The Life and Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton (2020)

Kit’s Quest and Other Events

This is the story of a girl. The Castle is part of a national chain of restaurants, that feature all the best of the Middle Ages. Twice daily they hold knightly competitions:  threading rings with a hoop, jousting and hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, they have a policy of only allowing men to  participate as knights. There’s plenty of women who work there. They just get to have titles like Wench. 

Kit has loved the Castle since since she was a kid. Her uncle, Len, is the general manager, her brother, Chris, rides as the Red Knight and all of her friends works there. Including her best friends Layla and Jett. It’s one big happy medieval family. Except there’s discontent: Kit (and other people, since it embraces identities across the spectrum) wants to be a Knight. She’s as good as her brother but Len won’t dare cross company policy. 

Fates steps in when Chris needs her to take his place. She keeps her visor down and ends up winning her match to be the night’s champion. She whips of her helmet and in an awesome imitation of Eowyn, declares that she is no man. The crowd loves it. Len does not. 

Kit’s friends help with her quest: Jett filmed her fight and it goes viral on video, Layla designs a website *thegirlknight.com* and monetizes it. She comes up with a plan: recruit the non-men to train and put on a special tournament. Plus, she’s just been accepted at her dream school: Marquette University. 

But this isn’t a fairy tale or a cheesy rom-com. Kit and her family have real problems. Example: Kit steals restaurant napkins to use as toilet paper. Her mom is consistently tired from working as a waitress. Her father refuses to grant a divorce or pay child support. And then there’s Jett; he and Kit have a unbreakable rule where romance is off the table. The book deals with these challenges (and more) in a realistic manner and they don’t all work out happily ever after. The characters are well-rounded and, man, I want a Jett in my life. Most of all, I wish that the Castle were a real restaurant chain. It would be my new hangout. Highly recommend for any age (FYI - there is profanity)!

5/5 stars