Review by Imogen, Thomas Telford School Shropshire
Sisters of Sword and Shadow is a captivating historical adventure which interestingly takes a feminist view on the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Cass, the intrepid and valiant protagonist, flees from her home after an arranged marriage and is encouraged to join a sisterhood of knights where she perseveres despite the many obstacles being sent in her way. These mentally and physically challenge her to defy societal expectations of women and their restraint by patriarchal limits. Attempting to right the wrongs of male knights, Lauren Bates exposes the terrorizing aspects of knighthood including the vicious male knights willing to do anything to upkeep their "reputation ". reoccurring throughout most of the text is the prominent motif of death and loss as a way of intimidating opponents. for example, the female knighthood witnesses a death of one of their own sisters as a method of sir mordant keeping the women's distance from his land where they can help the villagers. whilst rivalries were especially common across knights in medieval England, bates authorial adventure reinforces the struggles of opposing knights and death so through it.

One of my favourite characters was Gamelin, who defies what is typical of a knight and helps the sisterhood rebuild their strength to fight instead of taking glory in their weakness. My least favourite character was sir mordant himself as he came across as arrogant and repulsive since he ordered the deaths of the much-loved villagers and Cass’ closest friend Lily.

I enjoyed reading this book as I had a prior interest in King Arthurs round table and the roles of knights much like Lancelot and Percival. The lady of the lake was a clever plot line embedded to reference when King Arthur was given a premonition to seek Excalibur. This reflects when Cass sees her friend lily in the lake and realizes she has gained the sword and is now the leader of the earlier sir mordants knights.

I would recommend this book to students as it gives you an insight into what women's lives were like at the time and alters the perspective of what women's roles were even to a modern day.

Review by Isis, George Eliot Academy Nuneaton
The book, ‘Sisters of Sword and Shadow,’ was written by Laura Bates. I think this book is at the right level for Years 9-11. It is a fictional story. Cass is a seventeen-year-old girl, living in Arthurian England. When her sister gets married, she knows that it will be her turn soon after. So, when the opportunity to escape her future as a housewife arises, she takes it; joining the Knights of the Sisters of Sword and Shadow: a secret order of female knights who disguise themselves as men in order to fight in tournaments with the respect they deserve. This book is highly educational; both on the role that women are so often forced to take on in society, and the ways that they can be exploited by men and used as objects by the patriarchy. The novel highlights the ways in which gender roles can detrimentally harm mindsets and mental health, and the things people can be forced to do to defend themselves. It is also a story of self-acceptance, and learning to love yourself the way you are.

I would recommend this book to all teenagers and young adults, as it shares such important messages about gender roles, resilience and self-discovery. The characters are diverse, and each add to the incredible world that Laura Bates has created.

The world and story are well-crafted, and it really makes the characters come to life.

While it deals with some very serious topics, it does so in a way that is educational to the reader and allows you to see how these things affect people in the real world.

I highly recommend this book, and I think everyone should read it.