Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdom has a lot of fantastical elements: a magical book, a forbidden attic, griffins, a secret kingdom, the wonderful art of Dambe, demonic gods, Igbo mythology, monsters, an undead army, and three 12-year-olds flung into this world. It should have made a fantastic book. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me for several reasons (note: SPOILERS),
I found the writing quite unpolished in places, and the author did not find his voice until near the end of the book. This made for an uneven reading experience and more difficult to empathise with Cameron, particularly as the goal of the queen (and Cameron) was not one I could sympathise with.
I really liked the idea that Chidani, created ostensibly to save the Igbo from slavery, actually leads to their queen enslaving them, trapping them into a terrible bargain with the gods. Cameron meets his ancestor, servant (slave?) to the queen, who lives in a one room hovel – after two hundred years labour! Cameron, however, appears to be oblivious to this hugely unequal society. There are interesting ideas here about freedom and servitude, but I felt they were not explored well. The magic book itself, swimming across the Atlantic after the slave ships, inexplicably allows one privileged descendant cross into the magic realm – why did it not rescue all the slaves and transport them to Chidani? I’d like a reason to have been given.
While I liked the book depicting the strong male friendship between Cameron and Zion, I found the suggestion that there would be a romantic/sexual relationship between them quite off-putting, as they were twelve and this is a middle grade children's book. Aliyah was my favourite character and she started off strongly. However she fell into the role of useless female by the end. For instance during the big battle scene at the book’s climax Zion is concussed but two minutes later jumps to his feet so he can fight back-to-back with Cameron. Aliyah on the other hand is kidnapped by the antagonist and has to be rescued.
The ending was particularly disappointing. Cameron storms home distraught and angry, retrieving only two of the missing three items. I get that there will be a sequel but to me the first book in a series has to have enough (not necessarily all) ends tied up to be a satisfactory read. Nothing was resolved, so I felt a bit cheated.
Great ideas, huge potential, disappointing delivery.

Such a refreshing middle grade read. I always forget how much I love middle grade but this just made me remember why I should read it more often.

I adore the representation in this book, the strength of the characters is just sublime and the fact that the characters show younger readers that it is OKAY to be sensitive and have emotions is just such an important message for a middle grade read.

I liked that our main protagonist isn’t perfect, and had to make effort to learn and grow alongside his friends in this new fantasy land.

Such a good debut middle read novel.

Thank you for my earc of this book!
I love that this book is about the different types of family and the people we belong to. I loved the element of myths and folklore. I also thought it was great pacing for a middlegrade book and I look forward to seeing where this series will go.

Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms
by Jamar J. Perry
Pub Date 03 Mar 2022
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ), Bloomsbury Children's Books
Children's Fiction | LGBTQIA | Middle Grade
Goodreads::https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4671534340?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

If all your life you believed you were a normal child it might come as a shock that you and your friends get sucked into a portal into another world, a hidden place in West Africa known as Chidani. Well this is exactly what happened to Cameron Battle and his friends Zion and Aliyah.
Cameron quickly realizes this other world has something to do with the deaths of his parents. When they reach safety Cameron is asked to help save this, his ancestrally homeland, to do this Cameron would have to retrieve three objects that would save the Queen of the land and restore peace to not just Chidani but the rest of the world.
While Cameron feels this is his destiny he tries to convince Zion and Aliyah to return home, but as ever they respond by telling him they are all init together, good or bad.


Just like many other good Middle Grade books this work shows exactly what good friendship looks like. At once the reader is aware that there is a connection to the slave trade and how it was African slave came to be held and traded in the US. That these people (slaves) were treated horrendously. The writing gives some insight into the culture of West Africa as well as their legends and gods. It also hints that Cameron and Zion may be more than just friends which is were the LGBTQ+ comes in. Though I don't recall any other characters being members of the community.


I loved the feel of friendship this book gave, and that Aliyah was a strong character and not just a token "girl" of the group. The fact this had West African background was one of the reasons I picked it up and I was not disappointed. I found the descriptions so vivid most of the time I felt the urge to draw them but couldn't bring myself to put the book down. As a slow reader it would usually take me weeks to read a 300 page book, how ever I read this work in around four sittings.

The only things that I didn't particularly like are minute really. Knowing that Cameron and Zion's relationship is to become romantic, the fact they call each other brother is a bit wrong. I can't wait to see their relationship blossom but I wish they stuck to calling each other friends.
The other is that in one part of the book it is mentioned that Cameron is given utensils to eat with, with my limited circle of West African (Nigerian to be specific) acquaintances it seems tradition to eat with their hands when they are in their own home or back in their home country. Most eat with their right hand (as the left is considered dirty/rude) and only use cutlery when they are in other countries.

If you are looking for book with a friendship like Harry Potter, badies reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, a quest like both, POC characters and set in a hidden place like Wakanda this is for you 100%.
Do expect tears at the end.

The story follows Cameron and his friends as they find that they are destined to save a magical realm, the protected immortal lands of Cameron's ancestors, from an evil Goddess/sorceress, after being pulled into the book of Chidani. I loved the idea of the book, the land of Chidani, and the good old-fashioned magical object quest with Cameron, the untried hero with a heart of gold, who inherits a hefty responsibility and learns to carry the weight of it with the help of his devoted friends. I always liked stories of vast magical lands and children saving the day, ever since the four Pevensie children became High Kings and Queens of Narnia, and the start of Cameron's adventures had that kind of feel to it, but inspired by Western African mythology.

The story is fast-paced, the world vivid, and I raced through this, but I did struggle with some of the writing sometimes. Cameron's voice wasn't always convincing, sometimes he felt like a young boy, but at other times he felt much older, so that he became a little tricky to place. I had to re-read a few of the sentences as well, as the way they were written sometimes meant that I struggled to catch the meaning initially, or a character's dialogue felt like it was contradicting itself. Hopefully, that will be tightened up in the final editing though, and it didn't detract too much from the pace.

A simple story, but with lots of heart!

I love that this book exists and I got to read it - it's the classic portal fantasy but with the magical world being a hidden African kingdom - Wakanda style - that the ancestors of the main character Cameron came from. It had a solid trio, with Cam and his two best friends, and it had an epic quest to find three magical artefacts to save the queen of Chidani from her evil sister.

What I did struggle with was the writing, because the dialogue often felt clumsy and the way things were structured often seemed like they were setting things up that weren't paid off. I think it's overall a cool concept and kids, who don't obsess over sentence structure, are no doubt going to love it.

Cameron and his best friends, Zion and Aliyah, are just getting out of elementary school for the summer. It's raining. It doesn't feel like summer. But it's time for the weekend sleepover. Cameron and Zion have been friends since kindergarten, and have been doing this a long time, but it's the first time Aliyah has been invited.

Cameron's Grandma, who Zion also sees as his own Grandma, has been particularly concerned about Cameron's safety. Not just since the death of his parents, but even more so over the last few months.

Also of note - the attic is completely off limits. As is the Book. Tales of a land called Chidani. A place of gods and magic.

The Book belongs to Cameron now, passed down from his mum, who got it from Grandma, and so on back down the line.

That's the backstory, and you can make some pretty good guesses at where things go from here.

Perry makes sure very quickly that the character images we have are of black faces. Before non-black folk build our own image, and default it to white, we're interrupted and told they are black. That's good. No excuses.

Perry doesn't draw things out - almost immediately, dread hits both Cameron and the reader. It's on every page for us, even when Cameron has relaxed.

There's a nice touch of Cameron being a Percy Jackson fan. It won't stop the comparisons to those books, but it acknowledges them, and moves on. Then, it shows you something different.

Reading a book immersed in a culture that isn't mine, always means some time spent searching concepts and words and phrases that I don't know. Learning while I'm reading is great to be able to do, and Perry offers enough but not too much for younger minds.

Towards the beginning, there is a large chunk of exposition. It's explained away as Cameron reciting what he was told by his mama, but it does sound rather like he's swallowed a textbook. Still, it does give us the info we need before things really take off.

I can only begin to imagine (and that glimmer only comes via my own marginalisations - none of them with anything like the same background as black Americans, who can trace their line back to pre-slavery Africa) the feeling of entering a place where suddenly everyone looks like you. Where the language is as ancient as the history, and you recognise your own ancestry wherever you go.

I think black American kids would benefit from much more of this. Reminders of their powerful lineage, of their culture of caring - all for each other, everyone together as family. Perry does a great job of depicting this. All the way through, Cameron, Zion and Aliyah keep themselves together. As a team. It's a regular refrain throughout the book.

Everything about Chidani feels like it tries very hard to be what Perry envisions an untouched and unchanged ancestral land should be. The layout is confusing in its scope and feels packed with undescribed things. This had the effect of leaving me unable to picture a lot of what was, rather than described, stated and then immediately moved on from.

Queerness is vaguely danced around a few times, but then pulled back. However the acknowledgements say this book is for queer black boys/men. So something is maybe going on there between Cameron and Zion, but right now it's still well below the surface.

Cameron is incredibly self-aware for a pre-teen. He has insights that would be difficult for an adult. It feels as if Perry is trying to lessen the moments when Cameron acts like the 12yr old that he is, by immediately having him explain it. That suggests a lack of confidence in the likeability of the character - which is entirely misplaced. Cameron is a charming, intelligent boy and Perry should let his personality and actions stand for themselves.

A number of details seem like they were just not thought out properly, or at the least not well explained - though picking up things like that may be a force of habit seared into my brain, which won't be true of young readers.

As an adult reader, I enjoyed it; flaws and all. This is Perry's first published work, and there are more Cameron Battle stories to come. This is great, because I can see a lot of good in the writing here. There are big ideas, and the main issues are inability to properly convey the concepts, and a lack of technical skill. But those are both issues that improve with practice (and good editors to learn from). There's nothing wrong here in the foundation of the story, and inexperience only has one fix.

If you've got kids in the early or pre-teens, or even a little below (as long as they can deal with creepy shadow monsters), I'd definitely recommend this one. It's a good story. And as far as my white butt can tell, it's good representation for African-Americans. And it's a beautiful story about family, friendship, grief, love, and community. So put it on their read list, and talk about it with them.


Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdom was released on March 3rd

Loved this exciting, action-packed fantasy adventure, inspired by West African mythology. It has a fantastic cast of characters and is bursting with magic and legend. Readers are going to love this one, I just know it.

Cameron lives with his grandmother, following the death of his parents two years previously. Before they died, they used to read him a special book, which was saved from when the slaves were brought to the United States, so that they could preserve their heritage and their stories. But the book is not fiction, as Cameron and his friends discover when they read it and are sucked into a world in peril. It is up to them to save it! This is a fun fantasy novel that also touches on serious topics such as slavery and generational trauma, handled deftly and accessibly. In addition, Cameron has feelings for his male friend, which he doesn’t quite understand. His sexuality is not made explicit, but we are hoping for more queer content in the second book!

Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms is a fantasy adventure for middle grade readers. The comparisons to the Percy Jackson series are accurate as this book delivers a plot-driven, action-packed story reminiscent of Riordan's works. However, being based on West African and Igbo mythology, this book does offer something new and refreshing for fans of the Percy Jackson series.

I saw this book being compared to Percy Jackson so naturally I had to see what it was all about, and ultimately I was not disappointed. Our hero Cameron is a young boy who accidentally gets sucked into a new world along with his friends when they go snooping around the attic from which they were all banned. Why were they banned from the attic? Because Cameron’s parents are not who they seem, nor is anyone in their family, and in the attic is The Book of Chidani, which is based on Igbo legends, but more than that, seems to magically show real time events and stories within it’s pages.

Cameron thinks his parents deaths have something to do with the book, but early on you start to suspect that his parents have actually gone into this new world and are fighting a war in their ancient homeland. Once Cameron and his friends end up in Chidani they must help save Queen Ramala and Chidani from a fate worse than death. Their quests to find the three gifts to save them all have them facing terrifying monsters and enemies throughout the world and they must learn to fight, and fly, very quickly otherwise they won’t stand a chance. So do they manage it? Well, the book ends on a cliff hanger and we’ll have to find out in book two whether or not Cameron and his motley crew can save Chidani.

Overall I enjoyed this quick MG read, but I did feel like the writing was very hit or miss in the way the style kept fluctuating between seeming like a MG book and then a YA book, I cant fault the plot or characters at all, I just think the author needs to decide what age group their main audience is and write for them. Has that put me off continuing the series? Not in the slightest. I want to see what happens to the characters.

Thank you @bloomsburypublishing and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my review.

2.5 stars

I really struggled to get into this book, and I think it was because of the writing style. The premise is great, and the characters were promising as well as a fun adventure across a hidden world, but I simply never clicked with the book. There was just something stopping me from slipping into the story and being able follow along on the ride, and I think that has to be the writing style.

It kept jumping out at me as quite awkward at times. It didn't feel smooth and flowing. I kept jerking to a halt at phrases that seemed to glare out at me, not feeling natural. It was a lot of short sentences for emphasis that didn't sounds like anything I'd expect someone to say. Like "It's nice to meet you. My family." When you get a lot of that, it sort of undermines the story because it makes it hard to believe these are real people.

It would also often imply something, and then state it obviously in the next sentence. That had the dual effect of feeling like I wasn't being trusted/was being talked down to, and also slowing down the pacing.

The other thing that kept jerking me from the story was that Cameron gets these memories of his parents' time in the Hidden Kingdoms. However, they weren't always immediately clear whether he was watching his parents do something, or whether there a scene in the present that he was simply watch rather than interacting for. It did mean I occasionally had to stop and reassess what I'd just read when Cameron's name appeared - and work out whether he had just come back to the present or what interacting with the others.

One thing I did really like though was how it dealt with jealousy. Cameron is the supposed hero, but his friends (who weren't supposed to be there) get to grips with the magical fighting far faster. That doesn't seem to be the norm in my experience of these sorts of books, and it meant there was an exploration of resentment on top of the feelings of inadequacy.

This is a very exciting adventure book. Not to be read at bedtime (I made that mistake ). It was non stop from one scene to the next and our young ones really enjoyed me reading it. The characters were well described and the world building believable. Almost cinematic in the writing.

This was a really action-packed book.

We join Cameron and his friends Zion and Aliyah as they are magically transported to Chidani. The kingdom of Chidani is in danger from magical forces and Cameron needs to step up to be their hero. Along the way he learns more about his parents, battles some dangerous creatures, and learns more about himself.

Although this was a very good, action-packed book - for me, there was just too much going on. A lot of characters, etc and the world-building just felt very rushed. I would have loved this to have been split up into a couple of books, taking a bit more time over the world-building because it was actually very good and I would have liked to learn about this world in more detail.