Overall, this was a solid read. I couldn't tell if this was going to be the only book or if Segura plans to write more. Either way, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to reading another one.

The Spider-verse is very wide and diverse and this story shows the journey of one of them. Arana is confused by her powers at first but as she gets drawn into the larger world of the Spiders she finds her place and her personal mission. She also finds an unexpected enemy in her community.

I loved this book, it gave me everything I wanted as a reader and more. I am a sucker for a cover and fell in love with the storyline and characters. Well written and kept me engaged :)

I love you Araña. I was never a Peter Parker fan. I didn't hate him, I enjoyed the 90s cartoon a lot! And I enjoyed Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire's Peter Parkers, and I lovvveeeeeeee the Spider-verse movies.

But Araña? I read and loved Anya Corazon. She was a fav and while I lost track of her, after her solo series ended, I still love the comics.

Meanwhile Spider-man 2099, Miguel, has become an obsession since Across the Spider-verse. did I read almost every fic on AO3 for the Miguel x Reader tag? Yes, yes I am. So together they are FUN. Anya is quippy and bantery and Miguel is a surly mess. I love it.

Its a fairly decent way to edge into the Spider-verse too, if like me, the idea of it is sooooo big. As a Marvel novel, Segura does a good job of balancing it without alienating veteran fans or new fans.

Please write more? Please??

I had a blast reading this book! It pairs beautifully with the extremely well-timed Across the Spider-Verse film, and captures the snappy, snarky tone of a Spider-Man comic perfectly. Alex Segura was meant to write these characters!

I mostly liked this. This was my introduction to Araña, and I found her character to be compelling and well written. I like Segura's writing style and was mostly connected to the story, particularly once she travels forward in time. My biggest issue was in the villains. I found them less than compelling, and had a hard time taking a character named Judas Traveller seriously.

Give my all the female characters and throw in some Spider-Man and count me in. THis was a very cool futuristic look at a superhero and world.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

This was a super fun read. It's faced paced and exciting. Not too serious and not super long. I always enjoy a superhero story that features diversity within its cast of characters

ARAÑA AND SPIDER-MAN 2099: DARK TOMORROW by Alex Segura brings out the best of what defines being a hero with two popular characters of the Spider-Verse leading the charge. The story is filled with great surprises along with superhero themes lead by Segura’s phenomenal writing. Readers see first-hand how insurmountable odds and personal setbacks are tackled head-on showcasing what is a fantastic read that shouldn’t be missed.

There’s nothing I love more than reading a story about a girl of color with super powers. I was really geeked to read this book because the story of a Latina with spidey powers set my teenage self’s heart on fire. Unfortunately, this book did not give me everything I needed.

So let’s start with what I did like. The story is set in New York, the greatest city in the world (fight me on that one), Anya, the main character is a young Latina who gets her powers in a very weird way, and there’s time travel, something I am extremely fascinated with. What I didn’t like is the dialogue. I know Anya is a teen but some of the stuff she said just didn’t sound like something a teenager would say, especially in some of the situations she found herself in. Also, the story seemed kind of jumpy, like it couldn’t really settle on what it wanted to be.

All in all, I didn’t hate it but didn’t live the book either. I would still recommend the book because although it may not have been for me, I’m sure there are plenty of readers who will love it.

Anya Corazon was a normal Brooklyn teenager until gifted with amazing spider abilities. Araña is her code name, but she soon lost her mentor just as she lost her mother, and then found herself stranded in Nueva York of the future.

This is a cross-over, of sorts, as are most novels about the Spider-verse at this point. Anya has spider-powers, and calls herself Araña when in costume - and like the original Spider-Man before her, she is juggling high school with crime fighting. When chasing a group of art thieves one day, she gets too lose to an unusual artifact - and finds herself alone in the future. From there, things get a little strange (as if they weren't strange already).

This is a fast-paced book, reminiscent of the speed of the comic book that started it all, and representative of the genre of novels - both graphic and text - that have grown up around the various people who have discovered Spider-Man type powers within themselves. Those who enjoy this genre should definitely read this book. Suitable for middle school and up.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love superhero stories that showcase diverse heroes and lets them shine. Not being familiar with Anya Corazon in the comics, I'm really happy to see her get a book and hopefully this will have young readers looking for more. To me, there's a little too much going on to be a cohesive storyline--there's Anya and the secret society, there's her mother's disappearance, there's time traveling, there's Miguel's issues, there's a vampire, there's another villain, there's a mysterious artefact, there's Ghost Spider, there's more time traveling, there's just a bunch going on in a short book.

Life is Weird Enough

Alex Segura dives into the Spider-Verse with Araña, and Spider-Man 2099 in a story about family, struggling with responsibilities, and finding purpose. Anya Corazon is determined to live up to all her parents hard work, by taking advantage of all the opportunities she is given. She wants to make a difference, but is still struggling with how, and with what. When she gains an intricate tattoo with the powers of a spider, she was not expecting how much trouble balancing her life, and duties as a superhero would be. Powers she is now responsible for. When a mysterious figure called the Traveller appears, she will need all the help she can get.

Miguel Legar a member of the Spider Society is being hunted by The Sisterhood of the Wasp, when Anya stumbles upon him. The Sisterhood knows her missing mother, and Anya wants to know why. This is the beginning of Anya’s superhero origin story as she begins to understand what being Araña, the “seventh most important Spider-Person in New York City,” really means. The idea of destiny does not sit well with her. Anya is used to deciding what she does and why. Being a superhero is not glamorous, it is hard work, and takes Anya away from her commitments to her friends and Papi.

Alex Segura jumps back in forth between memories of current and past events in a train-of-thought way. Emphasizes the fear, sacrifice, and hard decisions that most superheroes have to face. As Anya repeats her love of helping others with her new strength. Living a double life means secrets, missed commitments, and complicated relationships. Anya has to face them all, and the guilt of failing to juggle all her responsibilities. Her greatest test is looming, as she fights to do good when everything is falling apart.

Anya Corazon was a normal Brooklyn teenager until gifted with amazing spider abilities. Araña is her code name, but she soon lost her mentor just as she lost her mother, and then found herself stranded in Nueva York of the future. Nueva York’s Spider-Man is billionaire CEO Miguel O’Hara, and her only hope of getting home. They discover that the enemies they face have connections to them both, and they'll have to work together.

There are so many variations of Spider-Man and those who also have spider-powers run the gamut. This novel starts with Anya already using her powers to try to save people in New York, but she doesn't have a mentor to teach her anymore, and there are bullies at school as well as the usual problems of tests, homework, and hiding her identity from her father and best friend so they won't get hurt. There is the Spider Society locked into battle with the Sisterhood of the Wasp, and Anya is soon caught up in that battle. It catapults her to 2106, where she meets Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O'Hara. He's hung up the suit after losing his family, but Anya needs help to get back to her own time and understand why her powers are fading. She's not ready to give up being a hero and wants to get revenge on Judas Traveller, the one that sent her to the future and had killed her mentor. He's also the one that helped destroy Miguel's world as Spider-Man.

With new superheroes, there's a lot of self-doubt and wondering how to balance the hero life with the everyday. We see that with Anya, and with Miguel we see the opposite side, where grief and loss led to burning out. The two were both affected by the Traveller, who stole their potential futures to bring back an evil God he worshipped. It's nothing less than the fate of the universe at stake, so Anya has to learn and grow confident, and Miguel must get his drive back. Even though Miguel is an adult, he still has the same emotional journey that many teens go through when recovering from disillusionment and loss. He's very relatable, as is Anya. The book is a fun look into these two spider heroes, with plenty of hope for the future after an intense battle.

While I’ve been a fan of Miguel O'Hara aka Spider-man 2099 since his first appearance back in the early 90’s, I wasn’t that familiar with the character of Araña. But I’ve always been a fan of Spider-man and over the years have been thrilled with the ever growing spider-verse—with Into the Spider-verse being my favorite Spidey flick to date. Knowing Miguel plays a major role in the upcoming sequel I was thrilled to get a chance to check out Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow. And after reading it am more hyped than ever for Across the Spider-verse.

As I said, I wasn’t that familiar with Araña, but I absolutely love her character. She’s a funny, energetic, and optimistic teen loving her new role as a superhero, and I’ll definitely be checking out more of her adventures in the comics. This is book is a bit shorter than many of there other Marvel books I’ve read, but even saying that it has a surprisingly engaging storyline. It’s fast paced with plenty of action and heart, and I loved a few of the surprise cameos/ extra characters, especially from BLEEP *won’t say since I think it would be a bit of a spoiler* who appears towards the last third to last the quarter of the book. I think even people who aren’t familiar with the expanded Spider-verse will enjoy this one. Thanks so much to Disney Publishing Worldwide, Marvel Press and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an ARC of Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ara-a-and-spider-man-2099-alex-segura/1142035928?ean=9781368079006&bvnotificationId=82d6cda8-eba5-11ed-a644-12e717a5f703&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/247760407

Araña only recently gained her spider powers and she's trying to get a handle on them while hiding them from her dad. However after an encounter with an artifact called El Obelisco, she finds herself in the future meeting billionaire CEO Miguel who is another version of Spiderman. After Miguel finally agrees to help Araña they discover they are up against an adversary called the Traveller who is trying to absorb the spider powers and it'll be up to them and other spider versions to save the day and get back home. Overall a fast=paced adventure that does well in highlighting lesser known versions of Spiderman.

The Review

This was such an incredible read. The author did an amazing job of world-building and making this corner of the Marvel universe his own. The action and adventure of the narrative were greatly fleshed out in this novel, and the story of a young woman thrust into an ancient war between two organizations and forced to become a part of a grand destiny felt fresh and unique to this world, giving a new voice to the Spider-verse as it were.

For me, the heart of this narrative was in both Anya's and Miguel's stories. The shared feeling of loss and fear of responsibility that they face in going after the conspiracy that ties them together were great themes to explore through these characters. Getting to see some more Hispanic culture and representation with these characters was amazing as well, and their story is something that would be great to see explored in future MCU-related storylines in the future.

The Verdict

Memorable, action-packed, and entertaining, author Alex Segura’s “Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow” is a must-read YA sci-fi and fantasy novel and a brilliant addition to the Marvel Universe as a whole. The twists and turns in the narrative, the shared history of family loss and surprise betrayals that both Miguel and Anya experience, and the imagery all brought this narrative to life in a brilliant way.

This was uneven but a lot of fun. It felt both too long and too short. Arana is a fun Spider person and the time travel story was fascinating. Some of it was a bit too on the nose, but this would be a great way to introduce the characters to new readers.

I am in the mood for all things Spider-Man and this story quenched that thirst! I never knew much about Spider-Man 2099, but this was a fantastic introduction to the web-slinging hero!