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Realmsweep
Not yet published
Expected 13 Oct 26In a fantastical version of the United States filled to the brim with magic and dragons, the tween prince of Texas must compete in a notoriously dangerous scavenger hunt in Realmsweep by Stonewall Honoree H.E. Edgmon.
Rowdy Buckner, the twelve-year-old prince of Texas, has a problem. More than anything, he wants access to the transfiguration tonics that will transform him from head to toe into the prince he is, in a body that feels more his down. His parents are skeptical–not because they aren’t supportive, but because they don’t believe that self-absorbed, spoiled Rowdy is responsible enough to be trusted with such powerful magic just yet.
In order prove himself, Rowdy signs up to compete in Realmsweep, a notoriously dangerous scavenger hunt held across the Allied Lands every five years, and sends his personal guard to assemble a team. The resulting ragtag crew of preteens isn’t exactly impressive at first glance, but they’re all Rowdy has. With them, he'll face off against everything from monstrous creatures to the monstrosity of humans, and maybe, if he’s lucky, become the person he so desperately wants to be.
Rowdy Buckner, the twelve-year-old prince of Texas, has a problem. More than anything, he wants access to the transfiguration tonics that will transform him from head to toe into the prince he is, in a body that feels more his down. His parents are skeptical–not because they aren’t supportive, but because they don’t believe that self-absorbed, spoiled Rowdy is responsible enough to be trusted with such powerful magic just yet.
In order prove himself, Rowdy signs up to compete in Realmsweep, a notoriously dangerous scavenger hunt held across the Allied Lands every five years, and sends his personal guard to assemble a team. The resulting ragtag crew of preteens isn’t exactly impressive at first glance, but they’re all Rowdy has. With them, he'll face off against everything from monstrous creatures to the monstrosity of humans, and maybe, if he’s lucky, become the person he so desperately wants to be.
256 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 13, 2026
1 person is currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
H.E. Edgmon
14 books863 followersH.E. Edgmon (he/they) is a high school and college dropout, a militant queer, and an author of books both irreverent and radicalizing. His stories will always center the perspective of Indigenous people, trans people, and survivors of trauma. At present, he’s probably biting off more than he can chew, emulating the aesthetic of Dwayne from The Lost Boys (1987), and living out the found family trope in Brooklyn. Online, he can most often be found on Twitter @heedgmon.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book took me so long to read because half the time when I opened it, I couldn’t get through two pages before I wanted to close it and work on my homework. One of the stars is because this book forced me through studying for my finance test. Thanks.
I’m aware that Rowdy was intentionally written to be an insufferable, whiny child, but that wasn’t enough to make me overlook just how whiny and insufferable he is. Rowdy is clearly meant to develop as a person to be more sufferable and less whiny, but this was done too slowly and vaguely. I’ll come back to that, hold on. I want to talk about the world first.
Maybe the author thought that the kids reading this book aren't smart because there’s barely any background information about the setting. Apparently, Texas has become a monarchy, but I think the states are still united. We have cell phones but not other technology, and magic like teleportation exists with no restrictions but transfiguration specifically is illegal. Also everyone gets a special animal sidekick when they’re born that basically does nothing except that if you die, it sacrifices itself for you. Alright time to write a novel.
One thing I just wanted to mention was I feel like the representation of Native American culture was done weakly. I picked up on the brief mentions of the family’s ownership of the land and the history, but I’d convinced myself I was wrong because of how little it was brought up. I wasn’t even going to mention it in my review until I saw from the acknowledgements, not the story itself, that yes it was supposed to be about a Native American tribe in fiction. I feel like you have to commit if you want to do something like that. The tiny hints were part of what made me so confused about the setting.
Anyway, going back to Rowdy: Rowdy is trans, and his main conflict is that he wants to get a transformation tonic so he can transition. The problem is that transfiguration magic is illegal in Texas and unfortunately all medical developments that serve as alternatives to magic don’t exist. Rowdy has no hope but to beg his parents—the King and Queen of Texas, by the way—to make an exception to the rule so he can get the tonic. As literally the people in charge of making laws, that seems pretty reasonable. In response however, his parents suggest that Rowdy isn’t responsible enough, and that if he proves he can be responsible he can get the tonic as a reward. This leads Rowdy to suggest competing in Realmsweep, a giant country-wide scavenger hunt, to prove he can be a good king. (Spoilers after this point)
I absolutely hated this. Yes, magic potions don’t exist and real medical treatments like puberty blockers aren’t possible for everyone for so many reasons, but still. To the kids reading this book, it’s telling them that being able to live as yourself is a privilege that can be taken away. Additionally, there’s explicit transphobia with one character fully misgendering Rowdy and attempting to kill him. I know that this author has written other books with trans characters, but this was a lot for middle grade.
Toward the end of the book, the parents do admit that the way they approached his request was wrong, but I didn’t think this was enough for how the author established the problem. There are basically no adults who are supportive of Rowdy being trans beyond the minimum of not being transphobic. When Rowdy feels like he won’t be able to live if he can’t transition, no one steps in and tries to help him by offering other solutions or talking about it with him. I wanted an explanation for why there were no other options if the potion was banned, especially since it was Rowdy’s only motivation.
I didn’t particularly like any of these characters. At most, I felt neutral toward Dusty and Flea out of sympathy that they had to team up with Rowdy when otherwise they could have been interesting people. Prince Rowdy’s one not-completely-negative personality trait is that he likes to swordfight as his only hobby when he’s avoiding his studies. Rowdy’s mean to literally everyone, he blatantly tells lies, he doesn’t care if the people of his “kingdom” get education or basic necessities, and he doesn’t even want to be king. His younger sister is described as the perfect heir since she enjoys everything that Rowdy hates. Rowdy mentions several times how everyone would prefer if she became ruler instead of him, and I would have loved it if this idea was seriously entertained at all. We never get an explanation why she can’t become the heir in this fictional monarchy when Rowdy, at least at the start of the story, so clearly would fail at it. In fact, it seems like Rowdy would intentionally be terrible at being king just for fun. I mean, this kid purposefully gave himself the plague.
Just to summarize, my main complaint is that Rowdy is not given any qualities to make the reader want him to learn and succeed. He mentions once or twice that if he didn’t have to become king, he’d want to be an adventurer, and I really think expanding a real dream for him would have helped. Instead of his need for the tonic being the motivation for him entering the United States Scavenger Hunt to prove he’s responsible, it could have been his want of adventure and to get away from the loneliness and boredom of the palace. Rowdy could try to convince his parents to just give up hope on him becoming the king, and then his parents can use the whole not-responsible-enough and too-young-to-make-such-a-big-decision thing where the theme about transphobia can be a metaphoric connection rather than the conflict. And the compromise of doing a scavenger hunt makes a lot more sense for adventuring rather than as a test for being responsible. Then the rest of the story can continue as normal where he realizes that maybe he shouldn’t give up the power to make a difference being king might give him, and it has more impact because now being king is his choice! See this is what happens when you study for your finance tests.
Slight spoilers: Although Rowdy did character develop by the end, I didn’t find it worth it for how much of a bully he was for the majority of the book. Also the fact that the real start of his development was magically forced on him. Side comment, but the part about him not liking sword fighting was mentioned and then never came up again? I thought that would connect back to his development. I liked how he saw that what his parents and his grandfather did as rulers was wrong, and I liked the one bit of dialogue with Cicada toward the end about how it’s not just about making transitioning legal but making it accessible. I also liked the teamwork scenes such as with the dragon. These little nuggets were the reason for star number two. Also because I feel bad for writing such a long review.
I requested to read this book early through NetGalley.
I’m aware that Rowdy was intentionally written to be an insufferable, whiny child, but that wasn’t enough to make me overlook just how whiny and insufferable he is. Rowdy is clearly meant to develop as a person to be more sufferable and less whiny, but this was done too slowly and vaguely. I’ll come back to that, hold on. I want to talk about the world first.
Maybe the author thought that the kids reading this book aren't smart because there’s barely any background information about the setting. Apparently, Texas has become a monarchy, but I think the states are still united. We have cell phones but not other technology, and magic like teleportation exists with no restrictions but transfiguration specifically is illegal. Also everyone gets a special animal sidekick when they’re born that basically does nothing except that if you die, it sacrifices itself for you. Alright time to write a novel.
One thing I just wanted to mention was I feel like the representation of Native American culture was done weakly. I picked up on the brief mentions of the family’s ownership of the land and the history, but I’d convinced myself I was wrong because of how little it was brought up. I wasn’t even going to mention it in my review until I saw from the acknowledgements, not the story itself, that yes it was supposed to be about a Native American tribe in fiction. I feel like you have to commit if you want to do something like that. The tiny hints were part of what made me so confused about the setting.
Anyway, going back to Rowdy: Rowdy is trans, and his main conflict is that he wants to get a transformation tonic so he can transition. The problem is that transfiguration magic is illegal in Texas and unfortunately all medical developments that serve as alternatives to magic don’t exist. Rowdy has no hope but to beg his parents—the King and Queen of Texas, by the way—to make an exception to the rule so he can get the tonic. As literally the people in charge of making laws, that seems pretty reasonable. In response however, his parents suggest that Rowdy isn’t responsible enough, and that if he proves he can be responsible he can get the tonic as a reward. This leads Rowdy to suggest competing in Realmsweep, a giant country-wide scavenger hunt, to prove he can be a good king. (Spoilers after this point)
I absolutely hated this. Yes, magic potions don’t exist and real medical treatments like puberty blockers aren’t possible for everyone for so many reasons, but still. To the kids reading this book, it’s telling them that being able to live as yourself is a privilege that can be taken away. Additionally, there’s explicit transphobia with one character fully misgendering Rowdy and attempting to kill him. I know that this author has written other books with trans characters, but this was a lot for middle grade.
Toward the end of the book, the parents do admit that the way they approached his request was wrong, but I didn’t think this was enough for how the author established the problem. There are basically no adults who are supportive of Rowdy being trans beyond the minimum of not being transphobic. When Rowdy feels like he won’t be able to live if he can’t transition, no one steps in and tries to help him by offering other solutions or talking about it with him. I wanted an explanation for why there were no other options if the potion was banned, especially since it was Rowdy’s only motivation.
I didn’t particularly like any of these characters. At most, I felt neutral toward Dusty and Flea out of sympathy that they had to team up with Rowdy when otherwise they could have been interesting people. Prince Rowdy’s one not-completely-negative personality trait is that he likes to swordfight as his only hobby when he’s avoiding his studies. Rowdy’s mean to literally everyone, he blatantly tells lies, he doesn’t care if the people of his “kingdom” get education or basic necessities, and he doesn’t even want to be king. His younger sister is described as the perfect heir since she enjoys everything that Rowdy hates. Rowdy mentions several times how everyone would prefer if she became ruler instead of him, and I would have loved it if this idea was seriously entertained at all. We never get an explanation why she can’t become the heir in this fictional monarchy when Rowdy, at least at the start of the story, so clearly would fail at it. In fact, it seems like Rowdy would intentionally be terrible at being king just for fun. I mean, this kid purposefully gave himself the plague.
Just to summarize, my main complaint is that Rowdy is not given any qualities to make the reader want him to learn and succeed. He mentions once or twice that if he didn’t have to become king, he’d want to be an adventurer, and I really think expanding a real dream for him would have helped. Instead of his need for the tonic being the motivation for him entering the United States Scavenger Hunt to prove he’s responsible, it could have been his want of adventure and to get away from the loneliness and boredom of the palace. Rowdy could try to convince his parents to just give up hope on him becoming the king, and then his parents can use the whole not-responsible-enough and too-young-to-make-such-a-big-decision thing where the theme about transphobia can be a metaphoric connection rather than the conflict. And the compromise of doing a scavenger hunt makes a lot more sense for adventuring rather than as a test for being responsible. Then the rest of the story can continue as normal where he realizes that maybe he shouldn’t give up the power to make a difference being king might give him, and it has more impact because now being king is his choice! See this is what happens when you study for your finance tests.
Slight spoilers: Although Rowdy did character develop by the end, I didn’t find it worth it for how much of a bully he was for the majority of the book. Also the fact that the real start of his development was magically forced on him. Side comment, but the part about him not liking sword fighting was mentioned and then never came up again? I thought that would connect back to his development. I liked how he saw that what his parents and his grandfather did as rulers was wrong, and I liked the one bit of dialogue with Cicada toward the end about how it’s not just about making transitioning legal but making it accessible. I also liked the teamwork scenes such as with the dragon. These little nuggets were the reason for star number two. Also because I feel bad for writing such a long review.
I requested to read this book early through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.25⭐️ rounded up.
HE Edgmon is one of my favorite authors (found them through their Ouroboros Duology) and their kid lit is fantastic!
They have perfectly captured the personality of pre-teens, and by that I mean: Rowdy is such a little shit (complimentary)! Listen, he’s twelve, he’s meant to be a little shit (and Bardou agrees). He thinks he knows all, and discovers, fantastically, that he’s wrong over the course of this book. He goes through such a personal growth journey while still feeling like an authentic tween character, which just speaks to Edgmon’s writing ability.
All of the kids in Rowdy’s Realmsweep team are so full of personality, and they do a fantastic job of teaching Rowdy to think about others and how alchemical legislation (such as good age appropriate stand-in for anti-trans laws) affects more than just him.
I can’t wait to see Edgmon’s future adventures in kid lit!
HE Edgmon is one of my favorite authors (found them through their Ouroboros Duology) and their kid lit is fantastic!
They have perfectly captured the personality of pre-teens, and by that I mean: Rowdy is such a little shit (complimentary)! Listen, he’s twelve, he’s meant to be a little shit (and Bardou agrees). He thinks he knows all, and discovers, fantastically, that he’s wrong over the course of this book. He goes through such a personal growth journey while still feeling like an authentic tween character, which just speaks to Edgmon’s writing ability.
All of the kids in Rowdy’s Realmsweep team are so full of personality, and they do a fantastic job of teaching Rowdy to think about others and how alchemical legislation (such as good age appropriate stand-in for anti-trans laws) affects more than just him.
I can’t wait to see Edgmon’s future adventures in kid lit!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Realmsweep is a fun and quick read! This book feels like a lighter & less sinister Hunger Games had a baby with a school field trip. Our main character, Rowdy, is participating in the Realmsweep competition for his own (potentially selfish) reasons. The other characters are introduced, but don't get lots of page time to show their growth and motivations. Rowdy has some real personal growth--and I did want to know what happened in the story--but a *lot* was happening very quickly, so the other characters were not very strongly developed. This seems like it would be a big hit for a middle grade reader looking for something a little zany and fast paced. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with this eARC of Realmsweep by H.E. Edgmon.
This was overall a fun story with a silly setting but a serious message. I think the highlight of Realmsweep was how real these characters felt. Edgmon did a wonderful job at depicting a 12 year old main character. Rowdy is far from perfect and at times very frustrating but that’s the point because he’s a kid.
Rowdy’s relationship and conflict with his parents is well nuanced.
The ending also felt lacking, it had good bones but could use a bit more fleshing out.
I’d recommend this book if you want a fun short coming of age adventure with vivid characters.
This was overall a fun story with a silly setting but a serious message. I think the highlight of Realmsweep was how real these characters felt. Edgmon did a wonderful job at depicting a 12 year old main character. Rowdy is far from perfect and at times very frustrating but that’s the point because he’s a kid.
Rowdy’s relationship and conflict with his parents is well nuanced.
The ending also felt lacking, it had good bones but could use a bit more fleshing out.
I’d recommend this book if you want a fun short coming of age adventure with vivid characters.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
H.E. Edgmon's books are always so special and this one is no different. It is always such a comfort to read them, to be able to experience kids get the chance to grow into themselves, especially when they are queer, trans, and neurodivergent. Kids are messy, and this book shows it to the fullest extent. But kids can also do so much good, and they can become such good people. I just love this book so much.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Shoutout to NetGalley for the ARC wahoo
Very sweet book, it was refreshing to read trans joy and the book does a good job with showing meaningful character development and growth. It kind of rushes through a lot of very relevant social commentary, so I wish there was more world-building and development of other characters to kind of let those messages simmer more.
Very sweet book, it was refreshing to read trans joy and the book does a good job with showing meaningful character development and growth. It kind of rushes through a lot of very relevant social commentary, so I wish there was more world-building and development of other characters to kind of let those messages simmer more.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews