Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Ratings13
Average rating3.6
Quite an interesting premise. I'm sure it's going to fly over people's heads. I like what was done here. I also love how the Puerto Rican culture was highlighted and not erased. Knowing that mom is a decedent of warriors, kings and queens and of a resilient people... imagine the greatness that could be tapped into and the level of super hero that can catapult Miles. If only.
Summary: Miles Morales is a sixteen-year-old student at a prestigious high school who is trying his best to overcome a family history that is far from spotless. Not to mention, he happens to be a super hero. Miles decides that he wants to keep his head down and focus on his school work, but something is not quite right at his school, and he realizes that he’s going to have to figure out what’s going on.
3.5 A reviewer called this 25% Spiderman 75% Jason Reynolds, and that's highly accurate. Lot to love here, and an easy booktalk for teens (our holds list is already long after only 2 talks), but it's not my favorite JR. All the great hallmarks, though: Real characters, complex racial/socio-economic issues, great portrayals of friendship. I'd read more in the series to see where he takes it. As for the audio, though I liked Guy Lockard for his other books, he does a HORRIBLE job with a few voices here. First one by him I had some trouble listening to.
I am so glad this book exists. This is a good book, and this is an important book. It tackles race and privilege in a way that is accessible to younger readers while having layers for older ones.
It is a slow starter but it ramps up at the end. And it is definitely on the nose, and yet with an ending that solid, it's hard to mind.
This was great! I'm not too familiar with Miles Morales comics (I don't read a lot of Spider-books period), but this is a perfect starting point for readers who are interested in the character but not sure how to detangle all of Marvel's series. Very fun and #relatable, but since it's Jason Reynolds, there's also some super powerful stuff in there about institutional racism.