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jenpaul13's review against another edition
4.0
Lost memories and extraordinary abilities draw two unlikely allies together for the sake of their city in Mike Chen’s We Could Be Heroes.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Waking up in empty apartments, no memories of who they are, and a few clues about their identity, Jamie and Zoe find that they have extraordinary abilities; ones that they use to their advantage. Jamie has the ability to read and erase other people’s memories, which comes in quite handy to make some fast money while robbing banks. Zoe has abilities of speed, strength, and hovering, which is near to flying, and uses them in her job as a fast food deliverer, and when the mood strikes to be a vigilante. During a chance meeting at a memory-loss support group, Jamie and Zoe realize who the other is, at least their publicly known personas, and come to understand that they might just be able to help one another with their goals: Jamie’s to have enough money to escape to a quiet island life and Zoe’s to know who she really once was. While digging in, they uncover a threat with greater impact than merely fracturing their budding friendship, but one that could plunge their city into chaos, and they must decide if they can trust each other enough to help thwart the threat.
A superhero story that explores the moral gray areas between what would be considered good or evil, this book was entertaining and easy to read. The characters were decently developed, had distinct personalities that offered some humor to counter treading into heavier identity or representation topics, and offered a refreshing platonic relationship dynamic instead of unnecessary romantic tension. There were questions raised, particularly around the abilities that some people had, that were somewhat addressed, through could have benefited from further detailing while still being veiled to maintain the mystery of the ending reveal; there was another city plagued by actions of the extraordinaries that was repeatedly mentioned in passing, assuming general knowledge, without developing out the relevance, which was frustrating because I was curious about it and if addressed in greater detail it might also have fleshed out the backstory, plot, and motivations of the villain to a more satisfactory degree.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
And, because I just can’t help myself with certain phrases, every time I looked at this cover I was reminded of two things: this song or this song (and specifically in this order), which immediately got stuck in my head; so sorry, not sorry if I’ve just done that to you.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Waking up in empty apartments, no memories of who they are, and a few clues about their identity, Jamie and Zoe find that they have extraordinary abilities; ones that they use to their advantage. Jamie has the ability to read and erase other people’s memories, which comes in quite handy to make some fast money while robbing banks. Zoe has abilities of speed, strength, and hovering, which is near to flying, and uses them in her job as a fast food deliverer, and when the mood strikes to be a vigilante. During a chance meeting at a memory-loss support group, Jamie and Zoe realize who the other is, at least their publicly known personas, and come to understand that they might just be able to help one another with their goals: Jamie’s to have enough money to escape to a quiet island life and Zoe’s to know who she really once was. While digging in, they uncover a threat with greater impact than merely fracturing their budding friendship, but one that could plunge their city into chaos, and they must decide if they can trust each other enough to help thwart the threat.
A superhero story that explores the moral gray areas between what would be considered good or evil, this book was entertaining and easy to read. The characters were decently developed, had distinct personalities that offered some humor to counter treading into heavier identity or representation topics, and offered a refreshing platonic relationship dynamic instead of unnecessary romantic tension. There were questions raised, particularly around the abilities that some people had, that were somewhat addressed, through could have benefited from further detailing while still being veiled to maintain the mystery of the ending reveal; there was another city plagued by actions of the extraordinaries that was repeatedly mentioned in passing, assuming general knowledge, without developing out the relevance, which was frustrating because I was curious about it and if addressed in greater detail it might also have fleshed out the backstory, plot, and motivations of the villain to a more satisfactory degree.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
And, because I just can’t help myself with certain phrases, every time I looked at this cover I was reminded of two things: this song or this song (and specifically in this order), which immediately got stuck in my head; so sorry, not sorry if I’ve just done that to you.
anxiousnachos's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up! This was a really fun and lighthearted superhero story where the supervillain and superhero are forced to work together. Really lovely and full of heart. Friendship goals. And an amazing cat called Normal!!
syl_val15's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 out of 5 stars.
If I had to put this book in the Alignment Chart I would undoubtedly put this under the 'Chaotic Good' category. But of course that is just my personal opinion about the book.
If I had to put this book in the Alignment Chart I would undoubtedly put this under the 'Chaotic Good' category. But of course that is just my personal opinion about the book.
amylauren36's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book! Not my normal genre, and I felt like it had some plot holes, but overall it was a fun read
choudek's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
jasonpwrites's review against another edition
4.0
A very unique take on the superhero genre, with a unique motivation behind the villains plan as well as how the characters got their powers. I thoroughly enjoyed the two main characters, but part of the plot was easy to see about halfway through. It did not take away from my enjoyment too much, however.
bookmonsterally's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
What a gorgeous book! A celebration of queerdom. And a zoom in on where we’ve come and how we still have to go in LGBTQ+ acceptance.
But fundamentally this may be an important read, but it’s a fun, playful, intense love story.
But fundamentally this may be an important read, but it’s a fun, playful, intense love story.
scorpiomoonchokehold's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars; this was a cute quick read, i loved the enemies to friends story line and how the characters interacted with each other! the writing got a little boring for me every once in a while but i loved jamie and zoe’s friendship, and the story line concept was interesting. i really liked the ending too, it made me smile :’)
strawberrymilky's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75