“It’s been seven hours and nineteen minutes since I, Jackson Freeman, turned twelve, moved across the country into a house of doom, and abandoned everything I ever knew and loved, only to be accused of tomfoolery. Me! Tomfoolery!”
I do love a well-done middle grade novel, and I adore Kwame Mbalia. (You may recall how much I love the Tristan Strong series.) It doesn’t hurt that Mbalia is an NC author, and I love to support NC creatives. Mbalia’s characters are so full of voice and life, and Jackson “Jax” Freeman is no different. I might still be partial to Tristan, but I am quite fond of Jax.
Comparing Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek to Harry Potter cheapens what Mbalia is doing, but the comparison is right there – a boy who doesn’t know he is magic, magic classes, a group of kids who have to save the world – but this isn’t Harry Potter. Mbalia magic relies heavily on root magic, the role of ancestors, and rich cultures that embraced oral storytelling traditions. He sets his novels in America, this time Chicago, with a history that is not ignored. Mbalia’s novels are magic, yes, but part of that magic is the sheer heart and history behind them.
Jax is sent to Chicago to live with relatives after a scandal in Raleigh. He’s immediately accosted at the train station and inanimate objects begin talking to him. A food vendor blows some type of dust in his face, and a conductor tries to steal his skin. It’s an interesting first day in Chicago. Jax soon learns that he is a summoner and comes from a longline of talented Freemans, talented but unliked. With a new group of friends, Jax sets out to clear his great great grandfather’s name and his own.
If you need a palate cleanser or a book to read along with your littles, this is it. (And the Tristan Strong trilogy of course!)
A Girl Named Tommi 