of them together was heavenly and I adored how dorky and sappy they were to each other! Callie is super duper lucky to have them as their dads. Can they PLEASE adopt me next? Or I could even just be like a housekeeper or something. Words cannot express how much I love these two goofy dads. I think it's so important to show two queer adults in a healthy relationship since they're a blatant reminder that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. That they grew up in a world where their love wasn't very accepted and yet they made it! My queer heart is so so happy.
Elowen and Callie were also very sweet. I do wish they were given more time together, but I'm just grateful we got two kiss moments. Two!
I don't know if I'm the only one who was die-hard shipping Willow and Edwyn. Their lingering gaze and subtle tension spread across the series had me patiently waiting for them to just kiss already but alas, it was not meant to be. In my heart, they are canon.
Things that didn't work
I was debating whether to give this a three or a four for the longest time since, while the queer representation and overall message was eloquently written, this book unfortunately is very flawed. In the end I gave it a 3.5, rounding it up.
- The pacing was all over the place. This might just be my no.1 problem with SCATFS. None of the other installments had this issue, but somehow, this one did. The beginning of the book did admittedly feel like a bit of a slog since nothing much really happened. Then the second half of the book suddenly bolted at breakneck speed and we were hopping from plot-to-plot a little haphazardly. Countless times, they were engaged in a conflict only to then move onto a different conflict and honestly I feel like Esme was trying to cram too much in last minute.
- The plot. This sort of ties into the pacing issue. The plot was, again, poorly handled. How I imagined it going was: After the events of SCATWW, Callie is imprisoned by Peran. They manage to break free with the help of their friends and they finally face Peran for one final showdown. I imagined a sort of jailbreak sequence in the mazelike halls of the castle but this never happens. Instead, Callie was rescued at the beginning of the book (making their capture at the end of WW seem pointless) and the middle of the book almost felt like filler before the final confrontation. Now, the final confrontation was good. I think it was fitting to have Peran sequester himself atop the hill like the coward he was and have Callie finally face him. But I just feel like the lead up to this moment could've been handled a lot better!
Thankfully, the second half of the book was so brilliant that it manages to quash the dullness of the first.
- Peran's death. I have mixed feelings about this. I understand why Esme decided to kill him off instead of him just rotting in a dungeon. While seeing him wither away would've been satisfying, I also think that people like Peran don't feel shame or remorse. Locking him away probably wouldn't have caused him to suffer or rethink his life choices. Death was the best justice. What I found disappointing was how it went down. I was getting all excited for a final showdown where Callie and him duel and Callie finally proves themself to him. But instead, after attacking Callie, Elowen came to the rescue. Callie then pushed Peran off of themself (or something to that extent) which caused Peran to clumsily stumble off the cliff. Callie does try to save him because they’re not a monster like Peran is but he ultimately fell. What. I can only think maybe the author wanted his death to be insignificant for a reason. Perhaps to show that Peran was just, in the end, a pathetic man who wasn't immortal nor important. And maybe to show the younger audience reading this series that even the worst evils can be easily defeated. But I guess I just wanted him to suffer more for all the pain he'd inflicted.
- Edwyn was underutilised. For a book that spent so much time dithering in the first half, how was Edwyn somehow not given enough time to shine?
- POVS. This sort of ties into the point I made about the POV'S in SCATWW. In the WW, all the POV'S felt earned since each character was either in a different location or dealing with an internal battle necessary for their own POV. In WW, Elowen was in Dumoor with Alis, Edwyn was at the mercy of his abusive father and internally struggling with feelings of inadequacy, Callie felt like their efforts were futile and Willow was relearning parts about him/herself. With each new chapter, I was eager to dive into the next POV to find out what happenened next but in SCATFS, the POV'S felt almost trivial. In the second half, I did feel a little excitement in switching between characters since they had all forked off on different roads in the chaos. But in the first half, having the POV'S felt really silly since none of them provided any additional information. It would've made more sense to have Callie narrate the first half and then bring in the split POV'S for the second half.
I am a little disappointed by SCATFS, but despite all it's faults, it was still a very enjoyable read and one I'll never forget.
I'm devastated this series is over. I really hope the author does a spin-off or a short continuation because I'm going to miss these characters and this world so much. I never imagined connecting with a MG novel but here I am ugly crying in knowing its over and I have to, yet again, say goodbye to a beloved series.
Thank you, Esme.
Bonus ranking of our main four
- Edwyn
- Willow
- Callie
- Elowen
I found myself relating to Edwyn the most since his reserved nature is the most like myself. Willow is also AMAZING! I loved how assured of himself/herself they became at the end and their friendship with Callie is one of the best I've ever read. Also ranking El, Willow, Edwyn and Callie was so hard because they're like my children, yaknow? Elowen is also a wonderful character, I just wasn't keen on her Alis-apprentice arc where she split from the trio. But I still love her. I love them all. I’ll miss them all.
And that's a wrap.
Sir Callie is a series about survival, acceptance and hope in dystopia. And I feel so priviledged to have been able to read it.
Before I go into my review, I want to quickly rank the series from favourite to least favourite as is tradition.
1. Sir Callie and the Witches War (3)
2. Sir Callie and the Dragon Roost (2)
3. Sir Callie and the Final Stand (4)
4. Sir Callie and the champion's of Helston (1)
Witches war will always be my favourite for many reasons. Mainly because I felt it had the strongest plot in the series. Each pov felt earned, the dark and gritty atmosphere reflected just how dire their fight was becoming and it had some beautiful character growth!
I don't think the first Sir Callie book was bad. Not at all. I think it just suffered from "first book" syndrome, where character introductions are the main focus, so nothing major happens and so it tends to automatically sink to the bottom.
Onto my thoughts! I placed SCATFS second to last in my ranking because, while it did an amazing job of handling difficult topics such as abuse, both physical and emotional, transphobia and coercive control, it unfortunately lost its footing in other areas. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
What I liked
- The characters. I love them with all my soul! From the moment I met Elowen, Edwyn, Willow and Callie in the first book, I immediately formed a connection to them. They feel like real people. Like I could just pull them out of the book and tell them how proud of them I am. Each character was carefully given their time to shine and resolve their lingering conflicts and get the happy ending they deserved. Callie became a knight like they'd always dreamed of, Edwyn managed to break free from his father's control and accept love from others, Willow finally spoke about his genderfluidity and became king and Elowen made peace with the fact that her mother was abusive and was able to shed that part of her life behind her.
- Elowen's turbulent relationship with her mother was handled with care and their final confrontation hit the hardest.
"I hate feeling this way. I hate scrabbling for a desperate hold on the reality I know to be true as she continuously tries to drag me back into her delusion."
"This is what my mother does-she wants me to argue and get upset, and prove her right. I could recite a whole tome of reasons why we don't owe them gratitude, or go through every bit of evidence that what she calls lies are solid, irrefutable facts. But I know none of it would matter. She is as confident in her version of the truth as I am in mine, and she will not yield until I accept hers."
This scene scooped out the flesh in my chest and left me empty. Seeing Elowen finally accept the truth about her mother was a hard pill to swallow but it was necessary. She'd consumed her mother's inspid poison for so long, believing it was easier to keep the peace than to protest. So I cannot explain the how much of a relief it was to see her finally call her out on her bullshit and walk away. As you should, Elowen.
- The epilogue was beautiful, no notes. I haven't read an epilogue this good since Jade Legacy. I loved the little update we got on all the characters! And the fact that it was Neal and Nick's wedding made it all the better. Their relationship stole the show imo.
- Speaking of relationships... Nick and Neal have got to be my favourite couple of the entire series. Every scene of them together was heavenly and I adored how dorky and sappy they were to each other! Callie is super duper lucky to have them as their dads. Can they PLEASE adopt me next? Or I could even just be like a housekeeper or something. Words cannot express how much I love these two goofy dads. I think it's so important to show two queer adults in a healthy relationship since they're a blatant reminder that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. That they grew up in a world where their love wasn't very accepted and yet they made it! My queer heart is so so happy.
Elowen and Callie were also very sweet. I do wish they were given more time together, but I'm just grateful we got two kiss moments. Two!
I don't know if I'm the only one who was die-hard shipping Willow and Edwyn. Their lingering gaze and subtle tension spread across the series had me patiently waiting for them to just kiss already but alas, it was not meant to be. In my heart, they are canon.
Things that didn't work
I was debating whether to give this a three or a four for the longest time since, while the queer representation and overall message was eloquently written, this book unfortunately is very flawed. In the end I gave it a 3.5, rounding it up.
- The pacing was all over the place. This might just be my no.1 problem with SCATFS. None of the other installments had this issue, but somehow, this one did. The beginning of the book did admittedly feel like a bit of a slog since nothing much really happened. Then the second half of the book suddenly bolted at breakneck speed and we were hopping from plot-to-plot a little haphazardly. Countless times, they were engaged in a conflict only to then move onto a different conflict and honestly I feel like Esme was trying to cram too much in last minute.
- The plot. This sort of ties into the pacing issue. The plot was, again, poorly handled. How I imagined it going was: After the events of SCATWW, Callie is imprisoned by Peran. They manage to break free with the help of their friends and they finally face Peran for one final showdown. I imagined a sort of jailbreak sequence in the mazelike halls of the castle but this never happens. Instead, Callie was rescued at the beginning of the book (making their capture at the end of WW seem pointless) and the middle of the book almost felt like filler before the final confrontation. Now, the final confrontation was good. I think it was fitting to have Peran sequester himself atop the hill like the coward he was and have Callie finally face him. But I just feel like the lead up to this moment could've been handled a lot better!
Thankfully, the second half of the book was so brilliant that it manages to quash the dullness of the first.
- Peran's death. I have mixed feelings about this. I understand why Esme decided to kill him off instead of him just rotting in a dungeon. While seeing him wither away would've been satisfying, I also think that people like Peran don't feel shame or remorse. Locking him away probably wouldn't have caused him to suffer or rethink his life choices. Death was the best justice. What I found disappointing was how it went down. I was getting all excited for a final showdown where Callie and him duel and Callie finally proves themself to him. But instead, after attacking Callie, Elowen came to the rescue. Callie then pushed Peran off of themself (or something to that extent) which caused Peran to clumsily stumble off the cliff. Callie does try to save him because they’re not a monster like Peran is but he ultimately fell. What. I can only think maybe the author wanted his death to be insignificant for a reason. Perhaps to show that Peran was just, in the end, a pathetic man who wasn't immortal nor important. And maybe to show the younger audience reading this series that even the worst evils can be easily defeated. But I guess I just wanted him to suffer more for all the pain he'd inflicted.
- Edwyn was underutilised. For a book that spent so much time dithering in the first half, how was Edwyn somehow not given enough time to shine?
- POVS. This sort of ties into the point I made about the POV'S in SCATWW. In the WW, all the POV'S felt earned since each character was either in a different location or dealing with an internal battle necessary for their own POV. In WW, Elowen was in Dumoor with Alis, Edwyn was at the mercy of his abusive father and internally struggling with feelings of inadequacy, Callie felt like their efforts were futile and Willow was relearning parts about him/herself. With each new chapter, I was eager to dive into the next POV to find out what happenened next but in SCATFS, the POV'S felt almost trivial. In the second half, I did feel a little excitement in switching between characters since they had all forked off on different roads in the chaos. But in the first half, having the POV'S felt really silly since none of them provided any additional information. It would've made more sense to have Callie narrate the first half and then bring in the split POV'S for the second half.
I am a little disappointed by SCATFS, but despite all it's faults, it was still a very enjoyable read and one I'll never forget.
I'm devastated this series is over. I really hope the author does a spin-off or a short continuation because I'm going to miss these characters and this world so much. I never imagined connecting with a MG novel but here I am ugly crying in knowing its over and I have to, yet again, say goodbye to a beloved series.
Thank you, Esme.
Bonus ranking of our main four
- Edwyn
- Willow
- Callie
- Elowen
I found myself relating to Edwyn the most since his reserved nature is the most like myself. Willow is also AMAZING! I loved how assured of himself/herself they became at the end and their friendship with Callie is one of the best I've ever read. Also ranking El, Willow, Edwyn and Callie was so hard because they're like my children, yaknow? Elowen is also a wonderful character, I just wasn't keen on her Alis-apprentice arc where she split from the trio. But I still love her. I love them all. I’ll miss them all.
And that's a wrap.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2025
The minute I saw this ARC was available?!? Dropped everything, downloaded, and devoured. I love this series and it has cemented itself as one of my favorite children’s reads of all time and it is a great series for any one of any age.
The book moved just as smoothly as the last ones. I feel like you really felt the emotions of everyone and how the choices played out in the end. It is ahhhhhhh. The author does a good job or showing how clinging or not clinging to certain beliefs can help or harm who you are person and how that can warp an entire kingdom and its perspective. I recommend this series to everyone!
The book moved just as smoothly as the last ones. I feel like you really felt the emotions of everyone and how the choices played out in the end. It is ahhhhhhh. The author does a good job or showing how clinging or not clinging to certain beliefs can help or harm who you are person and how that can warp an entire kingdom and its perspective. I recommend this series to everyone!
December 4, 2025
ok. Goodreads did the thing where it deletes an entire review I spent an hour typing, let’s see if I can compose myself long enough to rewrite it from memory instead of just saying I’m stealing something from Esme Symes-Smith’s house🤔 (no, they aren’t related to the glitch but I gotta get something for rating the final installment in this series 3 stars)
(Pronouns note: Willow canonically uses any pronouns—well, implied to be a mixture of he/they/she at all times, really— but I am mostly going to be switching between he/him and she/her, due to him saying he feels most like a boy and girl at the same time.) (also bc I don’t see anyone use she/her for Willow which is sad bc I think it’s genderific💔)
Well. As with the other books in this series, I am left with several conflicting emotions! Really, though, I am going to miss these characters deeply. (Both the sounds of their voices, and how they read in the text.) The found family was so strong and sweet this time, some parts I especially enjoyed were Edwyn’s (autistic-coded) awkward earnesty when finally bonding with others, and Willow preparing for his future while also finding a way to keep his friends in it. Even the conflict between everyone was handled really well?? Elowyn’s reunion was handled with about as mess as I hoped for, she’s grown on me as a character and I also loved seeing the different ways she’s starting to diverge from Edwyn. Meanwhile, Teo’s treading the line between peer and cat, ha.
Speaking of— I wasn’t expecting the grief of losing a relative you have a deeply complicated (and negative) relationship with to be handled in a kid’s book with an appropriate amount of nuance despite the simplistic language, but hey, if any one of them were to do it, it’d be a Sir Callie book! In general, I like how the lasting impacts of trauma are handled throughout this series. Thankfully, book 4 was not an exception.
Not entirely related to the main characters, but an obvious highlight was Sir Nick and Neal’s relationship this time. It’s so strange knowing that Callie doesn’t view either of them as infalliable pillars of stability anymore, and it means seeing these two dudes be super loving but also deeply hurting about it because of the circumstances of war. Ugh. (the semi-doomed yaoi goes bonkers bananas lowkey… listening to it’d I’d be like… damn…)
As always, the audiobook is phenomenal… lowkey Dani was upping their game with every installment, sometimes they narrate things I didn’t even realize people narrated??? (For example, a character gets choked by a dragon claw, and I’m pretty sure they narrate being cut off by it?!?! I am kissing the director on the mouth. Passionately.) Though, it was unintentionally hilarious to hear the Peran voice done for all 13 minutes of his POV chapter. (At least it lessens the horror of that one line where he and Anita realize their kids aren’t there to shield them from each other anymore…)
However, that is where most of my praises end. The pacing is still messy, making this novel feel as if everything and nothing is happening at the same time (likely due to there being so much talking about feelings, sometimes to the point of being aggressively sympathetic, mostly to Alis though let’s be real). While some characterizations definitely became stronger with improved writing, unfortunately, I began to actively dislike Willow’s POV because she reads like an insert of the author’s opinions. In a story priding itself on nuance, it’s grating. I also feel like in the process, Ewella was flanderized: she has been a stubborn character with flaws that became exposed the more she tries to preserve her power, yes, but I felt she depended so much more on Willow (the ✨level-headed character with a better understanding of Helston than anyone✨) than she usually would?!? Some “kid acting as the parent” shenanigans, basically. I appreciate a teaching moment for an adult in a book, but this felt slightly unnatural to her character.
(I don’t care about how the ending ended up handling the crown and the future rulers of Helston btw that still pissed me off)
I was also annoyed by how much of the conflict was handled with the power of love/friendship and “knowing it was inside all along” or something like that??? Even in the case where it made sense for the context, it still felt predictable and… not great. I think the wording was just too on-the-nose and tropey.
blah blah blah the kids also don’t always feel like kids but i feel like it’s fine now that they’ve all gained maturity from literally organizing a bunch of people during a war and everything else preceding that??
I still almost sobbed when I finished listening to the epilogue, and the credits started rolling. For all the flaws ofSir Callie, I at least connected with Callie, Willow, Edwyn, and Elowyn. I think it’ll be a while until I forget about them. I hope other unapologetically queer middle grade series can be published, maybe in some other future where the queerphobia and Christian nationalism we have to fight so hard against doesn’t have to be the central struggle for our characters too.
(Pronouns note: Willow canonically uses any pronouns—well, implied to be a mixture of he/they/she at all times, really— but I am mostly going to be switching between he/him and she/her, due to him saying he feels most like a boy and girl at the same time.) (also bc I don’t see anyone use she/her for Willow which is sad bc I think it’s genderific💔)
Well. As with the other books in this series, I am left with several conflicting emotions! Really, though, I am going to miss these characters deeply. (Both the sounds of their voices, and how they read in the text.) The found family was so strong and sweet this time, some parts I especially enjoyed were Edwyn’s (autistic-coded) awkward earnesty when finally bonding with others, and Willow preparing for his future while also finding a way to keep his friends in it. Even the conflict between everyone was handled really well?? Elowyn’s reunion was handled with about as mess as I hoped for, she’s grown on me as a character and I also loved seeing the different ways she’s starting to diverge from Edwyn. Meanwhile, Teo’s treading the line between peer and cat, ha.
Speaking of— I wasn’t expecting the grief of losing a relative you have a deeply complicated (and negative) relationship with to be handled in a kid’s book with an appropriate amount of nuance despite the simplistic language, but hey, if any one of them were to do it, it’d be a Sir Callie book! In general, I like how the lasting impacts of trauma are handled throughout this series. Thankfully, book 4 was not an exception.
Not entirely related to the main characters, but an obvious highlight was Sir Nick and Neal’s relationship this time. It’s so strange knowing that Callie doesn’t view either of them as infalliable pillars of stability anymore, and it means seeing these two dudes be super loving but also deeply hurting about it because of the circumstances of war. Ugh. (the semi-doomed yaoi goes bonkers bananas lowkey… listening to it’d I’d be like… damn…)
As always, the audiobook is phenomenal… lowkey Dani was upping their game with every installment, sometimes they narrate things I didn’t even realize people narrated??? (For example, a character gets choked by a dragon claw, and I’m pretty sure they narrate being cut off by it?!?! I am kissing the director on the mouth. Passionately.) Though, it was unintentionally hilarious to hear the Peran voice done for all 13 minutes of his POV chapter. (At least it lessens the horror of that one line where he and Anita realize their kids aren’t there to shield them from each other anymore…)
However, that is where most of my praises end. The pacing is still messy, making this novel feel as if everything and nothing is happening at the same time (likely due to there being so much talking about feelings, sometimes to the point of being aggressively sympathetic, mostly to Alis though let’s be real). While some characterizations definitely became stronger with improved writing, unfortunately, I began to actively dislike Willow’s POV because she reads like an insert of the author’s opinions. In a story priding itself on nuance, it’s grating. I also feel like in the process, Ewella was flanderized: she has been a stubborn character with flaws that became exposed the more she tries to preserve her power, yes, but I felt she depended so much more on Willow (the ✨level-headed character with a better understanding of Helston than anyone✨) than she usually would?!? Some “kid acting as the parent” shenanigans, basically. I appreciate a teaching moment for an adult in a book, but this felt slightly unnatural to her character.
(I don’t care about how the ending ended up handling the crown and the future rulers of Helston btw that still pissed me off)
I was also annoyed by how much of the conflict was handled with the power of love/friendship and “knowing it was inside all along” or something like that??? Even in the case where it made sense for the context, it still felt predictable and… not great. I think the wording was just too on-the-nose and tropey.
blah blah blah the kids also don’t always feel like kids but i feel like it’s fine now that they’ve all gained maturity from literally organizing a bunch of people during a war and everything else preceding that??
I still almost sobbed when I finished listening to the epilogue, and the credits started rolling. For all the flaws ofSir Callie, I at least connected with Callie, Willow, Edwyn, and Elowyn. I think it’ll be a while until I forget about them. I hope other unapologetically queer middle grade series can be published, maybe in some other future where the queerphobia and Christian nationalism we have to fight so hard against doesn’t have to be the central struggle for our characters too.
October 18, 2025
Absolute perfection. no notes.
October 23, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Labyrinth Road for a free eARC for review. All opinions remain my own.
Sir Callie and the Final Stand is the fourth and final book in the Sir Callie series. The series has thus far followed Callie, a nonbinary knight in training, Willow, an unconventional prince, and the twins Elowen and Edwyn, abuse survivors and highly magical. The four seek to save the kingdom from our villains. On the opposite side of the conflict is Lord Peran (who is also the twins' father, who has usurped the throne and Alys, the Witch Queen, who was slighted by the kingdom long before the start of the story and vows revenge.
I felt that Symes-Smith did a great job ending the series. The pace, although a bit slow at the beginning, picks up as the story reaches its peak. All main plot threads were tied up satisfyingly.
Sir Callie and the Final Stand is the fourth and final book in the Sir Callie series. The series has thus far followed Callie, a nonbinary knight in training, Willow, an unconventional prince, and the twins Elowen and Edwyn, abuse survivors and highly magical. The four seek to save the kingdom from our villains. On the opposite side of the conflict is Lord Peran (who is also the twins' father, who has usurped the throne and Alys, the Witch Queen, who was slighted by the kingdom long before the start of the story and vows revenge.
I felt that Symes-Smith did a great job ending the series. The pace, although a bit slow at the beginning, picks up as the story reaches its peak. All main plot threads were tied up satisfyingly.
April 2, 2025
**Many thanks to Labyrinth Road/Random House Children's Books, and Netgalley for an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of this book**
Esme. What witchery is this... 5🌟. 10🌟. Take my money now for the final version.
(Yet again, I will not be going into negatives, as this book is not written for my age group..)
AT JOURNEY'S END
We're at the end and I hate it. Where is the non-existent next one!?!?! Esme. How dare you finish a series that I immediately want to go back and reread again. How dare you.
MINDING THE MAN MONSTERS
Peran is still doing Peran things. And being a villain. And I hate him. But, the best villains are the ones you love to hate and hate to love. We go DARK here. We've been in the dark with this... creature... the entire book, who loves nothing more than destroying beautiful things. Right on the nose with the face of evil, and my hat's off to you, Esme, for writing him. That could NOT be a happy head space.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Happy. Ending. THERE'S MY HAPPY ENDING. Chef's kiss.
VERDICT
Read it. And read it all again. And again. And again. It will never get tiring. It will never get old. Esme, you did it again. If I had half the talent you have in your pinkie finger, I would be happy to write a limerick.
Everyone else: buy this. Read this. Love this.
Esme. What witchery is this... 5🌟. 10🌟. Take my money now for the final version.
(Yet again, I will not be going into negatives, as this book is not written for my age group..)
AT JOURNEY'S END
We're at the end and I hate it. Where is the non-existent next one!?!?! Esme. How dare you finish a series that I immediately want to go back and reread again. How dare you.
MINDING THE MAN MONSTERS
Peran is still doing Peran things. And being a villain. And I hate him. But, the best villains are the ones you love to hate and hate to love. We go DARK here. We've been in the dark with this... creature... the entire book, who loves nothing more than destroying beautiful things. Right on the nose with the face of evil, and my hat's off to you, Esme, for writing him. That could NOT be a happy head space.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Happy. Ending. THERE'S MY HAPPY ENDING. Chef's kiss.
VERDICT
Read it. And read it all again. And again. And again. It will never get tiring. It will never get old. Esme, you did it again. If I had half the talent you have in your pinkie finger, I would be happy to write a limerick.
Everyone else: buy this. Read this. Love this.
June 19, 2025
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.
I wanted to read it immediately but was also so scared and sad to let go of these characters that I have cherished for years. This middle grade series is probably the best fantasy series I’ve read because it DEALS with the consequences and the trauma it presents. These characters felt so real and saying goodbye to them was so hard. But I loved every second of this series.
Read it all right now!!
I wanted to read it immediately but was also so scared and sad to let go of these characters that I have cherished for years. This middle grade series is probably the best fantasy series I’ve read because it DEALS with the consequences and the trauma it presents. These characters felt so real and saying goodbye to them was so hard. But I loved every second of this series.
Read it all right now!!
October 14, 2025
I’ve read hundreds of middle-grade novels in the past few years alone, and I’ve never encountered a story quite like the Sir Callie series. Fierce and funny and achingly real, this series is dark in all the right ways: not dark for darkness’s sake but because nothing else can quite reflect the reality that kids, especially queer and trans kids, have to live through every day. Symes-Smith proves here that it is possible to write a middle-grade story that has it all, with the kind of emotional resonance that literally changes lives: deftly drawn character relationships, high stakes, an ensemble cast, vibrant worldbuilding, and a heartbreaking but incredibly satisfying ending.
This is now the fourth book in this series I’ve read, loved, and reviewed, and I still find myself utterly lost for words to describe how much Callie and their friends mean to me. Willow, Edwyn, Elowen, and Callie are four of the best characters I’ve ever encountered; there’s so much reality bound up in their conflicts, struggles, and relationships, and I found it impossible not to see parts of myself in every one of them. Their defiant hope made me believe that we truly can do better,
Too often the final book in a series will fall flat, but Sir Callie and the Final Stand lived up to my extremely high expectations. Every plotline and character is treated with care and depth as they are wrapped up, and while I would love to read more in this world, I trust that all the characters are in the best of hands - their own. I struggle to think of another recent MG series so flawlessly executed from beginning to end. Sir Callie and the Final Stand is truly unputdownable, and I'm incredibly excited for whatever Symes-Smith writes next!
If you're looking for a spot of joy that doesn't shy away from the reality and hardship of being a queer young person today, this series will change your life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
This is now the fourth book in this series I’ve read, loved, and reviewed, and I still find myself utterly lost for words to describe how much Callie and their friends mean to me. Willow, Edwyn, Elowen, and Callie are four of the best characters I’ve ever encountered; there’s so much reality bound up in their conflicts, struggles, and relationships, and I found it impossible not to see parts of myself in every one of them. Their defiant hope made me believe that we truly can do better,
Too often the final book in a series will fall flat, but Sir Callie and the Final Stand lived up to my extremely high expectations. Every plotline and character is treated with care and depth as they are wrapped up, and while I would love to read more in this world, I trust that all the characters are in the best of hands - their own. I struggle to think of another recent MG series so flawlessly executed from beginning to end. Sir Callie and the Final Stand is truly unputdownable, and I'm incredibly excited for whatever Symes-Smith writes next!
If you're looking for a spot of joy that doesn't shy away from the reality and hardship of being a queer young person today, this series will change your life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
September 17, 2025
The author’s note at the beginning really set the tone for me: Symes-Smith’s was dedicated to a happy ending for Callie, Elowyn, Willow, and Edwyn, even in the face of what seems like impenetrable darkness - and not just happy “for now” but a permanent shift to better, not leaving our kids with no discernible future.
I had a really hard time keeping up with who all the side characters were. They were being name-dropped seemingly without context or explanation. I think the sheer volume of them would have required a dramatis personae (or at least it would have been very much appreciated)
This really was Willow’s book. He has come into his own and serves as a beacon for everyone else - without being unrecognizable from the Willow we met in book one. Also Edwyn, though he has only taken the first steps on a much longer journey of recovery.
I didn’t realize until the epilogue (set 5 years later) how much I wanted to see our kids grown up. How much I craved seeing Callie as a knight errant (like Alanna the Lioness), getting to grow and experience new things in the changed world they helped build. Alas, that was not to be, but even a glimpse is a treasure.
{Thank you Labyrinth Road for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review}
I had a really hard time keeping up with who all the side characters were. They were being name-dropped seemingly without context or explanation. I think the sheer volume of them would have required a dramatis personae (or at least it would have been very much appreciated)
This really was Willow’s book. He has come into his own and serves as a beacon for everyone else - without being unrecognizable from the Willow we met in book one. Also Edwyn, though he has only taken the first steps on a much longer journey of recovery.
I didn’t realize until the epilogue (set 5 years later) how much I wanted to see our kids grown up. How much I craved seeing Callie as a knight errant (like Alanna the Lioness), getting to grow and experience new things in the changed world they helped build. Alas, that was not to be, but even a glimpse is a treasure.
{Thank you Labyrinth Road for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review}
May 28, 2025
I received an ARC from Netgalley. HOO. This series does not quit. The stakes stay high and the tension is ramped up to about 11 out of 10 for just about the whole book. As with some final volumes of genre fiction series, there is a little bit of the feeling that the final conflict starts almost as soon as the book opens instead of having the kind of plot structure one might expect/want from a typical novel, but I do think the negative effects of that are mitigated in this novel by the fact that the plot does move--there are a series of conflicts that escalate over the course of the novel. It is definitely more action and less talking than the previous volumes, but we still get plenty of of rich character content and lots of great prose. Symes-Smith delivers some devastating lines of narration. I was not expecting this volume to feel quite as dark as the last one, given that our kiddos reunite early on, but it does, as the author promised, have a happy ending, and the epilogue gave me warm fuzzies.
June 13, 2025
We’ve reached the culmination of Sir Callie’s story, and they are racing to save Helston. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like these kids are tweens/teens. The situations are so grown up and their actions can seem wise beyond their years. I did love seeing each character make mistakes, grow, and learn to trust throughout the four books.
This book was very satisfying ending to this four book series. Our family has enjoyed them all.
Perfect for kids who love Middle Ages, dragons, quests.
Absolutely appreciate the authors trigger warnings at the beginnings of each book. There are some very tough topics and situations that could be triggering.
4.5 ⭐️ stars
Publication date: Oct 18, 2025
** Thank you Random House Children’s for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**
This book was very satisfying ending to this four book series. Our family has enjoyed them all.
Perfect for kids who love Middle Ages, dragons, quests.
Absolutely appreciate the authors trigger warnings at the beginnings of each book. There are some very tough topics and situations that could be triggering.
4.5 ⭐️ stars
Publication date: Oct 18, 2025
** Thank you Random House Children’s for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**
May 29, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children's for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
A stunning conclusion to an epic series! It wrapped up so beautifully and full of hope--I'm just very happy that it doesn't go for a grimdark ending. Not that I thought Symes-Smith would go for that, but you never know. Sir Callie and friends struggle with trials and tribulations but come out of it stronger than ever.
Great series that I'll be recommending in the future.
A stunning conclusion to an epic series! It wrapped up so beautifully and full of hope--I'm just very happy that it doesn't go for a grimdark ending. Not that I thought Symes-Smith would go for that, but you never know. Sir Callie and friends struggle with trials and tribulations but come out of it stronger than ever.
Great series that I'll be recommending in the future.
July 9, 2025
The final Sir Callie book! I could not put this down! Callie is amazing, and I love everyone of their friends. This books picks up right where the 3rd book left off, and the action is non-stop. It is a dark book for MG, but still has so much hope and joy. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Esme Symes-Smith and Random House for the chance to read and review! My thoughts are my own. I would recommend this to anyone middle grade and up!
November 14, 2025
Esme, what is Sylvie's dad's name? Is it Banoc or Boron 😭
Jokes aside what a beautiful ending to an amazing series. Esme pulls no punches and has more faith in their audience than many of their contemporaries in the field of middle grade fiction. I'm 30 and my heart was with all of these kids. Edwyn my beloved brokenhearted baby boy, I'm so glad he found his way to a peaceful future. The battles he fought were harrowing to witness. I can't recommend this series enough.
Jokes aside what a beautiful ending to an amazing series. Esme pulls no punches and has more faith in their audience than many of their contemporaries in the field of middle grade fiction. I'm 30 and my heart was with all of these kids. Edwyn my beloved brokenhearted baby boy, I'm so glad he found his way to a peaceful future. The battles he fought were harrowing to witness. I can't recommend this series enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2025
I haven’t read this book but I’ve been forced to read the first book for a class book (sadly had to write an essay on it 🙄) but looking at this cover….. WHY DID ELOWIN AND WILLOW BECOME TRANS ITS NOT CONTAGIOUS!!!!!!!!!
February 3, 2025
Author note:
Last Sir Callie Book
CW: Transphobia, Homophobia, abuse, death, violence
The happy ending I promised
Last Sir Callie Book
CW: Transphobia, Homophobia, abuse, death, violence
The happy ending I promised
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2025
It felt like there was a little less in this, but I think that was just compared to how much was packed into the previous books. A very satisfying end and god I love these kids.
November 4, 2025
Amazing end to an amazing series.
November 5, 2025
3.5 stars. So earnest yet lovely. I am delighted that this series exists.
November 30, 2025
I need a minute to put words on a page, but seriously 5⭐, and probably the best book I've read all year and best ending to a series I've read in a long time.
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