Every time I read a Mbalia book I feel as if I’m right in the story with him. The imagery and adventure are wonderful and my students love his work. Another one for the shelf!

Following a fight in Raleigh, Jax boards a train to Chicago to stay with his grandmother and uncle in Chicago. Then strange things start happening. He hears a conversation between a belt buckle and a pair of glasses. Then a stranger tells him he has a legacy to fulfill. Then, the train conductor attacks him. To help him control his powers, he is sent to a special school of summoners to learn to access his magic. When Jax accidentally unleashes a spirit, he learns about a magical war brewing between his family and four other summoning families. Can Jay learn to use his powers and stop a war from happening before it’s too late?
The plot is well-written, fast-paced, and engaging. The characters are humorous and draw the reader into the story. The world building is a bit confusing, and the folklore gets a bit muddled. Readers who like mythology, fantasy, adventure, and magic will want to pick this one up. Recommended for library collections where such books are popular. Gr 3 to 7

Jax Freeman is a middle schooler that gets set Chicago from Northern Carolina due a fight that he wasn’t in. While in Chicago, Jax starts to hear and see weird things. In the time that Jax spends in Chicago, he discovers who he is and who his family is. He also has made some friends along the way and Jax ends up saving his new community.

Due to what Jackson (Jax) Freeman claims is a misunderstanding, he is kicked out of school and sent to live with his grandmother and uncle in Chicago - a far cry from Raleigh, where he lived with his parents. Jax arrives alone, by train, on his 12th birthday, in Chicago, and sees... something. Someone he can't explain, and that no one else can see. The very next day, he starts school, and, like new kids everywhere, struggles to fit in, a struggle that grows harder during his 6th period class, when he learns that he is a summoner - a user of magic, of a type he's never heard of, much less seen, ever before. After that, things get strange. Jax is thrown into a conflict - not quite a war, though it wants to be - between summoner clans, along with visitations by the Shriek, a train he is able to call as part of his power as a porter. This is a coming-of-age novel, as a young boy learns the history of his family, and also learns that family can't always be trusted. Recommended for readers middle school through adult.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

JAX FREEMAN AND THE PHANTOM SHRIEK by Kwame Mbalia is a non-stop action adventure, and the character of Jax leaps off the page from the very first chapter. Jax starts off telling us he has been sent away from home by his parents alone to go and live with his Gran and his Uncle Moe. We learn that some occurrence has forced his parents to send him away for a fresh start. But when he arrives in Chicago, his bags are lost, his uncle, who was supposed to meet him at Union Station, is not there, leaving Jax cold and alone, literally in a train station late at night. His situation and the mystery of why he is there makes Jax an instantly relatable character. From there the fantasy world of learning about magic, connecting with his ancestors and learning the power of true friendship begins.

Jax encounters spirits both helpful and malevolent as he waits for his family to arrive and pick him up. He barely escapes one malevolent spirit who threatens to steal his skin. Later, in his new home, Freeman House, he encounters other strange occurrences, such as signage that changes in the messages and words of wisdom it imparts and rooms that appear where none were there before. At school, Jax thinks he is just another sixth grader until he reaches his enrichment class and learns that he's been placed in it because he is a summoner. Someone who can see spirits and utilize magic with the help of his ancestors.

Mbalia has created an imperfect character who admits he has done some stuff he wasn't proud of in the past and doesn't want to mess up again. But Jax is also brave and from personal experience has learned that you can't always take what you hear about others at face value. To atone for his past mistakes, Jax is determined to stand up to bullies, do his family name proud and prove that he isn't just another screw up, and bring about unity between the other summoner families. Mbalia has cleverly worked in a valuable message of looking below the surface to take time to truly get to know someone rather than allowing false information, rumor, or unconscious bias dictate impressions about people. A powerful and timely message for young people in today's society. He does it through a vivid character in Jax. I also enjoyed the bits of history of African Americans and other minorities that are sprinkled throughout the story as well. Those overlooked and underrepresented individuals and names woven into the narrative will hopefully give readers new insight into the history of America from a different perspective than they might be used to. All in all I would encourage anyone with younger readers in the middle grade (8-14 year-old) age range to get this book when it comes out. It's a fun page-turner with a great message and is the first an exciting new series by Kwame Mbalia. Thank you to NetGalley, Disney Hyperion and Freedom Fire for allowing me to read a free eARC in exchange for this honest review.

Kwame Mbalia delivers again with another hilarious, thrilling, and poignant coming of age story through the lens of an MG character. Jax is a kid who is forced to leave behind his friends and old school only to be thrust into a destiny entwined with danger, responsibility, and magic,

Kwame Malia pulls readers in with this action packed fantasy. The world building is rich with details and the dialogue is laugh out loud funny. I also really liked how bits of history were weaved in. This would be a great addition to any middle great library where fantasy stories are popular.

Jax Freeman is an absolute banger of a book! Kwame does such an amazing job at making you feel like you are right in the books with his characters. Right from the start you are pulled into this story wondering what could have possibly happened to make his parents ship him off to a whole new city on his own before you are thrown into a world full of magic and communicating with the ancestors. This book made me laugh, made me tear up, and made me mad that the rest of the books aren't out yet! I cannot wait to put this into my library and promote it to my students. Make sure you pick this one up on October 1st when it releases!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Freedom Fire for the eARC.
Our story begins when 6th grader, Jax Freeman, is taking the train from North Carolina to Chicago. He got into some trouble at school and his parents have sent him to live with his grandmother and uncle. Once he arrives, there is no one to pick him up and he spends a strange night at the train station, where a strange being tries to steal his skin, and a strange lady, Miss Ella, gives him snacks, but also throws dust in his face. Finally, his uncle arrives to take him home, and immediately starts school. On the first day, he begins a unique class where he finds out he is a "summoner" and that his family has a bad reputation. It's in this class, Jax meets Nina and Devin, and these three get caught up in a wild, magical adventure filled with angry ghosts and other mystical creatures.

Triston Strong is one of my favorite fantasy series, so I was very excited to read this one. This story didn't draw me in like that series, but this is still a solid fantasy.

I may be older than I care to ad,it, but once I got into this book I was a middle schooler dying to know what happened. I have to admit that it took a bit for me to keep track of all the characters & back stories, but once I sorted it out I was hooked. Definitely recommend to students who enjoy Harry Potter, but with a diverse cast of characters.

Jax Freeman moves to Chicago to live with his grandma and uncle is thrust into a magical community. Mbalia weaves fantasy, action, and a bit of history in this fun-filled read. The world building was detailed and the main characters are likeable and well fleshed out. This is definitely a book that I will recommend to my middle grade patrons.

A raucous adventure that had me laughing out loud and cheering for Jax. Mbalia is one of the funnier children’s authors out there, and he has done it again with the start of an entertaining middle grade series full of magic. This time, Mbalia writes an adventure set in Chicago, with a rich magic system kids will enjoy learning about, borrowed from ancestors. I look forward to sharing this book with kids in the library, and hope it gets a wide audience.

What a fun story! I was swept immediately into the energy and pulse of Jax Freeman's story. The dialog was punchy and funny and everything about this adventure was what I love to recommend to middle grade readers. A little magic, a little history and a whole lot of adventure.

Kwame Mbalia has done it again! As a fan of the Tristan Strong trilogy, I had high hopes for Jax Freeman and it did not disappoint. Filled with non-stop action and Mbalia's signature humor, Jax Freeman takes on another aspect of American lore - the railway system and the porters.

Jax Freeman finds himself thrust into a world steeped in lore and old magic when he moves to Chicago to live with his grandma and uncle. Told he is part of a magical community called Summoners, Jax is sure there must be a mistake. But as more and more strange things keep happening to him, he comes to realize that not everything is as it seems, and he may just have the power to help right an old wrong and help restore his family name.

#FreedomFireJaxFreemanandthePhantomShriek #NetGalley

Sent to live in Chicago with family after being involved in a fight (or maybe not), Jax expects to have to face a new school and new friends. Instead, he finds himself confronting normal sixth-grade woes AND a whole new world of magic, along with several new-to-him chapters of family history. As Jax realizes the scope of his powers, he also piles on responsibilities for his new friends' safety, to redeem his family name, and to save the community of summoners from themselves and a shadowy villain.

This book is incredible - I truly cannot wait to put it in kids' hands. It weaves a balance between being action-packed, funny, and incredibly well-written. (There is also more than a touch of real history and valuable life lessons about self-love that will go down easily with this action-packed plot). In short, kids are going to love it, and so will teachers and parents. When Jax screams in lowercase at the beginning of the book, I almost fell out of my chair laughing and also started planning 17 different writing lessons with this as the mentor text. Kwame Mbalia is the Christopher Paul Curtis/Louis Sachar/Rick Riordan mash-up that middle-grade needs.

Porter. Only Kwame Mbalia could craft all the meanings of the word into a fantastic story that runs the gamut of history and folklore. Jackson Freeman is sent to live in Chicago on his twelfth birthday and is quickly faced with a magical world he knows nothing about. Jax’s family has a magical history involving porters, trains, good and bad spirits and something that happened to his great great grandfather that has made all the other magical families dislike him. As Jax slowly learns more about his history, the faster the drama ramps up with magical kidnappings and evil spirit attacks. Jax is a wonderful and empathetic character that I can’t wait to read more about.
Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this DRC.
#FreedomFireJaxFreemanandthePhantomShriek #NetGalley

Kwame Mbalia embarks on another youthful adventure, complete with action, humor, probing questions, and likeable characters. I love the blend of fantasy and youth storytelling and Kwame always has a home in my school library.