Inspired by West African and Igbo history and mythology, this book has many of the beats of classic fantasy stories (an orphan who just might save the world; a forbidden object; a portal to a secret realm), but also offers a Black protagonist, worldbuilding rooted in Black culture, and a queer romance—not items unique to this story, but still all too rare in literature generally.
Twelve-year-old Cameron Battle, a Black boy, grew up reading The Book of Chidani with his parents, and the stories about the fabled kingdom that cut itself off from the world to save the Igbo people from danger. His parents say the stories are true and that the book has been passed down through their family for generations. Cameron doesn’t quite believe them. Two years ago, however, Cameron’s parents disappeared suddenly, and his grandmother locked the book away in the attic.
His best friends Zion and Aliyah, both also Black, urge him to open it again, however, whereupon they are magically transported to Chidani. All is not well there, however; the land is threatened by the queen’s sister, who wants to destroy the barrier between the worlds. Cameron, it seems, is the last descendant of Chidani’s founders and the only one who might be able to save them (with a little help from his friends). Cameron and Zion also have obvious romantic feelings for each other, although that is not a focus of the plot.
Debut author Jamar J. Perry weaves in themes of self-confidence, family, and friendship as Cameron and his friends train, quest, and fight to save the world. Perry says in a promotional message about the book, “I wrote Cameron in the same vein of myself: a Black queer boy who has a love for reading, who uses reading as a form of escape into fantasy worlds, and who finds his historical positioning based on his experiences. It is my hope that Cameron can inspire other Black boys to love themselves as they are, instead of who others want them to be.” That’s a lofty goal, but he just might succeed.
