As a fan of the Marvel Comics Universe movies, I was interested to see some backstory of T’Challa’s childhood. This was occasionally enlightening and occasionally disappointing.

Overall, though, we see T’Challa’s earnest desire to live up to his father’s expectations and legacy. Sometimes, of course, since he’s a middle-schooler, it means he makes some poor choices. As with so many middle-grade and young-adult novels, our protagonist gets into that trap of feeling like he must solve all the problems himself, whether it’s because he wants to prove his ability or because he’s embarrassed to ask for help.

In this case, the repercussions of his independence are minor. Importantly, he makes some good friends with other kids who are not “the popular kids.” He finds that he doesn’t really mind people not treating him like the heir to a kingdom.
The conflict is with a mysterious group of bullies. As a sort of junior-Black Panther, T’Challa, with help from his new friends, is able to prevent their evil mentor from bringing his plans to fruition—all without getting in trouble at home.

Possible Objectionable Material:
This middle grade novel is rather dark. The mysterious group performs magic and spiritualism. T’Challa worships the animal gods of his culture. Some violence. No swearing or romance.

Who Might Like This Book:
Anyone who enjoys friendship stories, coming-of-age, and the MCU.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This book also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2022/01/february-1-releases-part-1.html

A great adventure for new and old fans alike. Readers will love following the young adventures of T''challa. Great for any library where superhero comics are popular.

This novel about young T'Challah's first adventure in America was perfect. The writing and character development were flawless. Not all comics-to-novels work well, but "Black Panther: The Young Prince" is a roaring success! I hope we will see more Black Panther stories for young readers from Ronald L. Smith in the future. 5/5 stars.

I didn't read this book - couldn't upload it. Wish I could have read it!

This will be a good addition to our library for fans of the movie who want to read more in the same vein.

Any fan of Marvel is going to grab this novelization right off the shelf. It's engaging, and we get to see a character that we adore on screen, in a new light. Young T'Challa is sent to America for an education and suddenly our young prince isn't sure he's ready to face a world outside of Wakanda.

As soon as I read this book, I rushed to make sure that we would have it in our collection. It seems someone else in the library was on the same page since I didn't need to request it!

Black Panther: The Young Prince shows us the ruler of Wakanda in his early days. T’Challa gets sent to school in America when conflicts in Wakanda start getting serious. The story follows 12-year old T’Challa and his best friend M’Baku in America, struggling with secret identities and of course, fighting evil! T’Challa and M’Baku are introduced as foreign exchange students and the friends they make are VEEERYYY different. There’s some bullying and struggles, which will be relateable to most middle graders. Overall, there is a huge diversity of young characters and they’re very relateable (yes, even the bully!).

I don’t want to get into the plot of the story, because if I mention it, I’ll probably just spoil things. But I just want to say that this book is the perfect example of why kids are awesome and adults are messy (lol!). While the story is predictable and easy to read, it might be one that readers of young adult might not enjoy, so I’d like for people to keep in mind that this is a middle grade story and it does an AMAZING job at captivating the audience that is meant to be reading this.

With this being said, I think a Black Panther YA novel would be AMAZING! But, we got a middle grade novel, so a middle grade novel we shall read!

If you’re looking for a fast and light read before the movie, or if you’ve got a kid / know any middle graders that are looking for superhero or origin stories, then definitely pick this book!

Overall rating: 4.0 stars

Ronald Smith does a fantastic job of telling this awesome superhero story in the perfect middle grade setting: middle school. With the right mix of adventure, mystery, and friendship drama, I felt like this was a book that would appeal to a wide range of readers. Many of my students are excited for the upcoming Black Panther movie and so that has been a huge selling point for the book as well. I was new to Wakanda, but having read this book, I know I will be back for both the comics and hopefully more Black Panther books by Ronald Smith in the future!

This novel pulled me in right away. In a lot of ways it reminded me of the Barry Lyga Flash middle grade book. There was a lot of the comic book character in the character that was in this book.

The main character is T'Challa, and in this story line he's not yet the Black Panther, but middle school age, and his father is T'Chaka. Stuff happens on Wakanda and T'Chaka sends T'Challa as well as T'Challa's best friend M'Baku away to Chicago to go to South Side Middle School so that they're safe away from Wakanda.

It's a hard adjustment for both of them and then they meet Gemini and his friends and M'Baku gets sucked into their circle. Meanwhile T'Challa makes two friends, Sheila and Zeke, and they and T'Challa star an adventure to save M'Baku from those he's gotten involved with.

It was an interesting book. I would have loved to see more of Wakanda, but as I said above, I really got pulled into the story and I'd love to see other books about T'Challa and his new friends.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Marvel Press.

I am loving these novelizations of my favorite serialized comics. This one offers the origin story of Black Panther which has him banished from his land, for his own protection, and trying to survive life in a Chicago high school. In true superhero fashion, the evil he will encounter goes beyond the typical perils an average high school student encounters.

When T'Challa and his friend M'Baku are sent to Chicago while Wakando is under attack, they discover their new school may be the touchstone of an ancient cult. Black Panther: The Young Prince is notable for its realistic portrayal of teen friendships, and the heavy weight of being a future king and learning that loyalty is sometimes borne of jealousy.

Teens will be able to relate to what the characters are going through. Add to that the fun of the iconic comic book moments, and this would be a great pick for a Teen Read or book club!

T’Challa loves life in Wakonda. He is the prince and will one day take over for his father as both king and Black Panther. Wakonda is under attack and his father decides to send him and his best friend M’Baku to Chicago to keep them safe. They stay in the African embassy and attend middle school. T’Challa quickly makes friends with a couple of kids, but M’Baku wants more. He falls in with a group of boys who may be sorcerers and are probably a gang. Soon he has moved in with the leader and left T’Challa on his own. T’Challa knows something is wrong and enlists the help of his new friends to find out what is going on and to save M’Baku.

I think Black Panther is a fascinating character and I love that a Black Superhero is getting so much attention. I didn’t think this book lived up to his story however I don’t think young readers are going to care. There is a lot of action and an intriguing mystery to solve. T’Challa is a confident character who you can definitely see becoming a superhero. My issues were ones only an adult reader is really going to remark upon. T’Challa and M’Baku are sent to Chicago for their safety, yet once they are there they have no adult supervision at all! They basically stay in the African Embassy and eat room service. No one checks on them, no one makes sure things are going well. They are enrolled in middle school with basically no paperwork because they make up names on the spot. These are things that really would not happen in real life. My other issue was with lumping all of Africa together. They are staying at the African Embassy, not the Wakonda Embassy or the Kenyan Embassy and are there really embassies in Chicago? Then when the bad guy’s past is revealed it too is African not Wakonda or Kenya or any of the African nations. That just seemed sloppy to me. I liked this story, but thought there were some places that could have been done better.

Those eagerly awaiting the release of the Black Panther movie will be glad to have this title to read in the meantime. Focusing on a T'Challa still middle-school age, The Young Prince introduces several of the key players in the story of Wakanda; T'Chaka, king of Wakanda, Nick Fury, and the enemy of the kingdom, Ulysses Klaw all play a part in the events that lead to the prince's first adventure as a young Black Panther.

T'Challa and M'Baku travel to Chicago and attend school with other teens and pre-teens while hiding their true identities. When M'Baku falls in with a group of kids up to no good, T'Challa knows that he has to rescue his friend. Luckily for him, he also has new American friends to help out - and the vibranium enhanced suit that his father gave him. But can some physical enhancements and a couple of nerdy teenagers give him enough strength to defeat the plot hatched up by the gang?

Although it is a chapter book rather than a graphic novel, the descriptions make it easy to imagine the setting and action. The prince is shown as a young man still trying to figure out the world and how he will approach life. The conflicts with his adopted brother Hunter are very similar to disagreements between siblings anywhere, although the dynamic between Thor and Loki does come to mind. As T'Challa tries to become a man who will be worthy to take the throne one day, he wrestles with anger, pride, and jealousy just like any other teen, all while studying for tests and preparing for a chess tournament. Life goes on, no matter what the teenage drama or threats to his identity.

Highly recommended for middle grade readers who are interested in the Marvel universe, particularly Black Panther and the Avengers.

YES. A middle grade novel about an African superhero, written by a Coretta Scott King Award-winning author? ALL THE YES, PLEASE. Ronald L. Smith brings T'Challa to life with this first novel, where we meet the not-quite-yet Black Panther and his best friend, M'Baku, in their homeland, Wakanda. Ulysses Klaue (Marvel fans, heads up for continuity!) has shown up in Wakanda, and T'Chaka, current King of Wakanda and Black Panther, knows that's never a good sign. He sends his son and M'Baku off to Chicago and safety while Wakanda braces for an invasion. T'Challa wants to keep his head down and blend in, but M'Baku couldn't want anything less. The opportunity presents itself in the form of local middle school tough guy Gemini Jones and his gang, the Skulls. Kids whisper that Gemini's a warlock, but that doesn't stop M'Baku from falling in with Gemini and turning a cold shoulder to T'Challa. If middle school squabbling were the only problem, right? But nope, things are about to go south in a big wayl; luckily for T'Challa, his father packed a Black Panther suit for his son... just in case of emergencies.

This novel is SO GOOD. It's unputdownable, whether you're a superhero/Marvel fan or not. Ronald L. Smith brings his talent for creating interesting characters and conflict, plus his gift for writing about magic, and gives life to one of Marvel's most exciting characters.

Yes, I'm a Black Panther fan. Yes, I'm thrilled about the movie coming out. And yes, this book is fantastic and deserves its spot on every middle grade/middle schooler's library shelf. Representation counts, and by giving an African superhero his own novel, written by an award-winning African American novelist, Disney has shown readers their commitment to diversity and #ownvoices. I'm thrilled with The Young Prince, and want to read more. Maybe next, we can get a story about the Dora Milaje? How about a Shuri mention? (She's Black Panther's sister, in the comics.) Indulge me!

E ARC from Netgalley.com

T'Challa enjoys his life as the heir to the throne of Wakanda, where his father is the reigning Black Panther. Their society is very technologically advanced because years ago a meteor hit near them and gave the valuable element of Vibranium to them. When war approached their borders, T'Challa's father sends him and his friend, M'Baku, to the African embassy in Chicago to hide from the father's enemies. T'Challa's adopted brother, Hunter, is older and stays to help with the war. When the boys arrive in Chicago, they find that the embassy is not nearly as luxurious as their home, and their middle school is certainly not what they are used to. While T. Charles (as he becomes known) embraces his nerdy French speaking, wrestling self and makes friends with Zeke and Sheila, Marcus decides to play basketball and befriends the shady Gemini Jones, who claims to be a warlock. T. is very concerned when Marcus moves in with the Jones family, but the war is heating up in Wakanda, and his father is otherwise occupied. T. investigates and finds that Mr. Jones is involved with some very scary magic, and he is afraid that his friend Marcus is involved. Can Sheila, Zeke and T. figure out what it going on and use the powers of the Black Panther to stop Gemini and his father before bad things occur? How will the war in Wakanda play out? And what does the future hold for the young Black Panther?
Strengths: Smith, whose two books on magic (HooDoo and The Mesmerist) show a great understanding for the way spiritualism and superstition play out in various communities, was a fantastic choice to write this book. The Black Panther canon seems to be presented well enough for people (like me!) who don't know anything about it, but with enough new information to be interesting to Black Panther fans. The Chicago setting is used well, and the story stands alone well.
Weaknesses: I found it difficult to believe that the boys were not taken care of better. Wouldn't an embassy have a lot of interest in protecting the son of a king? I was hoping that the concierge would step up and be sort of an Alfred (with Bruce Wayne) protector, but that didn't happen. The target demographic won't care, but if the boys really were in middle school, more adults would have been involved. I might have placed them in high school for a more realistic feel.
What I really think: Will probably purchase for my readers who like superheroes.

This book is so timely. Not only is the Black Panther in the new Avengers movies, but it's also a time where we really *need* a black hero in American Culture. There's a lot of whitewashing there that needs to be acknowledged. While this is a coming of age story, it's also the story of an immigrant in a new home. A new home that is the South Side of Chicago. T'Challa goes through culture shock and typical teenage issues just like the others around him, plus the idea that he has a backup super suit "in case of emergencies." He's a very real character, and I think that while some will see him as a mirror for their own difficult experiences, lots of typical Marvel fans will see T'Challa as someone to learn from.

Black Panther, The Young Prince, is the newest in the Marvel middle grade collection and is definitely one of my favorites!

T''Challa is the young Prince of Wakanda, an advanced country in Africa. Not only will he someday be the king but he is also the future Black Panther. When the country is threatened, his father sends him to Chicago with his best friend M'Baku. Although they are living at the embassy they attend a public school where their identities are unknown. Soon the boys stumble upon their own adventure as typical middle school conflicts turn into something more mysterious involving an ancient demon and missing vibranium.

In spite of the powers and responsibility that come with his position T'Challa is a typical a typical young adolescent, sneaking out, eating too much junk food, and struggling with loyalty and friendship.