A sword-swinging fantasy adventure with a nonbinary squire and a disabled princess at the fore.
Twelve-year-old Princess Adelisa, or “Ash,” as she prefers, is the youngest daughter of the Queen of Calinor. She’s returning to the capital of Kestrel’s Haven after six years away at school, only to find her mother struggling to assert her power over the fractious nobles and hoping to root out traitors in their midst. The nobles, including Ash’s brother, Crown Prince Lucen, are also quick to dismiss Ash as weak and out of touch with the realities at court. Much of their scorn is aimed at her disability (she uses a cane and arm braces), the result of both an accident and a condition that makes her joints dislocate easily. (This seems like a reference to something like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, although it is never identified as such in the world of the book.)
Splinter is the child of a noble family who wants to be a squire like her older brother, who is off defending Calinor’s borders. She’s been told she can’t, however, because she’s not a boy—but she knows she’s not a girl, either (although she uses she/her pronouns). After Splinter impresses Ash with her bravery during a chance encounter, the princess offers to sponsor Splinter as her own squire. This means training with the all-boys group of squires, but Splinter is determined, even if Prince Lucen and the others bully her. Lucen’s actions, however, ultimately get Splinter kicked out of the squires—on the same day that Ash is kidnapped by people who are likely in league with Calinor’s northern enemies.
Splinter and Lucen set out after Ash, although Ash is no helpless damsel in distress, but holds her own against her captors. (I’ll say no more for fear of spoilers.) Revelations and betrayals large and small impact each young person, and each character must reassess themselves, their families, and their friends as they attempt to save the realm.
The bias against both Splinter and Ash is only one thread of the story, which also looks thoughtfully at what really makes a family, what it means to be strong and loyal, and how people can change and grow. And the noble conspiracy that the queen fears stems from nobles who want to go back to the “good old days” of “tradition and power over progress and equality.” One might call it an attempt to Make Calinor Great Again, which feels highly relevant as I write this review in the summer of 2024.
While the above themes add substance and depth to the tale, though, they don’t take away from the crafty intrigue, sword swinging, and daring escapes that simply make it a great adventure story, too. This book is the first of a planned trilogy, and I can’t wait for the next two volumes. There’s more to learn about the characters and their societies, and a few small clues (like the existence of lemons, which must have come from a warmer clime than Kestrel’s Haven), hint at an even larger world than we’ve seen so far.
Inevitable comparisons will be made between this series and the Sir Callie series by Esme Symes-Smith, another medieval-ish fantasy adventure with a nonbinary protagonist. They’re each very different stories, however, set in different worlds, with different plots, and with characters of different personalities. There’s no reason not to have both on your shelves in the same way you’d have the works of J. R .R. Tolkien and G. R. R. Martin. If readers enjoy one series, they will likely enjoy the other, though, simply because they do fall into the same broad genre. I highly recommend both, and see it as a sign of progress, not redundancy, to have two thoughtful and thrilling fantasy series with nonbinary protagonists, which will hopefully point towards even more to come.
Splinter and Ash and their families read as White.
