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A review by caoilo
Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials by Jamar J. Perry
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ), Bloomsbury Children's Books for an e-ARC for review.
Cameron and his friends have only been home in the US about two months but Cameron already knows that they need to return to Chidani soon. But a lot of things stand in Cameron's way least of all his grandmother. Destiny has other plans and Cameron is out of time and choices. He, Zion and Aliyah are transported to Chidani without warning.
They come up against new foes and old. The team soon find out that all Gods are the same. While the trio find them selves in new places the situation is usually the same, win or someone dies.
There were the usual themes present, love, family, connection, right and wrong, good and evil. Though at least in this book we may have seen some gray areas when it came to good and evil.
Unfortunately this book did not hit the same way the first one did. Expressions were over used, there were some parts that were predictable and situations seemed to be repeated. Part of the story also feel contradictory. And while the book is named Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials, the trials themselves only last a few short chapters. There was so much in this book, there could have been a third installment. Though over all I'm glad there wasn't.
Aliyah was all but a third wheel and all the main action seemed surround the two boys. Again she felt like the token girl.
I hate to say it but I did notice an undercurrent of sexism. There were a few things that annoyed me. The most noticeable is when Cameron is thinking about his time with his father. He remembers how his dad would make him breakfast on a Saturday if his mother wanted a lay in. as if it were her job.
Though the book was supposed to cause Cameron pain as some sort of spider-sense, warning Cameron of danger ect, as a disabled person who suffers with chronic pain I found this an ableist trope. Not to mention there was a magic potion that could heal everything.
While in the book Cameron and Zion's relationship is not frowned upon by those in Chidani it certainly would be in real life Nigeria. Which as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, just like the writer, I find this conflicting . Would it be great if the community was excepted, yes. But it isn't, so there is no way Cam and Zion would be aloud to share a bed. Horrific things have been done to gay people in Nigeria.
I think the book could have focused on the slavery suffered by the Igbo people but I feel the whole thing just got lost. There seemed too much to be going on in the book at once. Can Cam save Vince, can Cam save Zion, can Cam save Chidani, can he find the ring, save his parents, and Earth, can he kill the baddies.
To be honest by the end I didn't really care about the story. Part of that was due to the falseness of the characters. They were always on the brink of an argument and quickly became friends again, but then do the exact same thing that started the argument in the first place. It annoyed me no end that the characters repeated information over and over. They seemed to have the same conversation repeatedly, with nothing new to add or gain. Almost like Perry had forgotten that a character already said it. Again it didn't help that Cam, Zion and A did not speak like American teenagers, more like English professors. If they did sound more authentic then the Gods would have sounded different from them but all the characters had the same speech pattern.
While the last few chapters were emotion I definitely understand why it is for a much younger audience than me. I have so much more to say but I will leave it with this.
As I said about the last one:
If you are looking for book with a friendship like Harry Potter, baddies 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.
Cameron and his friends have only been home in the US about two months but Cameron already knows that they need to return to Chidani soon. But a lot of things stand in Cameron's way least of all his grandmother. Destiny has other plans and Cameron is out of time and choices. He, Zion and Aliyah are transported to Chidani without warning.
They come up against new foes and old. The team soon find out that all Gods are the same. While the trio find them selves in new places the situation is usually the same, win or someone dies.
There were the usual themes present, love, family, connection, right and wrong, good and evil. Though at least in this book we may have seen some gray areas when it came to good and evil.
Unfortunately this book did not hit the same way the first one did. Expressions were over used, there were some parts that were predictable and situations seemed to be repeated. Part of the story also feel contradictory. And while the book is named Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials, the trials themselves only last a few short chapters. There was so much in this book, there could have been a third installment. Though over all I'm glad there wasn't.
Aliyah was all but a third wheel and all the main action seemed surround the two boys. Again she felt like the token girl.
I hate to say it but I did notice an undercurrent of sexism. There were a few things that annoyed me. The most noticeable is when Cameron is thinking about his time with his father. He remembers how his dad would make him breakfast on a Saturday if his mother wanted a lay in. as if it were her job.
Though the book was supposed to cause Cameron pain as some sort of spider-sense, warning Cameron of danger ect, as a disabled person who suffers with chronic pain I found this an ableist trope. Not to mention there was a magic potion that could heal everything.
While in the book Cameron and Zion's relationship is not frowned upon by those in Chidani it certainly would be in real life Nigeria. Which as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, just like the writer, I find this conflicting . Would it be great if the community was excepted, yes. But it isn't, so there is no way Cam and Zion would be aloud to share a bed. Horrific things have been done to gay people in Nigeria.
I think the book could have focused on the slavery suffered by the Igbo people but I feel the whole thing just got lost. There seemed too much to be going on in the book at once. Can Cam save Vince, can Cam save Zion, can Cam save Chidani, can he find the ring, save his parents, and Earth, can he kill the baddies.
To be honest by the end I didn't really care about the story. Part of that was due to the falseness of the characters. They were always on the brink of an argument and quickly became friends again, but then do the exact same thing that started the argument in the first place. It annoyed me no end that the characters repeated information over and over. They seemed to have the same conversation repeatedly, with nothing new to add or gain. Almost like Perry had forgotten that a character already said it. Again it didn't help that Cam, Zion and A did not speak like American teenagers, more like English professors. If they did sound more authentic then the Gods would have sounded different from them but all the characters had the same speech pattern.
While the last few chapters were emotion I definitely understand why it is for a much younger audience than me. I have so much more to say but I will leave it with this.
As I said about the last one:
If you are looking for book with a friendship like Harry Potter, baddies 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.