Reviews

Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials by Jamar J. Perry

lovelylloyd's review

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Thank you NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and Jamar for providing me with a copy of Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials for review. 

This is an amazing book. It is a Middle Grade book with a queer black MC and amazing West African mythology. LOVE. This book is a great MG book, it has everything that I am looking for in a fast paced fantasy. What is not fast paced is the love story, which is inline with basically every MG series ever so hopefully there is more to come. 

I really really enjoyed the first book in this series, my review of that was:

"Tweenie Queer book! I love what this book brings to the table and what future books in the series can offer. Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms by @jamarjperry

I was very excited by this book being compared to the Percy Jackson books with a queer black boy as the MC. It is not immediately obvious from this book that the MC is queer but there are the foundations of a queer romance. I enjoyed the world creation and look forward to exploring the world of Chidani and the queer romance in future books."

My thoughts remain the same, there is a future for these books to depict queer black teens in such a meaningful way. I love Cameron and Zion. I need to see this romance blossom. There is also so much more room to explore the Mythology and the world of Chidani which educates and informs children as well as entertains. 

Having read the first book almost a year ago I really needed a recap on what was what and who was who before diving into this. 

TL;DR If you like the Percy Jackson universe but want some black queer rep then this will be right up your alley. 

wylovat's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

dragontomes2000's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials wraps up what was started in book one. This concluding novel picks up about a few months after the events of book one. 

Now, I did not enjoy this book as much as book one, but it had a satisfying ending. I think what was missed in this book was a lot of the heart that book one had. I do enjoy that the relationship between Cameron and Zion was fleshed out a little more, but the story kind of forced it. Now that is not me saying it is a bad thing, I just wished it felt more fluid. I love seeing LGBTQ+ representation in middle grade though. I know this book is titled "Escape Trials," but that part of the book was a meager 10 pages or so. Seemed like a missed opportunity. I know what your thinking, "It's just a title," but it really felt like an after thought, the Escape Trials. 

Jamar J. Perry is just starting out as an author, and I think the Cameron Battle series shows a lot of promise. I am really looking forward to seeing Jamar J. Perry continue his journey as a published author. 

caitief's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

bostonbooks's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5