Book Rewind Review: Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds
One of my favorite booksellers described Miles Morales: Spider-Man as 25% Spider-Man and 75% Jason Reynolds, which is completely accurate. I absolutely LOVED this take on Miles Morales and can’t recommend it enough. What Jason does to transform the history and legacy of Miles in just 272 short pages is incredible. Check out my 5 star review below!
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
by Jason ReynoldsPublished by: Marvel Press
on August 1, 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Audible
Goodreads
"Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you're on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins." Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He's even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he's Spider Man.
But lately, Miles's spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities. After all, his dad and uncle were Brooklyn jack-boys with criminal records. Maybe kids like Miles aren't meant to be superheroes. Maybe Miles should take his dad's advice and focus on saving himself.
As Miles tries to get his school life back on track, he can't shake the vivid nightmares that continue to haunt him. Nor can he avoid the relentless buzz of his spidey-sense every day in history class, amidst his teacher's lectures on the historical "benefits" of slavery and the modern-day prison system. But after his scholarship is threatened, Miles uncovers a chilling plot, one that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk.
It's time for Miles to suit up.
Review
Miles is a 15 year old Black-Puerto Rican youth with a whole lot going on and, oh, he also has the same powers as Spider-Man. The old mantra “with great power comes great responsibility” sounds great except when you’re trying to keep your grades up at your all-white private school and the world is working against you. Miles has to worry about his parents and his neighborhood far before he will be saving the world, a lesson his dad shares with him at the very beginning of the story. To say I loved the family dynamics in this story is an understatement.
Without spoiling the story, I have to tell you…The villain in this story? Jason knocked it out of the park and hit home on our current world. Miles doesn’t have the privileges we see in typical white superhero stories, which brings the story into the contemporary world and allows the reader to explore institutional bias. I can’t recommend this enough!
Oh, and maybe you saw he’s getting his very own game? DIG IT.
