Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Ain't Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

Zeke Peña is a Xicano storyteller and cartoonist from El Paso, Texas. He illustrated the award-winning books My Papi Has a Motorcycle and Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide. His studio work is a mash-up of political cartoon, border rasquache, and hip hop culture that addresses identity, politics, ecology, and social justice. Find him online @ZPvVsual and ZPVisual.com.

This sequel is more multilayered than the first installment, with action-packed digital drawings, Miles's first-person poems, and a third-person narrative all capturing a day in the life of Miles Morales--his neighborhood, his crush on Alicia Carson, his friendship with Ganke, and his conflict with teachers. There is room, though, for a climactic action scene in the boys' bathroom, where a creepy monster is thrillingly unmasked. --Horn Book Magazine "July/August 2023"

The hybrid verse/prose format adds to the action-packed story line and provides an amusing, banter-filled tone, which Reynolds is exceptionally skilled at for drawing in even the most reluctant of readers. As tensions build, the termites embody censorship, a powerful topic brought up often via current events in schools and prisons across the country. Miles is complex, as he courageously argues for books to "try to read and write themselves free" and attempts to grab Alicia's attention by writing poetry, which is realistically awkward and sweet. Although Ganke's role is spare in this volume, readers will delight in this spirited character as he supports his bestie Miles and provides extra comic relief during stressful situations. Peña's comic-style illustrations enhance the story by reflecting the Spiderman side of our hero. Cultural references such as grease in the Bustelo can, bodegas, and dap depict the authenticity of Miles's world. Librarian Spidey senses are tingling; this is a must for your shelves.--School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW "May 2023"

Publisher: Atheneum Books

Pub date: 2023-05-02

Length: 320 pages