Stuntboy Discussion Questions and Stuntboy, In the Meantime review written by the Hobbit on , 2022. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: Stuntboy, In the Meantime
Author: Jason Reynolds
Illustrator: Raúl the Third
Color: Elaine Bay
Genre: Illustrated Novel, Humor, Superhero
Length: 272 pages
Age suggested: 8+
Release Date: November 30, 2021
Themes: Dealing with emotions, urban life, apartment life, friendship
Warnings: parents fighting in a divorce
Quick Summary of Stuntboy, In the Meantime
Portico Reeves lives in a castle. Well, his parents call it an apartment building, but to him, it is more like a castle. Portico sometimes gets the frets, which his mom calls anxiety, but his new best friend, Zola, from two doors down, is helping with that, and helping Portico discover his superpowers, as Stuntboy.
Stuntboy, In the Meantime Review (Contains Spoilers)
Portico Reeves lives in an urban apartment building with a wide set of supporting characters. The principal ones are his parents, his best friend Zola, and his nemesis, Herbert Singletary the Worst. To help Portico with his anxiety, Zola and Portico decide to follow their favorite TV show, Super Space Warriors, and be superheroes. But who to be? Portico becomes Stuntboy, who keeps other superheroes safe so they can save the world (and keeps everyone around him safe, too).
Complicating things, Portico’s parents tell him to go see his friends in the meantime…and to Portico, his parents are in the Mean Time, because they are fighting over things. Things like chairs, and couches. And putting them in separate stacks. Portico and Zola are great characters, and we get an ode to urban apartment life as found in larger cities. We also have a book about a lot of things kids this age face – themselves, or their friends. There are unique and funny secondary characters. A lot of discussion material here.
Why Read Stuntboy, In the Meantime
All of the reviews of Stuntboy rate the artwork as outstanding, and I heartily concur. Stuntboy is not quite a graphic novel but it is heavily illustrated – something on every page – and it adds immensely to the story.
There is a lot of humor, and for parents this is a look at how their actions affect their kids. Zola’s parents have an impact on Portico, which reminds us that we have an impact on kids in our community, especially friends of our own children. The story has a lot of layers that will appeal to kids at various ages, and can be read again for more meaning as they age.
Continue reading for our Stuntboy Discussion Questions
Stuntboy Discussion Questions
- Do you have a television show or movie series that you identify with like the characters in this story identified with Super Space Warriors?
- If your life was a TV show, what type of show would it be?
- We all feel anxious at times. How do you handle being anxious?
- How did Herbert Singletary go from being the Worst to the Not so Bad After All? Have your relationships with friends changed – for better or worse – in the past year?
- Which of the secondary characters did you like the best? Why?
- How did Zola and Herbert get the two halves of Portico back together?
Thanks for reading our Stuntboy Discussion Questions. Check out these other Jason Reynolds works:
–Stamped Remix Discussion Questions
–Look Both Ways Review
–For Everyone Review
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