tehani's review against another edition
5.0
Marvellous! Highly recommended, especially for fans of Tansy Rayner Roberts' "Cookie Cutter Superhero" and Sarah Kuhn's Heroine Complex!
emmascc's review against another edition
4.0
this was super cute and really great i would like 50 more please
iamgr00t's review
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
misssusan's review
3.0
mad cute but i kind of wish it was twice as long. i also feel like i should maybe be worried about how much jamie's approach to life makes sense to me but. NAH. :D life's too short to worry about things going horribly wrong unless the horrible things are immediately imminent
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
jodin's review
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
wardenred's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It’s mostly busywork. But I occasionally feel like I’m making the world a better place. Or not making it worse, at least.
This was a really fun little book! I just wish—to nobody's surprise, I am sure—it was a little bit longer, because while I can't really complain about the character development or the sense I got for the setting, there was a point around the middle where the relationship development felt seriously rushed. It sort of evened out later on, though, and I got rather invested in Jamie's and Tad's up and downs.
What I really enjoyed was the author's take on a city full of superheroes and supervillains. A lot of it was super goofy and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny: all the cartoonish violence, inexplicable gadgets, nefarious plans that never work, and making sure the superhero heading off to fight a giant pasta monster isn't gluten-intolerant. However, underneath the veneerer of comedy, there were some serious explorations of the realistic consequences of all those comic book tropes, such as the impact the supers' fights can have on civilians. Somehow, the two tones co-existed comfortably, never clashing or diminishing each other.
I also liked, in no particular order, the more corporate side of the superhero business, Jamie's relationship with his mother, and Jamie's entire personality, period. Oh, and the initial meet-cute between the two leads: it was funny, it set off sparks, and it had a bit of wonderful foreshadowing that only got obvious in hindsight.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Violence
artsymusings's review
3.0
Great characters, well-developed main characters (especially for a novella) and a fun setting in a city of superheroes and supervillains. Would have worked way better as a full-length novel and with unpredictable plot twists, though. Or maybe only if it weren't so predictable from the get-go.