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lezreadalot's review
4.0
Powerless she may be, but she's not helpless.
This was incredibly adorable, feel-good and just a really fun time. When it started out I thought it was going to be a kind of fluffy superhero/science fiction story, but it took some serious turns and the plot went in a direction that I can definitely click with. And the little romance was just so cute!!!
This is one of those plots where the reader is deliberately set up to discover/realise a few things before the main character does. That can sometimes be frustrating, but here it was just charming, and made me smile so much. This is a superhero book, and I don't always like hidden/secret identity stuff; it can stress me out. But this was written in such a fun, low-angst way that perfectly fit the tone of the world, but still left room for seriousness in this dystopic, post-disaster world. I really loved the ways this talked about fitting in as the child of refugees, feeling like an imposter within and without the superhero world, and all the general world-building around the disasters and their aftermath was really interesting. I loved Jess so much; she was such a brave, determined, relatable main character. And I really can't say it enough: the romance with Abby was freaking adorable.
I have to admit, the plot was shaky in a lot of places, and as interesting as the worldbuilding was, there are so many holes in it that it wouldn't take much for it to all come crashing down. And there was one plot point that I was kind of annoyed about. But all told, this was wonderful. I listed to the audiobook as read by Emily Woo Zeller, who always does amazing voice work.
I'm looking forward to carrying on with the series!
zlaura's review against another edition
5.0
I really don't know how to start this review, because I have so much to say. I'm sure in one thing: this is the book tumblr community needs and wants to read, so I have no idea why this isn't more popular.
1. This book has Vietnamese-Chinese-American canonically bisexual main character, Jess. She's got a love interest a damn smart wlw girl named Abby. There's also black trans guy.
Like hello tumblr, that's what you want, and this book gives you exactly that: DIVERSITY!
2. What I also loved in this book is that these teenagers are damn cool. eg.: Jess asks a robot what her pronouns are, because she doesn't want to misgender her. another example.: Abby uses they/them pronouns at first for the trans guy, Bells, because she also don't want to misgender him, but Jess corrects her
Like tell me in how many books have you read a dialogue like this?
3. META-HUMANS! some people have these abilities, which can differ, like flight, magnetic field manipulation etc. Isn't this amazing?
4. The story is really interesting and it is greatly written.
So please give this book a chance, I swear you won't regret it.
1. This book has Vietnamese-Chinese-American canonically bisexual main character, Jess. She's got a love interest a damn smart wlw girl named Abby. There's also black trans guy.
Like hello tumblr, that's what you want, and this book gives you exactly that: DIVERSITY!
2. What I also loved in this book is that these teenagers are damn cool. eg.: Jess asks a robot what her pronouns are, because she doesn't want to misgender her. another example.: Abby uses they/them pronouns at first for the trans guy, Bells, because she also don't want to misgender him, but Jess corrects her
Like tell me in how many books have you read a dialogue like this?
3. META-HUMANS! some people have these abilities, which can differ, like flight, magnetic field manipulation etc. Isn't this amazing?
4. The story is really interesting and it is greatly written.
So please give this book a chance, I swear you won't regret it.
reba_reads_books's review against another edition
4.0
I agree so wholeheartedly with all of the glowing reviews that I'm not sure how further to express my love for this book. I just loved it. I've been meaning to pick up a title from this press for awhile, because their values regarding inclusivity and diversity in YA literature attracted me. Honestly, I was expecting to read just another queer story, but here's the kicker...this book isn't a coming out story; it's a coming of age story. This book proves what we already know--LGBTQIA characters (just like LGBTQIA people) have hopes, dreams, and rich lives outside of their cultural, sexual, and gender identities. Yeah, Jess is Asian American and bi. Yeah, her best friend is trans. Yeah, her other best friend is straight. Yeah, there's superpowers (what!?) but also some people don't have superpowers and that's cool too. But those are only small parts of this story--which has a suspenseful plot build and lesser but just as intriguing side plots all set in a rich, dystopian universe. I'll say it! Too often LGBTQIA-friendly literature limits its plots to being only about characters who have one identity, failing to recognize how complex and multifaceted identities actually are. The overall message of this book is BE AND OWN ALL THAT YOU ARE AND DO NOT LET ANYONE LIMIT YOU. That is such a goddamn beautiful message, especially for teens, especially in the LGBTQIA genre. I'm giving this one 4 instead of 5 stars because the pacing was a little slow during the first half and some plot points were a bit predictable (purposefully, it seemed, to make you scream "OMG SHE LIKES YOU TOO!" way too many times, lol)...but I'll agree with some other reviewers that this felt like a 4.5 star book to me. I'm super excited to read the sequel.
indecisivesailorscout's review against another edition
5.0
THIS WAS THE CUTEST THING, I'M SO HAPPY I READ THIS, TOO ADORABLE FOR WORDS OH MY GOODNESS. *continues gushing unintelligibly*
booksbakesbikes's review against another edition
2.5
Felt very juvenile, even for the intended audience. Cute but I would've DNFed if I didn't need it for one of my reading challenges.
50bookgoal's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
redtenaj's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the premise of the story and the first 2/3 of the book. This was a fun one, packed with superheroes living everyday-lives, high school relationship drama, positive Asian and LGBTQ representation, first crush/love, and a mystery to solve.
However, this first-in-a-series book didn’t have enough of a resolution at the end for me to feel like it stood on its own as a complete story. Yeah, a small part of the main conflict was resolved, but it was disappointing that so much more was left hanging.
However, this first-in-a-series book didn’t have enough of a resolution at the end for me to feel like it stood on its own as a complete story. Yeah, a small part of the main conflict was resolved, but it was disappointing that so much more was left hanging.
dami_96's review against another edition
This book background story was way more interesting then the character main story. I was literally bored and reading anymore felt like a chore :(
katricia's review against another edition
3.0
Cute, kinda cheesy superhero novel with a bisexual teenager girl protagonist, secret identity shenanigans, and Sinister Shadow Conspiracies. What more do you need in a chill YA summer read?