If you are a fan of Marvel, then you should definitely pick up a copy of the second middle-grade read that the NEA Big Read Lakeshore has chosen, which is Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds. At this point, Jason Reynolds should be a household name for anyone who attends NEA Big Read Lakeshore events. Not only has Jason Reynolds been to Holland, Michigan before, but he is also the author of our other middle-grade read, A Long Way Down, which you can read more about in this blog post.
Though what is Miles Morales: Spider-Man about? Well, the book version, there is also a graphic novel version, follows the story of Miles Morales, a half African-American and half Puerto Rican boy from Brooklyn who goes to the Brooklyn Vision School on a scholarship. His father, Jefferson Davis, is a police officer who got into trouble during his teenage years, and his uncle, Aaron, never moved past his troubling teenage years. However, Miles is trying to stay on the straight and narrow and be Spider-Man simultaneously. Even with Miles keeping his head down and focusing on school, something is still off. His spidey senses seem not to be working as well; he is suspended from school and is butting heads with his history teacher. Yet, with the help of his roommate slash best friend, Miles will find that there is a deeper reason for everything feeling off.
Ultimately, this book has a little bit of everything for everyone. There is a connection to Spider-Man. There is the fantastic writing of Jason Reynolds. There are the relevant underlying themes, which we will discuss in the next blog post, and so much more. So, even if you are older than the typical middle-grade reader or are wondering if a Spider-Man book is for you, I highly suggest you pick up Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds and give it a try.
-Written by Nancy Gately