Stuntboy, In-Between Time

Stuntboy #2

by Jason Reynolds, Raúl the Third (Illustrations)

From Newbery Medal honoree and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes the sequel to the hilarious, hopeful, and action-packed middle grade novel Stuntboy, in the Meantime about the greatest young superhero you’ve never heard of, jam-packed with illustrations by Raúl the Third!

Portico Reeves is the greatest superhero a lot of people have never heard of. He likes it that way—then no one can get in the way of him from keeping other other people safe. Super safe. He’s Stuntboy. He’s got the moves. And the saves. Except. There’s been one major fail.

He couldn’t save his parents from becoming Xs. Which is a word that sounds like coughing up a hairball. But don’t talk to him about the divorce, because of the hairball thing, and also, it gives Portico the frets.

What’s also giving him frets is his parents living on two separate floors in their apartment building. He’s never fully with one parent or the other. He’s in-between, all the time. The in-between time. And the elevator is busted, so to get between floors means getting past the bullies who hang in the stairwells.

So when Portico and new friend, Herbert, and best best friend, Zola, discover an empty apartment, unlocked, they are psyched. It’s a perfect hideout, and hangout, and it’s not half anyone’s…it’s all theirs. So they decide to make it their own…let’s say with stunts of the drawing kind. Problem is, that gives some Grown Up People the frets, which leads to double frets for Portico. And he’s not sure his arsenal of stunts can combat that.

Genres: Middle Grade, Graphic Novels, Audiobook, Realistic Fiction, Adventure, Fiction, Humor

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 29, 2023

About the author

Jason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, Jason Reynolds moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Well, not really talking to himself, but just repeating character names and plot lines he thought of on the train, over and over again, because he’s afraid he’ll forget it all before he gets home.

Reviews

[Octavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get your youngsters and have a hilarious Time together!

Jason Reynolds has created a Show-Stopper this time with all his creative characters: Baby Sis Brown is Priceless ⌚ . With opening a book from this author, any reader can depend on learning valuable Gems even through his characters like Grandpa Pepper. This series is a must-read...

Jason Reynolds will Guarantee a Learning Experience 📚 .

[Traci Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute and fun and silly. I’d love to know how middle grade kids feel about it.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big thank you to Libro.FM's educator program for providing an audiobook copy of Stuntboy, In-Between Time. I love these characters and the fact that the audiobook is as lively as Raul the Third's illustrations and Jason Reynold's imagination. I can't recommend this series enough.

[Bam cooks the books · Rating 4 out of 5]

A follow-up to Stuntboy, In the Mean Time. Portico and his friends, Zola and Herbert, get into some big trouble and learn a lesson about taking responsibility for their actions. Fun, bordering on silly, with a fun cast of characters and excellent, colorful illustrations.

[Dinah King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook while reading the book and I can't imagine reading it any other way. The voice acting was great, the music was so fun, and Raul the Thirds art work was so much fun. If you wish the first Stuntboy book had a little more friendship bonding, you'll be happy with this one

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Jen Bojkov]

Kids that like Dog Man or Wimpy Kid would probably like this one. I did not finish it- so I did not feel comfortable giving it a rating. It was not my cup of tea, but I'm sure lots of kids would like this one alot.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuntboy is back! And still doing amazing things -- and also making a few artistic missteps along the way. On the walls of a vacant apartment. Oops! Oh - and the lizards in the apartment? Hilarious.

[Susan McGilvray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the target audience here but this was a little frenetic for me.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to Stuntboy: In the Meantime, this Stuntboy is just as wildly illustrated and the storyline meanders just as crazily and many in grades 3-6 are going to love it just as much. The basic plot places Portico right in the middle of his parents divorce and wrestling with the fact that the family no longer lives together in one apartment on the 4th floor of the Skylight Gardens apartment building but he will be split between mom’s apartment on the 3rd floor and dad’s on the 5th, a situation that so many students face with just as much anxiety as Portico does, although he calls it “the frets.” However, the basic plot does not follow a smooth line up that plot diagram with rising action, culminating in a climax and smooth descent down the other side with logical falling action and then a gentle glide into a resolution. Nope, this plot action has Portico leaving his mom’s place in the morning, armed with a big bag of garbage that might hold something interesting, zigs into episodes of Portico and his best friend Zola’s superhero show, zags into new friend Herbert’s apartment where he lives with his mom and step dad (known as Soup since he’s the building superintendent), takes a twisty turn into a neighbor’s apartment to catch her 17 iguanas and then dives into a vacant apartment on the 8th floor for a little graffiti style magic marker art on the walls and then finally sliding into dad’s apartment just before dinner time. Whew! All this action is done in a font that resembles handwriting for the traditional text portions, graphic panels, labeled full page illustrations, graffiti lettering, big onomatopoeic words splashed on pages…plenty of different formats to match the zig-zagging plot. Altogether a book that kids will love and adults may just scratch their heads and wonder what just happened!

Text is free of profanity, violence and sexual content. Neither physical descriptions nor specific cultural or racial connects are stated in the text, but illustrations clearly show great diversity among the residents of Skylight Gardens, diversity in skin color, body shape, hair (or no hair) style, age and one wheelchair bound character.

Thanks, Atheneum/Simon Schuster/Caitlyn Dlouhy, for providing a finished and signed copy at the 2025 Texas Library Association annual conference.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

10yo Portico's parents are Xs and are now living on separate floors in the apartment building. Today is his first time staying at his dad's and he's not ready. This whole thing has been a shock. So, he avoids the inevitable, and instead of going to his dad's apartment, he hangs out with his friends instead. With a broken elevator in the building, they have to avoid the bullies in the stairwell, but Herbert has found an empty apartment that is unlocked and takes Portico and Lola there - the perfect playground for three kids - with a pocket full of markers.

Jason Reynolds is a master storyteller. Stuntboy reads like an adventure serial, complete with commercial breaks. Raul the Third's illustrations are perfect. While I have labeled Stuntboy a graphic novel, it's more of a hybrid, with lots of illustrations and plenty of traditional text. 4th and 5th graders will love this series. Follow along with the audiobook - the multiple narrators add so much to this exciting story. Although Portico is only 10, the reputation of Jason Reynolds along with kids talking about Stuntboy, I think my middle schoolers will enjoy it too, so I am buying a copy. The characters are Black.

Crossposted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com

[Brian Alan S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Stuntboy, in the Meantime - a creative yet too silly illustrated novel. Stuntboy, in the Meantime was a Schneider Family Book Award Honor for featuring the protagonist as having anxiety - I thought that was what made the book unique. But I was slightly disappointed when this sequel didn’t really delve into the protagonists anxiety. But I can say, this sequel was more enjoyable then the first. And I can say it’s good enough for me to be looking forward to the third installment in this Stuntboy series.

Before reading the two books in the Stuntboy series, Louis Sachar’s Wayside School Series were the silliest books I’ve ever read. But the Stuntboy series seems to be sillier than the Wayside School Series. But while the Wayside School Series made me smile and laugh out loud, the Stuntboy books’ silliness just made me roll my eyes 🙄 To be honest, I’d rather have Jason Reynolds write a serious middle grade book than him write another Stuntboy book 🫠

[D'Anne Mosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portico, Zola, And Herbert became friends in book one. But you aren’t missing too much to read this one first. This whole story takes place in jsut a few hours as these kids roam through their apartment building.

Portico is stuntboy. He can do any kind of amazing stunt—it’s his superpower. Right now he’s using his stunts to help protect the three kids from the bullies in the stairwell. Or to help them capture all the iguanas that escaped in Ms. Bosworth’s apartment.

But really this in-between time is the time between going from his moms apartment to his dads apartment for the first time since the divorce. He feeling anxious about the change in his family. It’s difficult.

So he hangs with his friends. And get into some trouble—-with those iguanas AND the most fun is when they find an empty apartment that is ublocked…what better place to play?

This is a graphic novel slash chapter book —- adventure, humor, and everything!

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 in the Stuntboy series is out now!
💥
When we last left Stuntboy he was doing stunts for heroes in the shadows where no one knows who he is and Portico Reeves is just fine with that. He just couldn’t save his parents from being Xs. If you ask him about the divorce or the Xs, Portico gets the frets. He gets the frets being in-between his parents’ apartments in the same complex. He’s never with them both at the same time. Now Portico has to take the stairs to get to each house because the elevator is broken and he meets up with bullies. Friends Herbert and Zola help Stuntboy be the best version of himself and fight evil.
🦸🏾‍♂️
This was just as cute and relatable as book 1. Between Jason’s unique writing style and Raul’s talent for artwork kids can’t get enough of, this superhero graphic novel will be a hit with kids of all ages.

CW: divorce (theme), bullying, anxiety

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphic Novel
Stuntboy, Zola and Herbert are back for more adventures. Portico is trying to find a new normal after his parents' divorce. It's the first time he will be staying in his dad's apartment and he doesn't want to face this. So, he stalls and enjoys adventures with his friends rather than checking in with his dad. They make some less than wise decisions but all turns right in the end. Herbert even finds his super name. The artwork is fun to study and definitely adds to the overall story.

[Zenobia Cofer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuntboy, In-Between Time is the second installment following Portico and his friends, Zola and Herbert Singletary. In this kookie sequel, Portico now needs to stay with his father while his mother is at a yoga retreat. Over the course of this day, we meet a host of over the top characters including Grandpa Pepper (a nail polish color designer), a woman who collected 17 iguanas but now wants to get rid of them, Gran Gran, and other amusing characters.
This novel is perfect for younger readers. While the overall theme in the book deals with divorce and co-parenting relationships, the overall hilarity of the situations Portico experiences in Palace Gardens with his friends mellows most of the edge.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This came the other day and the noise I made when it arrived! I adored the first one (as sis my class this year!), so to have more adventures with Portico and his crew in their tower block made me so happy. The story, the messages, the illustrations… all so brilliant! I loved how this explored making mistakes and saying sorry; how family changes can impact you and how important friendships and community are!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Portico Reeves AKA Stuntboy has returned, and the adventure picks up with Stuntboy, Zola, and new found friend Herbert the Okay getting into misadventures inside their apartment building. All the while Portico is finding ways to delay going to visit his father in his new apartment while his mother is away on a retreat. As the day progresses Portico must face his demons, and move forward with the changes in his life.

[Rebecca McPhedran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment of Stuntboy’s adventures takes place after Portico Revves (aka: stuntboy) parents break up and move to a new apartments.

Portico and his friends Zola and Herbert Singletary are whiling away the day; and Portico is avoiding going to his father’s apartment upstairs. Because when he does go to his dads; the whole parents being separated will be real. I love Stuntboys adventures. They always make you feel a bit better about the world at the end.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. The story and the way it’s told through words goes so perfectly with the illustrations. This entire book takes place in one day…well two nights and the day in between them, a very short time after the end of the first book. I love the apartment building and the characters and how they interact. There’s a lot of stress, but there’s also a whole lot of love in Portico’s world. And some art as well.

[Jaimes_Mystical_Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute middle grade illustrated novel. I loved the artwork throughout this book and I think middle graders will love reading about Portico and his friends. This book has a great story and message that I think people will find relatable. I really enjoyed reading this one and I think kids will as well.

[Tweller83 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great audio book! I love the way that Guy Lockard reads this, along with all the other cast of readers is just fantastic. I love the new Grandpa character that appears in this one. And the names like Leanagers, and Screenagers, just make me laugh, they are SO accurate! I love everything that Jason Reynolds puts his hands to, for sure!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jason Reynolds and Raúl the Third are a dream team. I know comics are a visual medium, but Reynolds’ impeccable ear for wordplay and children’s speech beg this text to be read aloud. The illustrations will just give readers even more to talk about as they make their way through the story.

It’s another pitch-perfect representation of anxiety—or as our hero calls it, The Frets.

[Aryan Lal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunt boy and his friends go on many adventures with grandpa pepper and the weenagers!
On top of that Stunt boy is battling his recent parents divorce and sometimes he crashes, something he calls frets, which is when his nightmares take over!

Funny and well written with an engaging story!

Can’t wait for book 3!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Jason Reynolds takes us to "The Castle" where Portico and his friends, Zola and Herbert, live. The trio get into some art-related fun and have to face the consequences of their action.
While the story is fun, the emotions are genuine. Reynolds has a real gift for storytelling in an authentic kid voice. Hope he writes a lot more like this one.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio was amazing and so funny. My daughter and I enjoyed the narrators and all the sound effects that kept the reader engaged. Reynolds has a wicked sense of humor which came out well in the audio. His writing is phenomenal and I am thrilled that theater is now doing productions of his novels in insanely creative manners.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars! I loved it. The audio is again stellar, and the story is fantastic. It’s got just the right amount of silly (Funky Trumpet in reference to a fart) and depth.

Jason Reynolds is consistently amazing! 100% a book to read and own.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Portico is supposed to spend the night with his dad for the first time since his parents split up last week. He is not ready to deal with that yet, so instead he spends the day with his friends, Zola and Herbert, getting up to hijinks.

[Lauren]

The audiobook felt like an essential to me. I read the first book via ebook and this second one by audio. The audio made it way more fun and had the one passing quicker. I’m choosing not to rate this because I’m not the target audience, but Jason Reynolds always does a good job.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuntboy is crazy fun! Portico, Zola, and new friend, Herbert, throw themselves into a great mix of getting in trouble, dealing with consequences AND unexpected “imaginational” circumstances. Funny stunts and perfectly incredible artwork will attract MANY new reading fans!