Episode 149: Miles Morales Spider-man by Jason Reynolds

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Today, Fable and the Verbivore share our July book club episode on Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds.

This episode serves as our wrap up for our Marvel and Comic book storytelling episodes, and we feel it’s a great one to end on.

We open this conversation by talking about how to categorize this book, it absolutely could be considered in a special category of comics or superhero fiction. But we agree that the age range feels squarely in early YA, just outside of Middle Grade. It feels important to explore, because this book feels like it appeals to a wide range of readers.

It doesn’t feature violence, the romance is awkward and realistic to the feeling of having a first crush, and the thoughtful and deft exploration of themes like helping within your community, standing up against injustice, finding your voice, and what systemic misuse of power looks like are nuanced and based on experiences we witness firsthand. This book is one we’d both like our children to read, especially as they navigate their early teenage years.

One of the things we love most about this book is that the story is not an origin one. It features Mile Morales, but older than we see him in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. We meet him at the age of 16, he’s been Spider-Man for several years and is asking the question “does anything I do matter or make a difference?”

Due to a few changes about the circumstances of his uncle’s death — which haunt him each night, we get the feeling that this may be a re-imagining of or a parallel universe to the Mile Morales we meet in Into the Spider-Verse. This allows us to dig in deeper within the character, to encounter surprises and to see more of the vulnerable side of him that is human — not solely a powerful superhero. It also shows that his powers don’t solve his personal problems, in fact it makes some of them even more fraught with complications.

In many ways, Miles is a kid trying to figure out his place in the world, trying to navigate situations that feel overwhelming, and making mistakes that leave him devastated and filled with doubt. He also finds himself navigating a rapidly deteriorating school situation that is complex and involves factors outside his control. To us, this story is relatable to anyone who is or has been a kid and the points made are honest and unflinching but ultimately are hopeful.

We also talk about how this story is full of truth telling — deftly bringing to the forefront points about the education system, our role in our community, and the importance of speaking up against injustice. The villain in the piece starts out being the system itself which allows for the misuse of authority and explores the impact of those actions. Though a more fantastical malevolent entity rises up as the story goes on, the exploration of micro-aggressions and the importance of standing up against injustice brings these themes back to our world as it currently exists.

Towards the end, we talk about the wonderful cast of supporting characters - Miles’ mom Rio, his dad Jeff, best friend Ganke, and romantic crush Alicia. Each of these characters were well-developed, had a strong and unique perspective and personality, and brought different pieces to the puzzle of the overarching story and exploration of the themes. They added complexity and pressure to Miles’ world, but they also supported him and helped him find his way to the answers he needed.

We’d highly recommend this book and hope you enjoy this episode! Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

“Jason Reynolds is an award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. Jason’s many books include Miles Morales: Spider Man, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Correta Scott King Honor, and Look Both Ways, which was a National Book Award Finalist. His latest book, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, is a collaboration with Ibram X. Kendi.” - Amazon.com

Here’s Miles Morales: Spider-Man’s hook:

  • “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.”

Books, Movies, and Graphic Novels Mentioned:

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

book clubBethany Stedman