Miles Morales is still just your average teenager. He has unexpectedly become totally obsessed with poetry and can never seem to do much more than babble around his crush. Nothing too weird. Oh! Except, just yesterday, he used his spidey superpowers to save the world (no biggie) from an evil mastermind called The Warden. And the grand prize Miles gets for that is… suspension.

But what begins as a long boring day of in-school suspension is interrupted by a little bzzz in his mind. His spidey-sense is telling him there’s something not quite right here, and soon he finds himself in a fierce battle with an insidious…termite?! His unexpected foe is hiding a secret, one that could lead to the destruction of the world’s history—especially Black and Brown history—and only Miles can stop him. Yeah, just a typical day in the life of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

The novel takes place at Brooklyn Visions Academy a day after Miles saves the world from an evil mastermind named The Warden.

After standing up to his racist history teacher, Mr. Chamberlain, Miles is faced with an in-school suspension where his spidey-senses go off; he knows that something is wrong, just does not know what is, yet.

The novel promotes the importance of standing up to racism and taking charge to do the right thing. Throughout, Miles is faced with the unjust consequences of standing up to the racist remarks of his history teacher. However, in the end, Miles fights back and ends up setting things right.

The novel itself is constructed beautifully and filled with genuine creativity. Although the somewhat poetic structure is a bit hard to understand at first, it gives an in-depth exploration of Miles’ thoughts and personality. It also meticulously adds to the plot, development and relatable portrayal of the story’s protagonist.

The only disagreement I have is the fact that most of the events take place during the in-school suspension and slowly lead up to the confrontation with the antagonist. It feels a bit prolonged, and I expected the confrontation to be a bit more amazing. However, it lacks a certain “oomph” and left me a bit unsatisfied with the climax. But keep in mind that these are my own opinions and prejudices.

Personally, I love the author’s demonstration of creativity across the novel through his writing and the portrayal of the character Miles. It is written in such a way that I had no trouble following and understanding the events, despite not having read the prequel. That said, I would most definitely recommend immersing yourself in Miles Morales Suspended – A Spider-Man Novel, as well as the prequel Miles Morales-Spider Man.

The novel is suitably intended for middle-grade readers.

-Dev Nair