Common Sense Media Review
By JK Sooja
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Superhero story underwhelms but has heart (and swearing).
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In MILES MORALES SUSPENDED: A SPIDER-MAN NOVEL, 16-year-old Miles Morales is trying to survive at Brooklyn Visions Academy, a "fancy school" with a racist teacher who's bent on making Miles suffer. While trying to keep it together, Miles also notices a troubling termite infestation that seems to be connected to a particular student.
Is It Any Good?
A fast read that has lots of poetry mixed in with its prose, this superhero "day in the life" story feels like reading a moment-to-moment stream of Miles' thoughts throughout the day. The structure of Miles Morales Suspended: A Spider-Man Novel provides a really cool, close-up look at Miles and his inner life, feelings, thoughts, worries, memories, and hopes. But the format also makes the story feel like less a story and more like a snapshot.
Of course, everything happening in a single day also makes the novel feel like a vertical slice of Miles' life. This means that there's never a sense of a beginning, middle, and end, nor a sense of adventure or journey. But there are plenty of great moments that speak to high school kids who must feel like Miles does: persecuted, misunderstood, and unfairly treated. There's also a deeper, more mature metaphor that runs through the novel and operates as its main threat -- i.e., the termites (which can be seen as stand-ins for racism and racist people and beliefs). The only downside is that this enemy isn't really personified, which means that the story lacks a meaty villain/enemy, even if the adversary does take the shape of one in the end.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about racism in young adult novels. Did any of the racism in Miles Morales Suspended: A Spider-Man Novel shock you? If you were in Miles' shoes, do you think you'd have reacted the way he did?
Did you like all of the poetry in the book? Why, or why not?
If there's a deeper meaning to the termites and the termite monster, what do you think it is?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Zeke Peña
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Superheroes , School ( High School )
- Character Strengths : Courage , Integrity
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
- Publication date : May 2, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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