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Not Your Sidekick
283 pages
A playful, swoony superhero romp where teenage rebellion and secret crushes collide with supervillain plots.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a vibrant, queer comic book where the high school drama is just as engaging as the superhero action. It moves at a brisk, energetic pace, perfectly capturing the relatable angst of college applications and the swoony thrill of a first crush. The mood is overwhelmingly playful and lighthearted, even as the narrative shifts into more suspenseful, dangerous territory. The prose is accessible and fun, grounding larger-than-life tropes in genuine teenage emotion and rebellion. It is a delightful experience for anyone who loves seeing classic hero-and-villain dynamics turned on their head, offering a sweet, romantic coming-of-age story about finding your own power when you feel like a nobody.
- Mood
- energetic
- swoony
- lighthearted
- suspenseful
- Tone
- playful
- romantic
- adventurous
- wry
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- queer coming-of-age · subverting expectations · teenage rebellion · first crushes · finding one's place
- The writing
- Accessible and engaging, balancing relatable high school angst with vibrant comic-book action.
- The arc
- Moves from mundane teenage frustration and longing to thrilling, high-stakes self-discovery and romance.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love queer YA romance mixed with playful superhero tropes and secret identities.
Content notes
- family tension
- action violence
About the book
Welcome to Andover... where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.
Description from Open Library.
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