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idsh's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
babydollsarah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
themermaddie's review against another edition
4.0
for a superhero/supervillain story, this book is awfully fluffy. i mean this in the best possible way, Not Your Sidekick is a tropey, low-stakes story about underdogs taking on the government. it can be quite predictable at times, but it's light and entertaining and just plain fun.
the conspiracies are pretty low level, they're things that have been done before so it's not really the kind of mystery that grips you by the throat, but it's just an enjoyable world. the history of the future was my favourite part of the setting! it was so interesting to learn about the tech and the disasters and the new geography, and i absolutely loved the way the author wove the immigrant experience into it. i thought it was really well done and relatable, especially as a first gen asian american, which just goes to show that the more things change the more they stay the same, i think. i loved the inclusion and exploration of jess's chinese-viet background, i think one of my favourite scenes was in the bakery in her immigrant neighbourhood; i loved it, i could practically smell the food. the little details like the price of meat were wonderful and rounded the world out really well.
the casual inclusivity of this book makes my heart so so happy, both with race and with queerness. bells' powers as a trans guy is incredibly cool, and i thought darryl's gsa was a very funny touch. i thought abby and jess's romance was adorable; turns out there's still gay panic in the future. their romance was easy and fluffy and very tropey; LOVE when the children of villains and superheroes fall in love. that being said, everyone was super reasonable and there's not a lot of angst about it.
very easy read, super cute, GREAT rep, fun world. overall great book that doesn't take itself too seriously.
the conspiracies are pretty low level, they're things that have been done before so it's not really the kind of mystery that grips you by the throat, but it's just an enjoyable world. the history of the future was my favourite part of the setting! it was so interesting to learn about the tech and the disasters and the new geography, and i absolutely loved the way the author wove the immigrant experience into it. i thought it was really well done and relatable, especially as a first gen asian american, which just goes to show that the more things change the more they stay the same, i think. i loved the inclusion and exploration of jess's chinese-viet background, i think one of my favourite scenes was in the bakery in her immigrant neighbourhood; i loved it, i could practically smell the food. the little details like the price of meat were wonderful and rounded the world out really well.
the casual inclusivity of this book makes my heart so so happy, both with race and with queerness. bells' powers as a trans guy is incredibly cool, and i thought darryl's gsa was a very funny touch. i thought abby and jess's romance was adorable; turns out there's still gay panic in the future. their romance was easy and fluffy and very tropey; LOVE when the children of villains and superheroes fall in love. that being said, everyone was super reasonable and there's not a lot of angst about it.
very easy read, super cute, GREAT rep, fun world. overall great book that doesn't take itself too seriously.
achilleanshelves's review against another edition
5.0
I went into this book expecting to really love it but was absolutely blown away by just how much I did. This was really fantastic. So fun, exciting and full of such energised and real characters.
Bells and Abby were my favourite characters, however they were all so well rounded and likeable that it is hard to choose. If you like found family, you need to read this!
Plus, the gay yearning was absolutely immaculate and the whole relationship dynamic was so, so amazing and so much fun.
Bells and Abby were my favourite characters, however they were all so well rounded and likeable that it is hard to choose. If you like found family, you need to read this!
Plus, the gay yearning was absolutely immaculate and the whole relationship dynamic was so, so amazing and so much fun.
ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
Not Your Sidekick was freaking adorable. I loved everything about it.
Pretty sure, but not one hundred percent sure, that I've never read a superhero book/story/whatever. BUT I loved it and now I can totally say that I have read one. Also, I loved that this was LGBTQIA because it was refreshing. Now I don't want any type of hate on this review towards anyone for who they love, act, dress, or whatever else they want to do. Love is love and I fully accept that. I accept everyone and anyone. Except for people who drink decaf coffee because that's just a sin in my eyes.
Again, I loved Not Your Sidekick. I loved the characters within it and how they story was told. I honestly need and want the next book right now and I'm sadly disappointed in myself for not having it within my grasp. One can easily fall in love with Jess's character but then again you can fall in love with all of the character's within this book.
Everything was adorable. The romance was super freaking adorable and I didn't want it to end at all. I just want more. If this could become a TV show or a movie I'd be okay with it. But right now all I want is the next book.
Pretty sure, but not one hundred percent sure, that I've never read a superhero book/story/whatever. BUT I loved it and now I can totally say that I have read one. Also, I loved that this was LGBTQIA because it was refreshing. Now I don't want any type of hate on this review towards anyone for who they love, act, dress, or whatever else they want to do. Love is love and I fully accept that. I accept everyone and anyone. Except for people who drink decaf coffee because that's just a sin in my eyes.
Again, I loved Not Your Sidekick. I loved the characters within it and how they story was told. I honestly need and want the next book right now and I'm sadly disappointed in myself for not having it within my grasp. One can easily fall in love with Jess's character but then again you can fall in love with all of the character's within this book.
Everything was adorable. The romance was super freaking adorable and I didn't want it to end at all. I just want more. If this could become a TV show or a movie I'd be okay with it. But right now all I want is the next book.
athenathestorier's review against another edition
There are so many reasons to love this story. The casual rep everywhere, of multiple kinds. The future setting. The superpower premise. The un-superpowered MC looking to find her own place in a family where superpowers and genius is the norm. The fact that it's a sapphic romance.
But unfortunately, I am a character-driven reader. The MC doesn't feel like she has a personality. She has an insecurity (not being good enough for her family), a hobby (watching old and banned US movies - remember, this takes place in the future), and a trait (being unobservant and letting everything brush off her shoulders). But not a personality. In scenes where she's clearly meant to be portraying personality, it feels too forced. I can't connect to her, or many of the other characters for that matter, enough to anchor into a story that should've otherwise ticked all the boxes for me.
I hear that the rest of the series gets better in that regard, so I might pick this up at a later point in time. But right now, I just can't stay immersed nor convince myself to keep going despite that.
But unfortunately, I am a character-driven reader. The MC doesn't feel like she has a personality. She has an insecurity (not being good enough for her family), a hobby (watching old and banned US movies - remember, this takes place in the future), and a trait (being unobservant and letting everything brush off her shoulders). But not a personality. In scenes where she's clearly meant to be portraying personality, it feels too forced. I can't connect to her, or many of the other characters for that matter, enough to anchor into a story that should've otherwise ticked all the boxes for me.
I hear that the rest of the series gets better in that regard, so I might pick this up at a later point in time. But right now, I just can't stay immersed nor convince myself to keep going despite that.
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*