Scan barcode
betwynnthelines's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As an avid comic and Spider-Man fan, I think the more people who read this book, the better! What a fabulous story about Miles, telling a Spider-Man story that can only be told through Miles, and demonstrating the School-to-Prison pipeline. I imagine that, in the wake of his movies, this book is doing quite some work helping middle school students discuss the pressing, real-world problems this book brings up. Of course, if reading antiblack racism is difficult for you to read, do whatever you need to take care of yourself. While Reynolds can be a little on the nose with it at times, his other works as well as his experiences made it so he was able to tell the story he wanted to be told. It's a very purposeful book--but that doesn't mean it's all serious, all the time. It has very silly moments, and cute ones, too! I loved the humanity and love brought to Miles's parents, in exactly the same way I loved the internalized racism Miles struggles with throughout the book.
Of course, you will be disappointed if you go into this looking for action, or a Spider-Man centered story. Yes, this is a Spider-Man story, but there is a PERSON under that mask, and this story is about him. For those who want more Spider-Man adventures, I would recommend the comics. However, I'm glad that this book knows the story it wants to focus on, which is Miles's personal life and all the different facets of it. I've always been a sucker for the more "mundane" aspects of superheroics, and I believe there's no point in a superhero if the person they are under the mask is bland and featureless. It really makes sure you care about Miles, and that you care about the people Miles cares about, even when he struggles to. Reynolds plays to his strengths here, which is communicating the themes and topics he wants to explore through the eyes of a character. If he felt Spider-Man was more necessary to tell the story, I believe he would have. The villain of this story is not your typical supervillain with a bright suit and a gimmick; he represents the literal thematic antagonist of the book, and even then, he's not a flat, one-and-done villain. While the fight may be underwhelming to some, I believe it's more than made up for by what the fight accomplishes, which is bringing the theme around full-circle, ending on a hopeful note while acknowledging there is still more to be done, and that it isn't as simple as defeating a villain.
Of course, you will be disappointed if you go into this looking for action, or a Spider-Man centered story. Yes, this is a Spider-Man story, but there is a PERSON under that mask, and this story is about him. For those who want more Spider-Man adventures, I would recommend the comics. However, I'm glad that this book knows the story it wants to focus on, which is Miles's personal life and all the different facets of it. I've always been a sucker for the more "mundane" aspects of superheroics, and I believe there's no point in a superhero if the person they are under the mask is bland and featureless. It really makes sure you care about Miles, and that you care about the people Miles cares about, even when he struggles to. Reynolds plays to his strengths here, which is communicating the themes and topics he wants to explore through the eyes of a character. If he felt Spider-Man was more necessary to tell the story, I believe he would have. The villain of this story is not your typical supervillain with a bright suit and a gimmick; he represents the literal thematic antagonist of the book, and even then, he's not a flat, one-and-done villain. While the fight may be underwhelming to some, I believe it's more than made up for by what the fight accomplishes, which is bringing the theme around full-circle, ending on a hopeful note while acknowledging there is still more to be done, and that it isn't as simple as defeating a villain.
Also... I wish the characters introduced in this book, primarily Austin, get to be brought into the main 616 universe! I know it's a long shot, but... Austin!
PS... There's a sequel to this novel, called Miles Morales: Suspended. I HIGHLY recommend it. It's about censorship.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
librarydancer's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent, powerful book of the newest Spiderman, and how he handles life as a high schooler and a superhero.
Race and ethnicity are huge pieces of this book, and they transform the story in something more than a superhero story. The weakest part of the story for me was the villain, and I lost the thread during the final battle.
Race and ethnicity are huge pieces of this book, and they transform the story in something more than a superhero story. The weakest part of the story for me was the villain, and I lost the thread during the final battle.
kvanderbeek21's review against another edition
3.5
I liked it but it just felt incomplete to me. What happened to all those other men? Why white cats? Did I miss something? I just had more questions than I would have liked. I will definitely be recommending this to the freshmen boys in my classroom.
jsrogers123's review against another edition
5.0
Big Ace of Spades vibes, fantastic. This is how IP fiction should be
ty_williams's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kidlitlove's review against another edition
4.0
Good book. I think it is really more of a middle school read, than a middle grades read. I wanted more information/interaction with the bad guy. I do hope there will be sequels!
misslexilouwho's review against another edition
3.0
I've been on a huge Spider-Man kick lately, and after having seen Into the Spider-Verse for the third time last night, I felt like this was a great way to get a little extra fix in. I love Miles Morales, and while this book has a clearly different version of Miles than the animated film or the video game (differences in his origin of getting his powers, his age, etc.) it was a version of Miles I enjoyed. I labeled this as a contemporary because it felt more like a contemporary than sci-fi: Miles is struggling with his feelings for a classmate, he's being harassed by a teacher, and his parents are dealing with financial issues while he attends Brooklyn Vision Academy. He even tries to hang up the Spidey-suit for a while, thinking that his Spider-Sense is on the fritz and he shouldn't be Spider-Man any more.
As my first read of the new year, I'm a little disappointed. The villain is only in the novel for about 40 or so pages, and he beats this guy pretty quickly. This is definitely geared at younger readers, because while I managed to breeze through it in under a day, I wasn't in love with this story. There were aspects I enjoyed, like Jeff knowing his son is SM, and the friendship between Miles and Ganke (who had basically no part in the new movie because Disney essentially turned Ned into a Ganke rip off, which is a whole other can of worms), but I felt like this was a pretty weak story unfortunately.
As my first read of the new year, I'm a little disappointed. The villain is only in the novel for about 40 or so pages, and he beats this guy pretty quickly. This is definitely geared at younger readers, because while I managed to breeze through it in under a day, I wasn't in love with this story. There were aspects I enjoyed, like Jeff knowing his son is SM, and the friendship between Miles and Ganke (who had basically no part in the new movie because Disney essentially turned Ned into a Ganke rip off, which is a whole other can of worms), but I felt like this was a pretty weak story unfortunately.
rachelbaack's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
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.
robertmorvay's review against another edition
2.0
This book finally gives viewers a black perspective on Miles Morales that surprisingly hadn’t seen light until this book’s release, and it expands upon Miles’ mythos in ways the comics have never even attempted to. This novel is at its best when it is on the city streets, discussing how Miles interacts with the world around him as a minority with superpowers and is at its worst when Miles is at school complaining for chapters upon chapters about the same few things over and over again. This book tries to say a lot, but ends up saying very little, it tries to be a pointed message about racism but that ends up not making sense, it tries to be a story about Miles and his dad but that doesn’t go anywhere, it tries to be a classroom drama but that ends up being melodramatic, it tries to be a story about Miles in conflict with being Spider-Man and a student but Spider-Man literally only appears twice in the book outside of dream sequences, it tries to have it be a story about Miles founding out more about his uncle’s life but that subplot just disappears right when its getting interesting. This book is a train-wreck, albeit a decently written one. I would not recommend this except to hardcore fans of the character and even then I think you’ll end up being disappointed by it.
missrmaxwell's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5