Award-winning author Jason Reynolds stopped by the Today show to talk about his newest book, Stuntboy, In-Between Time.
Reynolds’ middle-grade book, illustrated by Raúl the Third and published Tuesday by Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum, is his follow-up to his 2021 novel Stuntboy, in the Meantime. The books follow Portico Reeves, “the greatest superhero you’ve never ever heard of,” a young boy with an active imagination who is navigating his parents’ troubled relationship.
In the new book, Portico’s parents get divorced. Reynolds said he drew inspiration from his own childhood experiences.
“When I was Portico’s age … my parents split up,” he said. “And it’s a strange experience, because you feel a bit of guilt, you feel some confusion, and it’s your first time grappling with wanting to save the people you love more than anything, which are your folks. I also was an anxious kid, and that sort of exacerbated my emotions.”
Al Roker asked Reynolds what it is about Portico that draws young readers to him.
“First of all, the feeling of wanting to be a superhero is something that I think all of us secretly want to do,” Reynolds said. “What would it be like to be able to fly? For some kids, what would it be like to disappear? What would it be like to be stronger and braver, and be able to save myself, let alone the people around me? When they look at Portico, I think they see themselves, because he’s just a normal kid doing normal kid things.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
