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outcrye's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Vomit
Moderate: Drug use and Kidnapping
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Racism
anika222's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
I absolutely loved this book - it hit so many sweet spots for me. I adored the bi rep, fantastic diversity, and I really liked being 'in' on so many of the secrets before the characters got there.
Something else that heightened it for me was that it was a dystopian future, which I hadn't realized before reading. I love the subversion the characters undertake, and the parallels to our world were really spot on. Despite having themes of government control, racism, and living in the grey of "good and evil," it was a really lighthearted and fun read. I very highly recommend and cannot wait to get to the second book for Bells' story.
Something else that heightened it for me was that it was a dystopian future, which I hadn't realized before reading. I love the subversion the characters undertake, and the parallels to our world were really spot on. Despite having themes of government control, racism, and living in the grey of "good and evil," it was a really lighthearted and fun read. I very highly recommend and cannot wait to get to the second book for Bells' story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
Racism details: mocking an Asian accent; there is a hint that selecting A-list is also racist and favors white peoplekadtide's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
It's a very fun book and a breath of fresh air when it comes to the superhero genre. The anti-crime vigilante violence typical of the genre, which often reads like above-the-law police brutality justified by the heinousness of the villains, is treated as a symptom of a corrupt government creating false conflict to control the masses through propaganda. This is hinted at from the start, but we as the reader get to follow Jess as she realizes the ways in which she's been lied to all her life and decides to break free of the mold and fight against corruption.
Many of the twists are telegraphed long before they become relevant, although I don't see this as a flaw- instead of the suspense of "what's going to happen next?" it's a Chekhov's gun of "I wonder when Jess will realize X?" And for many of them while it is easy for the reader to see what's going on, it makes perfect sense why Jess, living inside the universe, wouldn't pick up on them right away.
The diversity feels natural and not forced, and despite being over 100 years in our future, a lot of the everyday struggles feel relevant to our world today. Jess experiences casual racism for being Asian, and struggles with her identity as being both Vietnamese and Chinese, yet not having the connection of having grown up with either culture. She is comfortable in her queer identity, but still struggles with the age-old question, "does my crush also like girls?" And on a larger scale, the issues with government corruption, propaganda, and the police state reflect similar issues in the US right now.
I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the sequel.
Many of the twists are telegraphed long before they become relevant, although I don't see this as a flaw- instead of the suspense of "what's going to happen next?" it's a Chekhov's gun of "I wonder when Jess will realize X?" And for many of them while it is easy for the reader to see what's going on, it makes perfect sense why Jess, living inside the universe, wouldn't pick up on them right away.
The diversity feels natural and not forced, and despite being over 100 years in our future, a lot of the everyday struggles feel relevant to our world today. Jess experiences casual racism for being Asian, and struggles with her identity as being both Vietnamese and Chinese, yet not having the connection of having grown up with either culture. She is comfortable in her queer identity, but still struggles with the age-old question, "does my crush also like girls?" And on a larger scale, the issues with government corruption, propaganda, and the police state reflect similar issues in the US right now.
I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
pastelkerstin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
What a fun time! A refreshingly queer and different take on the superhero genre that touches on a range of important topics, some of which would be a spoiler to name. I liked the central friendship in this too. Will definitely pick up the sequels that are focused on Jess's best friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, Medical content, and Sexism
whysomanysams's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Not Your Sidekick is a fun and light-hearted dystopian superhero story which stays fairly upbeat even in a world that feels insidious and dips into horrific when viewed from the outside.
It slowly trickles in bits of information that paint the picture of how warped and controlling the world is. The MC doesn't know to question it (of course, at first how would she?), but the little drips of stuff that's off-kilter and probably toxic comes in slowly. The story stays in a very light tone even though some darker stuff is implied to be going on. Her journey to figure out what's happening and decide what she wants to do about it was really cool, and I'd definitely recommend this to readers in the middle-range of YA (14-15 probably as the sweet spot).
There's a couple of conversational moments that felt like they were designed to let someone know why pronouns are important. I'm really hyped that a book for teens has this in here because it's really important. As an adult reader who already knows about pronoun etiquette it just took me out of the moment a bit, but I know if I'd gotten to read this as a teen it might have been a step in figuring out some stuff a little sooner.
The action is great, the characters are endearing and awkward in their own ways and I loved reading this book. I'm very excited to check out the sequels, this laid a lot of groundwork in terms of worldbuilding and I'm interested to see how the author develops it further. The biggest points of anxiety for me as a reader all revolved around a certain character being chronically unable to pick up a hint when it was handed DIRECTLY to her, but it was really relatable (hence the anxiety).
It slowly trickles in bits of information that paint the picture of how warped and controlling the world is. The MC doesn't know to question it (of course, at first how would she?), but the little drips of stuff that's off-kilter and probably toxic comes in slowly. The story stays in a very light tone even though some darker stuff is implied to be going on. Her journey to figure out what's happening and decide what she wants to do about it was really cool, and I'd definitely recommend this to readers in the middle-range of YA (14-15 probably as the sweet spot).
There's a couple of conversational moments that felt like they were designed to let someone know why pronouns are important. I'm really hyped that a book for teens has this in here because it's really important. As an adult reader who already knows about pronoun etiquette it just took me out of the moment a bit, but I know if I'd gotten to read this as a teen it might have been a step in figuring out some stuff a little sooner.
The action is great, the characters are endearing and awkward in their own ways and I loved reading this book. I'm very excited to check out the sequels, this laid a lot of groundwork in terms of worldbuilding and I'm interested to see how the author develops it further. The biggest points of anxiety for me as a reader all revolved around a certain character being chronically unable to pick up a hint when it was handed DIRECTLY to her, but it was really relatable (hence the anxiety).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Ableism, Kidnapping, and Racism
CW for ableist language (brief).
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