Where do I begin?
THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY was a fun, feminist-lensed and FIERCE romp through Medieval Times (the restaurant/attraction, not the time period)!
Before I get into my *showered praises*, let's pop on in a little ~summary~ to get all you lovely readers up to speed.
Working as a wench ― i.e. waitress ― at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly dreams of being a knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood, so she can help her mom pay the mortgage and hold a spot at her dream college.
Company policy allows only guys to be knights. So when Kit takes her brother’s place and reveals her identity at the end of the show, she rockets into internet fame and a whole lot of trouble with the management. But the Girl Knight won’t go down without a fight. As other wenches join her quest, a protest forms. In a joust before Castle executives, they’ll prove that gender restrictions should stay medieval―if they don’t get fired first.
Moxie meets A Knight’s Tale as Kit Sweetly slays sexism, bad bosses, and bad luck to become a knight at a medieval-themed restaurant.
Ok. Now. Onto my review.
1). The prose was fresh, fast-flowing and fun to read.
2). The plot hooked me in from page 1...
3). ...and each of Pacton's characters are SO diverse, individual and well-written. I absolutely loved the sibling relationship between Kit and her brother, Chris -- the latter was authentic and supportive (albeit a bit overprotective), and I felt that Pacton wrote their sibling bond down to a T: something (surprisingly) difficult to find in mainstream YA fiction.
Not to mention, the diversity and representation throughout the cast was utterly fantastic: Kit's love interest is half-Indian (and, side note, he's just INCREDIBLE: intelligent, supportive, swoon-worthy, and ALL AROUND AMAZING!!). Kit's best friend is openly bi, and dates another woman throughout the novel. One of Kit's co-workers -- an integral secondary character -- is a transgender woman, and another one of her co-workers is non-binary and uses "they/them" pronouns. The cherry on top, though, is the moment where Kit herself reflects upon her OWN privilege: this is something I've never seen before in literature, but was both eye-opening and brilliant. Definitely a pertinent -- and relevant -- addition to the narrative. Well done, Jamie Pacton!!
The action is top-notch, and the details are SO well-described: Pacton's setting is incredibly immersive, so much so that since finishing the book, I've been filled with an immense desire to head to the nearest Medieval Times and enjoy a turkey-leg dinner and a show! (Ah, well -- that'll be the first thing I do, post-COVID, haha!).
One of the standout details of this title was Pacton's inclusion of little pop-culture/historical callbacks: the nods to A KNIGHT'S TALE (arguably the best historical comedy of all time), the mentions of Joan of Arc and other bada** Medieval women (Yes! YES! YES!!!), and, most importantly, the fact that there was a literal *Knights of the Round Table* scene (BE STILL, MY EVER QUAKING HEART)!!!!!! UGH. I LOVED IT ALL. SO. MUCH.
If you're looking for a fun, fresh, relevant novel (that, honestly, is a little on the lighter side, which is exactly what we need during these turbulent times in the world), definitely give this one a try.
5/5 stars. 100%.
I cannot WAIT for Pacton's sophomore release, LUCKY GIRL, to be released this May -- exactly 4 months (120 days) to go!!!