Miles Morales: Suspended is a direct sequel to the previous book where Miles is given in-school suspension because he spoke up against his racist teacher. It continues the introspective story of the first book that centred Miles’ experiences as an Afro-Latino teen, and it takes place over the course of a single day in suspension. Miles is just trying to get through the day, but his spidey-sense keeps going off. It turns out that there’s literally a monster in the walls of his school that wants to destroy him and erase history.  

 

The novel is a mix of prose and poetry but it feels like a novel in verse, and I loved this format! It was a clever way to tell the story as we get insight into Miles’ thoughts and feelings as he works on his assignments. Miles poignantly questions his circumstances and the injustices around him using poetry. Reynolds tells a lighthearted and hopeful story about a teenage superhero while simultaneously addressing issues related to racism such as book banning and censorship. It’s incredibly nuanced and well-balanced, and carries an underlying truth about our current political reality throughout the novel. 

 

I love this series and I hope you give it a chance! These YA novels are great for anyone who loves or wants to get to know Miles, regardless of whether you’ve seen the Spider-Verse movie and/or read the comics. 

My thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me a finished copy to review.