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A review by billblume
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee
4.0
If you enjoy comic book superhero action, Not Your Sidekick delivers a great YA spin on the idea. Jess makes for a great main character. Her experiences as the non-superpowered child of two heroes with an older sister who is also a superhero provides a perfect POV for this setting. The twist to the setting is that it's a dystopian world, and the superhero/supervillain shenanigans cover a larger conspiracy. C.B. Lee does a good job saying a lot about our present via this future world.
The ending feels a bit rushed, although that might just be because I was reading it so quickly by that point. Given some of the twists in the story near the end, I'm not quite clear on why Jess and her parents aren't in hiding. I'm hoping the 2017 sequel, Not Your Villain, might better explain that. I'm intrigued that the sequel will turn one of the supporting characters into the main character. Given this is a trilogy, I'm also curious to see who will be the main character in the final book.
I bought this in paperback and the chapter headers include artwork by the cover artist C.B. Messer. The artwork is beautiful, adding something special to the reading experience. C.B. Lee offers her own praise for the artist, even her gratitude for making it clear on the cover that Jess is Asian. That's a big deal, and I was glad to see it, too.
This book reminds me a lot of Lexie Dunne's Superheroes Anonymous (a series I also enjoy a lot) but with a YA spin on things.
The ending feels a bit rushed, although that might just be because I was reading it so quickly by that point. Given some of the twists in the story near the end, I'm not quite clear on why Jess and her parents aren't in hiding. I'm hoping the 2017 sequel, Not Your Villain, might better explain that. I'm intrigued that the sequel will turn one of the supporting characters into the main character. Given this is a trilogy, I'm also curious to see who will be the main character in the final book.
I bought this in paperback and the chapter headers include artwork by the cover artist C.B. Messer. The artwork is beautiful, adding something special to the reading experience. C.B. Lee offers her own praise for the artist, even her gratitude for making it clear on the cover that Jess is Asian. That's a big deal, and I was glad to see it, too.
This book reminds me a lot of Lexie Dunne's Superheroes Anonymous (a series I also enjoy a lot) but with a YA spin on things.