I naturally gravitate to books that are later made in films. I heard all the raving reviews of Spider-man: Into The Spiderverse and I knew that I had to read this book to get some context.
Miles Morales is an Afro-Latino boy that is bitten by a radio-active spider which sparks his superpowers. In the book, he is coming to terms with the death of his uncle, balancing school and spider-man, and relationships. The main plot of the book is Miles discovering that one of his school teachers is directly targeting boys of color and distorting their self-image to the point that their lives are thrown off-track.
After reading the book, I then watch the movie. The movie could be considered the precursor to the book. The movie further details how he got his powers and how he came into his own as being Spider-man, hint INTO the spiderverse. The book could be the sequel to this initial movie. Into the Spiderverse did so well, even winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards, that I do not see why they would not choose to make another one.
Would I Recommend This Book?
This book is definitely for young adults. It is an easy read and can be finished over a single weekend. I absolutely loved the underlying narrative that schools are constantly failing our youth through meaningless forms of tracking and discipline. It also highlights the belief within minority communities that education is the way out of poverty, when that is not always the case. Jason Reynolds did a superb job on this book. I hope to see another animated movie that follows the book’s storyline more closely.
