Hey there, I'm Timberdiyamias, and it's NPR's Book of the Day.

Okay, I'll admit that I'm not the biggest comic book fan, but when I do indulge, it's fun to see how the author uses the hero's dilemma to tell us something about the world.

Enter Jason Reynolds. He's got a new book out called Miles Morales suspended. It's his later Spider-Man

novel after his first one was a hit, and this time he's taking on the topic of history. Who

writes it, who gets to say what's true about it, and ultimately who matters when telling it.

Reynolds tells NPR Z. Martinez that, as a writer of this superhero tale, he didn't

want to rely solely on clear lines of good and evil. Everybody is sort of this close to doing the

bad thing, he told NPR, and this close to doing the good thing. And so it sounds like Reynolds is

less interested in who's right and

who's wrong and is instead making a much more interesting argument. Just listen. In the U.S.,

national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts,

diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show,, Sources and Methods. NPR

reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant

events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get

your podcasts. Author Jason Reynolds is back with a sequel to his first Spider-Man novel.

This one's called Miles Morales suspended.

The title alludes to the teenage Spider-Man getting suspended from school for disagreeing

with his history teacher.

Reynolds says this one is for a wide audience.

Whether you're the comic book kid who's like, I love Miles Morales, but I like the comic books. Cool. Well, this will still work for you because there are limited words per page. There are a few pictures in the book. And if you're a person who is like, I actually like to read longer form, I like the Spider-Man novel. There's something in there for you because there's pros in the book, right? But there's just enough of it to keep sort of that person satiated. Miles comes from a mix of black and Puerto Rican cultures.

He goes to a private school in Brooklyn, New York, where he doesn't always feel understood,

but with his superhero powers, he's almost invincible. Reynolds has Miles Morales

...