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shapeoflobster's review against another edition
3.0
2.5
A good blend of superhero story and cute YA f/f romance, with added identity stuff which was admittedly pretty tropey, but I like that kind of thing. However, I was really not a fan of the writing most of the time, the present tense was pretty clunky, and there were a few typos - all of which made me wish for better editing. I think the second half or so of the book was much better than the first half, probably due to the plot coming together and increased action. Said plot coming together is why I'm definitely still going to continue with this series. Plus I can't resist superheroes.
A good blend of superhero story and cute YA f/f romance, with added identity stuff which was admittedly pretty tropey, but I like that kind of thing. However, I was really not a fan of the writing most of the time, the present tense was pretty clunky, and there were a few typos - all of which made me wish for better editing. I think the second half or so of the book was much better than the first half, probably due to the plot coming together and increased action. Said plot coming together is why I'm definitely still going to continue with this series. Plus I can't resist superheroes.
wholesomeandqueer's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
sumlittlebee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
slow-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
3.5
craftywitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
emily_gaynier's review against another edition
4.0
I love superheroes and good fighting evil, so I'm always looking out for good hero novels and this is a great one!
I really like that Jess starts off just wanting to be a hero, but being just a normal girl with normal problems like a crush and getting embarrassed by mean girls at her school. I have to admit I guessed all of the twists, although that's probably because I've read lots of hero stories.
I also really like how this book has multiple characters who like the same sex and a trans character who were all treated well.
I really like that Jess starts off just wanting to be a hero, but being just a normal girl with normal problems like a crush and getting embarrassed by mean girls at her school. I have to admit I guessed all of the twists, although that's probably because I've read lots of hero stories.
I also really like how this book has multiple characters who like the same sex and a trans character who were all treated well.
megsbookishtwins's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Not Your Sidekick, mainly because it was fun. It had a very sky-high vibe, which also made this a really fun read. It has superpowers, a vietnamese-chinese-american m/c, a bisexual m/c, and a f/f relationship. Highly recommend!
ihateprozac's review against another edition
3.0
Not Your Sidekick tells the story of Jess, a bisexual Chinese-Vietnamese-American teen, who’s the seemingly untalented middle child in a family full of superheroes and geniuses. In this near-future version of America, solar flares kickstarted genetic mutations that gave rise to superheroes with superhuman abilities. As consolation for being the only normie in a family full of heroes, Jess takes a mysterious internship at Monroe Industries - which happens to be a front for the town villains! Jess works alongside her crush, Abby, and a mysterious mecha-suited boss named M, and soon learns that the hero/villain dichotomy is not as simple as it seems, and that something larger is at play here.
If I were to describe this in a few words, it’d be “Sky High, but queer as fuck”. It’s a super cute, fun adventure that reads just like a comic book, but with the bonus points of bisexual representation, queer representation, trans representation, QPOC representation, and on-page talk about pronouns! It’s such a breath of fresh air not just in YA fiction, but in superhero fiction; a world that too often caters to and only represents cishet white male dudebros.
That being said, the story is lacking in detail, description, and introspection. Everything just kind of happens; it doesn’t happen with any feeling. I don’t want the characters to “say” something, I want them to exclaim, to cry, to shudder, to shout, and to spit. I don’t want the characters to just look at each other, I want them to look incredulous, to look adoringly, to glare, to ogle, to sneer, to grimace. Each scene felt like it was an outline, waiting to have meat packed onto its bones.
Whether it’s due to the lack of detail or just the nature of CB Lee’s writing, I absolutely flew through this book. It clocks in at less than 300 pages and I smashed through it in a couple of hours - hence why I’m probably not more disgruntled at the lack of detail. Had this been a 500 page opus, I don’t think I’d rate it as favourably as I did, nor would I be overly keen to pick up the next one. But it was a super cute read on a sunny Sunday afternoon where I wanted something I could fly through and not think too much about.
Overall: While Not Your Sidekick is a little rudimentary and inelegant in its writing, I am stoked as hell that this queer AF superhero book exists! It’s so nice to see bisexual own-voices writing in the superhero genre, giving queer POC femmes a voice in a genre dominated by cishet white male characters (or characters written for the cishet white male gaze). I’m excited to see CB Lee’s writing grow, and am excited to see the superhero genre get that bit queerer.
If I were to describe this in a few words, it’d be “Sky High, but queer as fuck”. It’s a super cute, fun adventure that reads just like a comic book, but with the bonus points of bisexual representation, queer representation, trans representation, QPOC representation, and on-page talk about pronouns! It’s such a breath of fresh air not just in YA fiction, but in superhero fiction; a world that too often caters to and only represents cishet white male dudebros.
That being said, the story is lacking in detail, description, and introspection. Everything just kind of happens; it doesn’t happen with any feeling. I don’t want the characters to “say” something, I want them to exclaim, to cry, to shudder, to shout, and to spit. I don’t want the characters to just look at each other, I want them to look incredulous, to look adoringly, to glare, to ogle, to sneer, to grimace. Each scene felt like it was an outline, waiting to have meat packed onto its bones.
Whether it’s due to the lack of detail or just the nature of CB Lee’s writing, I absolutely flew through this book. It clocks in at less than 300 pages and I smashed through it in a couple of hours - hence why I’m probably not more disgruntled at the lack of detail. Had this been a 500 page opus, I don’t think I’d rate it as favourably as I did, nor would I be overly keen to pick up the next one. But it was a super cute read on a sunny Sunday afternoon where I wanted something I could fly through and not think too much about.
Overall: While Not Your Sidekick is a little rudimentary and inelegant in its writing, I am stoked as hell that this queer AF superhero book exists! It’s so nice to see bisexual own-voices writing in the superhero genre, giving queer POC femmes a voice in a genre dominated by cishet white male characters (or characters written for the cishet white male gaze). I’m excited to see CB Lee’s writing grow, and am excited to see the superhero genre get that bit queerer.
ceceewing_'s review against another edition
4.0
I WANT BOOK TWO RIGHT NOW. IMMEDIATELY. GIVE IT TO ME.
Ok, I'll try to be more coherent now.
I think this book is fully deserving of 4.5 stars (damn you, Goodreads, for not giving me half star options!) and I am utterly in love with it. I am a sucker for superhero stories that are against the norm, stories that embrace silliness in superhero tropes and manage to make those stories new even if the conventions are the same. And this book is everything I wanted it to be.
This felt like such a step forward in terms of the LGBTQIA+ lit I want to see written in the future. It was refreshing and so full of multiple queer characters of color who also got to fall in love and save the world and be happy, regardless of their race or orientation. This had all the fun of Sky High or Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, but it let a bisexual, biracial girl take center stage. I knew 20 pages in I would read any number of books about her, about her crush Abby, about her trans friend Bells, about any of them at all. And it just kept impressing me.
This book has predictable elements, but those moments are intentional in their predictability. This book embraces tropes in this genre and gives those who have been pushed aside in superhero narratives the chance to be the ones telling their stories. And I couldn't believe how much it refreshed a genre that, at this point, was feeling over-saturated to me.
The romance was adorable. It was sweet, and funny, and felt so real. The world-building was incredibly well done, and I felt like it only got more detailed and fascinating as the book continued. Every side character was written with as much care as Jessica, our main character, and they could easily have each carried a book of their own. My only problem with this book was an occasional pacing issue, feeling like some things happened too quickly and other things weren't given quite enough time. But that doesn't begin to limit how much I adored reading this book.
I will be doing a full video review soon, so look for that. I'm sure much more gushing will occur. And seriously, this book is so worth every person's time. It comes out on September 8th and I am imploring you to go pick it up. Now, WHERE IS BOOK TWO??
**I was provided an ARC of this book by the publisher**
Ok, I'll try to be more coherent now.
I think this book is fully deserving of 4.5 stars (damn you, Goodreads, for not giving me half star options!) and I am utterly in love with it. I am a sucker for superhero stories that are against the norm, stories that embrace silliness in superhero tropes and manage to make those stories new even if the conventions are the same. And this book is everything I wanted it to be.
This felt like such a step forward in terms of the LGBTQIA+ lit I want to see written in the future. It was refreshing and so full of multiple queer characters of color who also got to fall in love and save the world and be happy, regardless of their race or orientation. This had all the fun of Sky High or Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, but it let a bisexual, biracial girl take center stage. I knew 20 pages in I would read any number of books about her, about her crush Abby, about her trans friend Bells, about any of them at all. And it just kept impressing me.
This book has predictable elements, but those moments are intentional in their predictability. This book embraces tropes in this genre and gives those who have been pushed aside in superhero narratives the chance to be the ones telling their stories. And I couldn't believe how much it refreshed a genre that, at this point, was feeling over-saturated to me.
The romance was adorable. It was sweet, and funny, and felt so real. The world-building was incredibly well done, and I felt like it only got more detailed and fascinating as the book continued. Every side character was written with as much care as Jessica, our main character, and they could easily have each carried a book of their own. My only problem with this book was an occasional pacing issue, feeling like some things happened too quickly and other things weren't given quite enough time. But that doesn't begin to limit how much I adored reading this book.
I will be doing a full video review soon, so look for that. I'm sure much more gushing will occur. And seriously, this book is so worth every person's time. It comes out on September 8th and I am imploring you to go pick it up. Now, WHERE IS BOOK TWO??
**I was provided an ARC of this book by the publisher**
pointofvin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.0
annineamundsen's review against another edition
4.0
Very very cute. Superpowers in the future. Secret identities. Adorable wlw romance. Great representation (Asian-American bi main character, trans poc best friend etc). A little cheesy, but in a good way.