Sir Callie and the Final Stand

Sir Callie #4

by Esme Symes-Smith

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.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Queer, LGBT

400 pages, Hardcover

Published October 14, 2025

About the author

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 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.

Reviews

[beyondthebookcase95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Alexa]

WHY IS THE AUTHOR NOTE DEATH I'M SCARED

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

**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.

[Jasmine Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!!

[Rapunzel Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Laura (crofteereader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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}

[Erin S · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.**

[Julia Pika · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Ande Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Esme Symes-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author note:
Last Sir Callie Book
CW: Transphobia, Homophobia, abuse, death, violence

The happy ending I promised

[Ryleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Labyrinth Road for a free eARC for review. All opinions remain my own.

Review forthcoming.