girlreading's review
4.0
This series is an instant serotonin hit.
With a fast paced, action packed plot, unique superpowers, casual diverse inclusivity of sexuality and race and an instantly loveable cast of characters, this series has everything you could ever want from a superhero story and I can't wait to continue.
With a fast paced, action packed plot, unique superpowers, casual diverse inclusivity of sexuality and race and an instantly loveable cast of characters, this series has everything you could ever want from a superhero story and I can't wait to continue.
louandlife's review against another edition
5.0
This series has become one of my new all time favourite series. I can't wait to finish it and film a video all on why people are missing out on this series!
This book follows Bells, and it follows him from before Book 1, [b:Not Your Sidekick|29904219|Not Your Sidekick (Sidekick Squad, #1)|C.B. Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460486105l/29904219._SY75_.jpg|50278232]. I was confused when I first started this book because I thought that it would start off from the end of book 2. After a chapter or two, I understood what the book was doing. It was taking us through all of Bells important scenes before book 1, during book 1, and then continues the story. This did mean that the story was slow paced in the beginning as it starts before any of the action. This entire book was a lot slower in pace than book 1 because the adult were more involved in the story. They did adult things and prevented their teenage children from participating. I did understand this but I also felt like they should have had parental supervision.
I did like the story less in this book because of the pacing but also the plot wasn't as gripping. In addition, the books do not conclude story lines. I'm hoping that we get a conclusion to everything in the next books. However, I do like the fact that we got to know Bells better and see key memories of his life and what made him Bells. I also like the fact that Jess and Abby are still around in this book because of how much I loved them in the first book. I also do appreciate Emma exploring her sexuality and figuring out if she is asexual (and that asexuality is a spectrum).
I didn't particularly like the romance for Bells though. The whole series builds up to it, but because the person that he's interested doesn't appear to be interested in him until the end, it makes me not invested in them as a couple. However, I do hope that my feelings change in the next book.
Overall, I'm really glad to have found this series and I can't wait to read the next book! I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a superhero story filled with LGBT+ representation (own voices for bi rep) written by an Asian author.
This book follows Bells, and it follows him from before Book 1, [b:Not Your Sidekick|29904219|Not Your Sidekick (Sidekick Squad, #1)|C.B. Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460486105l/29904219._SY75_.jpg|50278232]. I was confused when I first started this book because I thought that it would start off from the end of book 2. After a chapter or two, I understood what the book was doing. It was taking us through all of Bells important scenes before book 1, during book 1, and then continues the story. This did mean that the story was slow paced in the beginning as it starts before any of the action. This entire book was a lot slower in pace than book 1 because the adult were more involved in the story. They did adult things and prevented their teenage children from participating. I did understand this but I also felt like they should have had parental supervision.
I did like the story less in this book because of the pacing but also the plot wasn't as gripping. In addition, the books do not conclude story lines. I'm hoping that we get a conclusion to everything in the next books. However, I do like the fact that we got to know Bells better and see key memories of his life and what made him Bells. I also like the fact that Jess and Abby are still around in this book because of how much I loved them in the first book. I also do appreciate Emma exploring her sexuality and figuring out if she is asexual (and that asexuality is a spectrum).
I didn't particularly like the romance for Bells though. The whole series builds up to it, but because the person that he's interested doesn't appear to be interested in him until the end, it makes me not invested in them as a couple. However, I do hope that my feelings change in the next book.
Overall, I'm really glad to have found this series and I can't wait to read the next book! I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a superhero story filled with LGBT+ representation (own voices for bi rep) written by an Asian author.
aquietglow's review
4.0
This is still a very cute and enjoyable series! I guess I thought this would be a bit more independent? And each story would very much belong to its principal character. But I still really like the group and the story.
shksprsis's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ginnikin's review
3.0
Not as good as the first. The pacing on this is not good. I did like the conflict between the parents and the kids on timelines and what to do, but sometimes I would like the parents to be more right.
Spoiler
Emma's confession felt really sudden and wish fulfillment. Maybe the third book, from her POV, will help establish that. Also, they just went home?jonknightknighthunterbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A fun continuation of the series - the switch in PoV character allows it to start with a quick recap which I appreciated.
To my taste, the ratio of awkward-teen-times to high-jinks was maybe a little to much to the former - but I'm 42 so it's probably safe to ignore that.
The protagonists continue to be more willing to take more risks than the adults - which makes sense both in world (the adults have all had years of being beaten up by the system) and for the book (the teens are the protagonists after all) but the uselessness of the adults does grate a little.
Spoiler
Though I could have done with a reminder about pre-apocalypse media being banned!To my taste, the ratio of awkward-teen-times to high-jinks was maybe a little to much to the former - but I'm 42 so it's probably safe to ignore that.
The protagonists continue to be more willing to take more risks than the adults - which makes sense both in world (the adults have all had years of being beaten up by the system) and for the book (the teens are the protagonists after all) but the uselessness of the adults does grate a little.
mora55's review
I didn't like this one as much as the first? Mostly because I liked Jess and her story better.
But there was so much to like here! Everything I said with the first one - completely accepting all sexualities and gender identities and introducing yourself with pronouns and using 'they' if unsure, diversity of the characters, etc - but also supportive parents who have good relationships with their children! And really close friendships between people who always support each other no matter what! And Jess's relationship with her little brother where she teases him but also he's completely allowed to join them in their plans!
I like how Bells is so upfront about himself and knows what he likes and what he fears and doesn't pretend to be anything other than he is (a lovely contrast, I believe, to his superpowers, which are literally shapeshifting, which by nature turns him into something that isn't him). "Are you interested in coding?" asks someone I can't remember. "No," says Bells, completely bluntly.
The narrator of this audiobook was very good for it, I thought, though you'd definitely want to listen to it on a little faster speed.
However, the plot was strangely paced and I think the focus of the lens speeds up and slows down and zooms in on the wrong bits, or for the wrong length of time or something. There were things I felt like should have been more hit upon instead of summarized, or there should be something logically happening in a several-month chunk of time they just skipped, or it's really not important to show the development of something random. Some other plot points just kinda came out of the blue as well. Like, they spent way too long on a certain misleading subplot and then not enough time at all on an actual plot-furthering sequence of events. That sort of thing.
But the worldbuilding, which I had been "eh" about in the last book for being underdeveloped and containing holes, was much better here. We got more details and Bells's more insider position with the Heroes' League gave us more details to flesh it out.
I really liked seeing Jess and Abby's relationship and how it is developing, and I also like how Jess is coming into her powers and experimenting with them more and kind of taking more pride and ownership over what she thought was a stupid and useless almost non-ability before.
And: a quote I found so inexplicably funny that I copied it down from the audio:
But there was so much to like here! Everything I said with the first one - completely accepting all sexualities and gender identities and introducing yourself with pronouns and using 'they' if unsure, diversity of the characters, etc - but also supportive parents who have good relationships with their children! And really close friendships between people who always support each other no matter what! And Jess's relationship with her little brother where she teases him but also he's completely allowed to join them in their plans!
I like how Bells is so upfront about himself and knows what he likes and what he fears and doesn't pretend to be anything other than he is (a lovely contrast, I believe, to his superpowers, which are literally shapeshifting, which by nature turns him into something that isn't him). "Are you interested in coding?" asks someone I can't remember. "No," says Bells, completely bluntly.
The narrator of this audiobook was very good for it, I thought, though you'd definitely want to listen to it on a little faster speed.
However, the plot was strangely paced and I think the focus of the lens speeds up and slows down and zooms in on the wrong bits, or for the wrong length of time or something. There were things I felt like should have been more hit upon instead of summarized, or there should be something logically happening in a several-month chunk of time they just skipped, or it's really not important to show the development of something random. Some other plot points just kinda came out of the blue as well. Like, they spent way too long on a certain misleading subplot and then not enough time at all on an actual plot-furthering sequence of events. That sort of thing.
But the worldbuilding, which I had been "eh" about in the last book for being underdeveloped and containing holes, was much better here. We got more details and Bells's more insider position with the Heroes' League gave us more details to flesh it out.
I really liked seeing Jess and Abby's relationship and how it is developing, and I also like how Jess is coming into her powers and experimenting with them more and kind of taking more pride and ownership over what she thought was a stupid and useless almost non-ability before.
And: a quote I found so inexplicably funny that I copied it down from the audio:
It involves taking the hovertrain all the way to Middleton and pretending to be Mr. Ooze, who doesn’t fight so much as just sit in muddy puddles and make terrible puns about soil at his archnemesisI'm not sure it's actually that funny but the way the narrator read it amplified the humor.
emmascc's review against another edition
4.0
I love Bells so much. Wish that there hadn't been as much overlap with the first book, but it was great to see some of Bells background. Looking forward to #3
ilikecows321's review against another edition
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0