jamar j. perry

In this magical middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of The Marvellers and Amari and the Night Brothers, a shy boy must step up and become his own hero after his best friend disappears at a magical school.

Jaden and Elijah have been best friends since they were born. They’re so close that Jaden doesn’t even mind that he’s constantly living in talented, high-achieving Elijah’s shadow-well, he doesn’t mind much.

But then Elijah disappears, leaving behind nothing but a cryptic note asking for Jaden’s help. The next day, Jaden is invited to attend Elijah’s fancy private boarding school. Only, it turns out it’s not a boarding school at all. It’s a school for magic! Somehow, before Elijah vanished, he used his note to transfer part of his own magic into Jaden-a feat that is supposed to be impossible.

Determined to find his friend, Jaden agrees to attend the school and learn to control his new powers. But a sinister force is threatening to destroy the whole magical world. And if Jaden doesn’t stop it, he’ll be the next to disappear.

Jamar J. Perry is the author of the Cameron Battle series. He received his PhD in literacy education, language, culture, and social inquiry from the University of Maryland, College Park. Before, he taught middle school language arts for four years, where the majority of the students were Black boys. Like Cameron and Jaden, he hopes that one day all Black boys can understand how magical and joyful they really are, no matter how different they may feel.

Twitter: @jamarperry
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www.jamarjperry.com