The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Reynolds, Jason, and Raúl the Third. Stuntboy, In the Meantime. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2021.

Jason Reynolds' and Raúl the Third's Stuntboy, In the Meantime is a graphic novel for young readers. The text combines playful language and vivid imagery in order to explore complex themes and experiences in a child's life. The narration employs both the past and present tenses. The accompanying imagery nuances the narrative plot line. The following guide uses the present tense and a linear plot structure.

Portico Reeves lives in an apartment building called Skylight Gardens. Portico sees the apartment like a castle. Living here makes him feel like he is living inside a television show.

Portico lives in Apartment 4D with his mother, Sasha, father, Marvin, grandmother, Gran Gran, and cat, A New Name Every Day. The only bad thing about Portico's life is that he lives with the frets, or what his grandmother calls anxiety.

On the first day of school, Portico meets and becomes friends with the new girl in the building, Zola Brawner. Portico defends her from the neighborhood bully, Herbert Singletary the Worst. Then when Herbert directs his teasing at Portico, Portico gets the frets. Noticing that Portico is upset, Zola and her mother invite him over to their apartment. While there, Portico and Zola discover that they both love the same television show: Super Space Warriors. They decide that they should choose superhero identities for themselves, too. Portico becomes Stuntboy, a superhero responsible for protecting the other superheroes.

One day, Portico comes home to find his parents fighting over a folding chair. They have told Portico that they will be moving to two new apartments, but Portico has failed to understand what this really means. When he sees them arguing over the chair, he gets worried and upset. Zola helps him understand the fight by comparing it to an episode of Super Space Warriors. Suddenly terrified that his parents will hurt each other like the characters in the show, Portico races home and performs a stunt to end their argument.

Over the course of the entire summer, Portico's mom and dad continue fighting. Portico catches them arguing over a clock, a plate, a picture frame, and the coffee table. Each time, he races to Zola's and tells her what has happened. Each time, Zola compares the fights to episodes from their favorite superhero show. Each time, Portico tries using a stunt to stop his parents' spats.

Then one day, Portico and Zola befriend the bully, Herbert. They discover that Herbert is not so bad after all. He even invites them to play with him in his secret boiler room hideout. While inside, the friends hear Portico's parents fighting through the wall. Herbert says that the same thing happened to his parents, which means Portico's parents are probably getting a divorce.

When Portico asks his parents for confirmation, they insist they are only separating. Portico feels himself splitting into two halves of himself. He only escapes this daydream by turning into Stuntboy and performing a stunt to save his cat from the top of his parents' boxes. While hurdling towards the cat, Portico realizes that whenever he is Stuntboy, his frets disappear and he feels courageous and strong.