marvel miles morales a spider man novel jason reynolds

His mother, who doesn't know his secret, is wise but worried: The dad is affectionate but demanding, making sure Miles learns 'Helping your neighbors is the most heroic thing you can do,' even if it's just cleaning up garbage left by careless sanitation workers (8). We enjoy the eccentric English teacher Miss Blaufuss, and the sympathetic librarian Mrs. At school, there's Miles's jovial roommate Ganke and Alicia, the outspoken socially-conscious president of the school's poetry club. While Miles's journey of discovery stretches out over the course of the novel, what keeps us turning pages is just the love of the characters. The creepy history teacher, who preaches that slavery benefitted both masters and 'grafeful' slaves (117), opines that the American prison system is 'the new, much smarter, form of slavery' (155). The cousin in prison tells the same sort of story from his school days, tying school authorities to those that locked him up with men who all look like him, 'if you know what I mean' (194). Had the teachers asked why a black boy might sleep in class, fight, or refuse to read aloud, they might have learned that he worked all night, that a white boy spit on him, or that he was ashamed of his poor reading ability (207). We're in the Marvel Universe, so there's a super-villain conspiracy involved but we don't need to believe in magic when neighborhood men all share stories of being suspended from school. He visits the county prison to meet a cousin he never knew existed, who also has nightmares in which the prison guard is 'telling me I ain't never gon' be nothing,' something the guard says during the day, only 'in my dream, he got my daddy's voice 'You're just like me'' (195).įinding the source of these self-doubts is the main action of the book. When, in his Spider-Man tights, Miles breaks a sneaker thief's wrist and beats him bloody, Miles is ashamed of himself for losing control, and haunted by his uncle's voice, You're just like me (127). In nightmares, Uncle Aaron tells him, You're just like me. The same fearlessness that led them to crime is what leads me to excellence.' It's a sweetly earnest letter, weaponized to shame Miles when the principal accuses him of a petty theft.

'This part of my family is also a part of me. Miles writes how a life of crime caught up with his uncle Aaron. And my father and his brother fell victim to the street, becoming teenage thieves, bringing problems to our neighborhood, and all of New York city.

Even though my neighborhood is a beautiful place to grow up, sometimes it can get complicated. He was a person who didn't have anyone to steer him away from the traps of our community. The reason why is because my father wasn't always the man he is today. I know there are people who look at a certain way. But Miles deals with deeper self-doubts stemming from others' doubts about him.

Marvel miles morales a spider man novel jason reynolds