• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2021 October #2
  *Starred Review* Feeling like he's "living in a television where behind every door is a new TV show," young Portico Reeves kicks off this hybrid format series by introducing himself as Stuntboy, "the greatest superhero you've never heard of." He also takes note of his fellow apartment residents—notably, best friend Zola Brawner and "weenaged snot-bot" Herbert Singletary the Worst ("Yes, that's his real name"), bully and archvillain, both recent arrivals. Through 10 slice-of-life "episodes" interspersed with breaks for life rules ("1. Run up and down the hallways. All the hallways. Always") and full-color inset panels recapping oddly parallel plotlines in a beloved sci-fi show that invariably climax with "An Explosion of Great Magnitude," the narrator records his growing anxiety over the "meantime" arguments his parents have been having lately about their possessions—a sign, he twigs at last, of their impending separation. For a time he feels (and the illustrations depict literally him as) split in half, unrecognizable to friend and foe (ex-foe by the end: Herbert the "Not So Bad After All") alike. Raúl the Third and colorist Bay add an abundance of high-energy line drawings with variously hued highlights to this helter-skelter ramble, and Reynolds closes with a slick segue to the sequel.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Reynolds is The National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a mega best-seller—do we even need to go on? You know who he is. Pair him with award-winning Raúl the Third and this one will fly off shelves as quickly as it arrives. Grades 3-5. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Jason Reynolds is a #1&#160;<i>New York Times</i>&#160;bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a Carnegie Medal winner,&#160;a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. He&#8217;s also the 2020&#8211;2022 National Ambassador for Young People&#8217;s Literature. His many books include&#160;<i>All American Boys</i>&#160;(cowritten with Brendan Kiely);&#160;<i>When I Was the Greatest</i>;&#160;<i>The Boy in the Black Suit</i>;&#160;<i>Stamped</i>;&#160;<i>As Brave as You</i>;&#160;<i>For Every One</i>; the Track series (<i>Ghost</i>,&#160;<i>Patina</i>,&#160;<i>Sunny</i>, and&#160;<i>Lu</i>);&#160;<i>Look Both Ways</i>;&#160;<i>Stuntboy, in the Meantime</i>;&#160;<i>Ain&#8217;t Burned All the Bright</i>;&#160;<i>My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.&#160;</i>(with Jason Griffin); and&#160;<i>Long Way Down</i>, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.<br><br>Ra&#250;l the Third is an award-winning illustrator, author, and artist living in Boston. His work centers around the contemporary Mexican American experience and his memories of growing up in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Ju&#225;rez, Mexico. Ra&#250;l contributed to the SpongeBob Comics series and illustrated the Texas Bluebonnet Award&#8211;winning&#160;<i>Lowriders in Space</i>&#160;and the Pura Belpr&#233; Award&#8211;winning&#160;<i>Lowriders to the Center of the Earth</i>, both written by Cathy Camper. His illustrations are also featured in the middle grade novel&#160;<i>Stuntboy, in the Meantime</i><i>&#160;</i>by Jason Reynolds.