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Spider-Man's Social Dilemma #2
Spider-Man's Bad Connection
The second novel in this series chronicling teenager Peter Parker's first adventures as Spider-Man!
Peter Parker is still learning the ropes—er, webs?—as Spider-Man, and he has a new partner in crime-fighting in his new girlfriend MJ. But having someone who knows his secret makes this high school romance more complicated, not less—especially when a mysterious social media account starts alerting Peter to crimes before they happen. But is it just a smokescreen for a new villain, pulling Spider-Man's strings—er, webs? And when the mysterious Spot gets involved, with powers that can turn ordinary reality into swiss cheese, Peter's realizing that surviving high school might be the simplest of his many problems. Preeti Chhibber’s incomparable voice balances wit and charm with teenage earnestness and vulnerability, giving us an up-to-the-minute take on teen Peter Parker and making him an amazingly relatable Spider-Man.
Peter Parker is still learning the ropes—er, webs?—as Spider-Man, and he has a new partner in crime-fighting in his new girlfriend MJ. But having someone who knows his secret makes this high school romance more complicated, not less—especially when a mysterious social media account starts alerting Peter to crimes before they happen. But is it just a smokescreen for a new villain, pulling Spider-Man's strings—er, webs? And when the mysterious Spot gets involved, with powers that can turn ordinary reality into swiss cheese, Peter's realizing that surviving high school might be the simplest of his many problems. Preeti Chhibber’s incomparable voice balances wit and charm with teenage earnestness and vulnerability, giving us an up-to-the-minute take on teen Peter Parker and making him an amazingly relatable Spider-Man.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2023
About the author
Preeti Chhibber
76 books169 followersPreeti Chhibber is a huge nerd. She usually spends her time reading a ridiculous amount of Young Adult, but is also ready to jump into most fandoms at a moment’s notice. You can follow her on Twitter @runwithskizzers.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 24, 2026
Preeti Chhibber delivers another absolute blast with Spider-Man’s Bad Connection, the second entry in her All-Ages Spider-Man trilogy. If the first book proved her deep love for Peter Parker’s universe, this sequel solidifies her ability to balance classic webslinging action with genuine, grounded teenage drama.
This time around, Peter is still figuring out the ropes (or rather, the webs) of being a neighborhood hero. He now has MJ in his corner as a partner in crime-fighting, but having someone know his secret identity makes high school romance surprisingly more complicated, not less. Between a mysterious local social media account tipping off crimes before they happen and a series of strange robberies across NYC, Peter and MJ are left baffled. Enter The Spot; whose reality-bending, portal-making powers turn the city into Swiss cheese and push Spidey to his limits.
What worked so well in this installment:
1. Chhibber gives ample breathing room to Peter and MJ’s budding relationship. The story deftly explores the real strain of a hero’s double life; MJ struggles to find her place alongside Spider-Man without losing her own ambitions, reinforcing the subtle, great theme that there’s more than one way to make a difference in the world.
2. Featuring The Spot alongside an anonymous digital tipster creates a spooky, compelling mystery that builds at a fantastic pace. The stakes feel personal, priority-driven, and genuinely tricky for a high schooler to navigate.
3. Chhibber’s signature writing style balances laugh-out-loud wit and charm with teenage earnestness and vulnerability. It captures the essence of a modern, "up-to-the-minute" Peter Parker without losing any of his timeless core.
Beyond the superheroics, watching Peter, MJ, and their friend group navigate a school community project (which unintentionally puts them in the crosshairs of a local politician) keeps the story firmly rooted in the everyday pressures of growing up.
It’s a fun, fast, and satisfying mystery that sets the stage brilliantly for the third book. I, for one, can’t wait to see how the trilogy wraps up.
This time around, Peter is still figuring out the ropes (or rather, the webs) of being a neighborhood hero. He now has MJ in his corner as a partner in crime-fighting, but having someone know his secret identity makes high school romance surprisingly more complicated, not less. Between a mysterious local social media account tipping off crimes before they happen and a series of strange robberies across NYC, Peter and MJ are left baffled. Enter The Spot; whose reality-bending, portal-making powers turn the city into Swiss cheese and push Spidey to his limits.
What worked so well in this installment:
1. Chhibber gives ample breathing room to Peter and MJ’s budding relationship. The story deftly explores the real strain of a hero’s double life; MJ struggles to find her place alongside Spider-Man without losing her own ambitions, reinforcing the subtle, great theme that there’s more than one way to make a difference in the world.
2. Featuring The Spot alongside an anonymous digital tipster creates a spooky, compelling mystery that builds at a fantastic pace. The stakes feel personal, priority-driven, and genuinely tricky for a high schooler to navigate.
3. Chhibber’s signature writing style balances laugh-out-loud wit and charm with teenage earnestness and vulnerability. It captures the essence of a modern, "up-to-the-minute" Peter Parker without losing any of his timeless core.
Beyond the superheroics, watching Peter, MJ, and their friend group navigate a school community project (which unintentionally puts them in the crosshairs of a local politician) keeps the story firmly rooted in the everyday pressures of growing up.
It’s a fun, fast, and satisfying mystery that sets the stage brilliantly for the third book. I, for one, can’t wait to see how the trilogy wraps up.
July 24, 2024
This sequel was just as fun and entertaining as the first one, maybe even more so! It's full of action and humor that bring me right back to the 90s animated series. I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to read the final chapter of this trilogy when it comes out later this year.
August 18, 2023
After bringing us an exciting, original Spider-Man adventure last summer, author Preeti Chhibber is back with Spider-Man’s Bad Connection, the second in her ongoing series that puts the “friendly” and “neighborhood” in “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”
This time around, following in her uncanny ability to chose a topical villain, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man comes face-to-face with The Spot, who is responsible for a series of mysterious robberies around New York City, which leave Peter and MJ completely baffled.
As if this weren’t enough, the pair of them, along with their friends, are tasked with working on a community project for school, one that unintentionally puts them in the crosshairs of a local politician. It’s only when these seeminly separate events - along with a mysterious new anonymous tipster that is both helping and hindering Spider-Man - start to seem connected that things begin to escalate for the teens.
Like the first book, Spider-Man’s Bad Connection succeeds at being a satisfying, occasionally spooky, mystery for younger readers, that also features relatable teenage protagonists. This time around, more time is given to both Peter and MJ’s budding relationship, as well as their friendships with their peers and outside of school as well.
The story also presents some interesting new dilemmas for Spider-Man, with the burdens of his double life really starting to weigh on him, and the pressures of being the catch-all hero for the city bringing up a conundrum of which problems to prioritize over others. His relationship with MJ is also feeling the strain, with her struggling between trying to be supportive and feeling like she doesn’t really have a place in this double life of his, while also trying to further her own interests, which are not treated as any less important or critical. There’s more than one way to make a difference.
The central mystery is compelling as well, building slowly to a conclusion that will have readers eagerly anticipating book 3 and all the chaos it is sure to bring. I know I can’t wait.
Spider-Man’s Bad Connection hits shelves on September 5. Special thank you to Netgalley and Disney Publishing for the advance copy for review purposes.
This time around, following in her uncanny ability to chose a topical villain, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man comes face-to-face with The Spot, who is responsible for a series of mysterious robberies around New York City, which leave Peter and MJ completely baffled.
As if this weren’t enough, the pair of them, along with their friends, are tasked with working on a community project for school, one that unintentionally puts them in the crosshairs of a local politician. It’s only when these seeminly separate events - along with a mysterious new anonymous tipster that is both helping and hindering Spider-Man - start to seem connected that things begin to escalate for the teens.
Like the first book, Spider-Man’s Bad Connection succeeds at being a satisfying, occasionally spooky, mystery for younger readers, that also features relatable teenage protagonists. This time around, more time is given to both Peter and MJ’s budding relationship, as well as their friendships with their peers and outside of school as well.
The story also presents some interesting new dilemmas for Spider-Man, with the burdens of his double life really starting to weigh on him, and the pressures of being the catch-all hero for the city bringing up a conundrum of which problems to prioritize over others. His relationship with MJ is also feeling the strain, with her struggling between trying to be supportive and feeling like she doesn’t really have a place in this double life of his, while also trying to further her own interests, which are not treated as any less important or critical. There’s more than one way to make a difference.
The central mystery is compelling as well, building slowly to a conclusion that will have readers eagerly anticipating book 3 and all the chaos it is sure to bring. I know I can’t wait.
Spider-Man’s Bad Connection hits shelves on September 5. Special thank you to Netgalley and Disney Publishing for the advance copy for review purposes.
September 8, 2023
Last year, I read the first book in this trilogy and had quite a bit of fun with it, so I was looking forward to continuing the story. I enjoyed how Preeti continued with the plot points of the first and expanded upon them throughout the story. Peter is balancing his relationship with MJ, his internship at the Bugle, school, and his night job.
The stresses of trying to keep a semi-normal life outside of being a superhero greatly affect Peter. This stress is a relatable plot point. Also, I enjoyed seeing Peter wanting to help as many people he could and seeing the problems he was having while trying to. These are problems young readers can connect to, especially learning the importance of balancing everything going on in your life.
Peter’s voice is authentic. He feels like a teenager in every aspect of his character, and I know that kids will connect with him in this book. I like how we got other perspectives from MJ and the Spot, like we did in the first book. J. Jonah Jameson was again my favorite character in this story, and I enjoyed how Preeti expanded on him.
I enjoyed Spider-Man's Bad Connection quite a bit and will be reading the third book when it comes out. It is a book which would be perfect for middle-grade readers and other fans of Spider-Man.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
The stresses of trying to keep a semi-normal life outside of being a superhero greatly affect Peter. This stress is a relatable plot point. Also, I enjoyed seeing Peter wanting to help as many people he could and seeing the problems he was having while trying to. These are problems young readers can connect to, especially learning the importance of balancing everything going on in your life.
Peter’s voice is authentic. He feels like a teenager in every aspect of his character, and I know that kids will connect with him in this book. I like how we got other perspectives from MJ and the Spot, like we did in the first book. J. Jonah Jameson was again my favorite character in this story, and I enjoyed how Preeti expanded on him.
I enjoyed Spider-Man's Bad Connection quite a bit and will be reading the third book when it comes out. It is a book which would be perfect for middle-grade readers and other fans of Spider-Man.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
June 1, 2024
This read just like the movie! Peter Parker is trying to balance life as a superhero by night and a student by day. He's lucky he has support from his aunt and MJ. To make things more complicated though, Peter tries to balance a job at the newspaper too (of which he may or may not get fired from in this novel). Trying to be cool (and because he's directly told to), he starts using social media to communicate with others more often so he better keep his identity secret. Online, he starts to get anonymous tips about petty crimes... which he stops, but he misses the bigger crimes while focused on the tips. Something is off; Peter needs to figure it out fast... and stop Dots... the Spot ASAP.
What I loved most: the voice in this novel is wonderful - you really feel the teenage angst. I also love with and humor of Peter Parker in this story, I loved MJ's garden project, and I loved the social commentary on politics and corruption in this novel.
Narrator was perfect. Made it feel like I was listening to a movie. I also loved the voice!
What I loved most: the voice in this novel is wonderful - you really feel the teenage angst. I also love with and humor of Peter Parker in this story, I loved MJ's garden project, and I loved the social commentary on politics and corruption in this novel.
Narrator was perfect. Made it feel like I was listening to a movie. I also loved the voice!
February 23, 2024
As a Spider-Man fan I was very happy with this book. I thought the author did a great job on distinguishing between Peter’s super hero and personal life. She gave him issues such as not showing up for MJ while also giving an engaging story. The way she writes her villains is still kind of meh which is why I gave it 4 instead of 5. I enjoyed this villain more than the last book because of his motive. It made it more exciting to continue reading. I also didn’t care for how long it took to actually get Spider-Man and this villain to interact. I was still over halfway through the book and they still didn’t interact. That’s fine for some stories but it didn’t work for me with this story personally. Overall it was an amazing read and I’m very excited to get the next book.
November 8, 2023
Most of the way through this book, I felt that it would have been better served as a graphic novel. The dialogue, in particular, seemed very stilted and cartoon-stereotypical. However, about 2/3 of the way through, everything seemed to improve including the action and descriptive language. Maybe I had finally accustomed myself to the style of the author by then. I ended by thinking I will leave myself open to picking up another book by this author.
February 15, 2024
So I was never going to get this (and 45 others) properly written up, so I posted quick, tweet-length thoughts about some things that have needed reviewed for far too long:
Not as good as book 1, but filled with everything I liked about it. Seemed more concerned about setting up the series arc than this book’s plot.
Not as good as book 1, but filled with everything I liked about it. Seemed more concerned about setting up the series arc than this book’s plot.
December 24, 2023
Also very cute! The plot of this one felt more stilted and meandering, but I think part of that is the metaphysical nature of The Spot as a villain and part of it is being the middle book in a trilogy. It was so refreshing and nice to see Peter and MJ work through their relationship issues without a cheap breakup.
March 14, 2024
Better than the 1st tittle in the series for sure. Left me wanting to start book 3 right away, sadly not sure when that new release will be. Regardless, I’m hooked, and they is a great read for any spidey fan.
November 5, 2026
Set in New York City, Peter Parker is navigating his dual identity as Spider-Man with the help of his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson.
When a mysterious tipster called The Spider Code misleads Spider-Man, MJ investigates who might be behind the post.
The featured villain is the Spot.
When a mysterious tipster called The Spider Code misleads Spider-Man, MJ investigates who might be behind the post.
The featured villain is the Spot.
September 16, 2023
Another really fun Spidey adventure!
October 28, 2024
It started slow, but about halfway through, it picked up the pace and got interesting. It ended up being a decent story by the end.
June 7, 2025
can't wait for the next book!!!
August 24, 2025
Not as good as the previous book, but still a fun middle-grade Spider-Man story!
April 10, 2024
Love these books so much. Love the development of Pete and MJ’s relationship. Another great story with another great villain.
Loved it roll on book 3
Loved it roll on book 3
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews