Black Panther: The Young Prince

T'Challa loves his life in Wakanda as the son and heir of the ruling Black Panther.  But when danger threatens the secretive nation, T'Challa's father decides to send him and his best friend, M'Baku to Chicago for safety.  T'Challa believes he should be in Wakanda defending his home and father, but his father is firm.

Despite his frustrations, he and M'Baku are excited for their first trip to America.  They wonder if it will be like the movies.  The boys are staying at the African Embassy, but they will be incognito, no one can know their true identities, and they will be attending the local public school instead of a private one.

American life is a truly eye-opening experience.  There are things they enjoy--like junk food and their new friends Sheila and Zeke, but there is one boy who give T'Challa (or T. Charles, as he is known in America) a bad feeling.

Gemini Jones is an athlete and a bully who is obsessed with power, but it's more than that.  There's something strange about the skull ring he always wears, and he has an uncanny ability to collect followers.

While T. Charles is happy to pursue academics with his new friends, Marcus (M'Baku) is more interested in sports and quickly gets caught up in Gemini Jones's web.  Can the young prince solve this mystery in time to save his friend?

Ronald L. Smith's book is entertaining, but it's a little hard to believe.  T'Challa's father sends him away to protect him, but the boys have no real supervision.  They head out to catch a city bus on their own on the first day of school with no idea of what their aliases with be.  Then the school just registers them with no paperwork?

Aside from that, the mystery is engaging and conflict between the two former best friends feels realistic.  Kids will read this regardless of its flaws.