Rose Quartz Reads: Not Your Sidekick // refreshing and full of heart

Not Your Sidekick was a wonderful and adorable take on the superhero genre, and one that I enjoyed immensely.

Set in a futuristic America, Jess's world is filled with superpowers. But despite being the daughter of Andover's local heroes, Jess is powerless. Desperate to prove herself, she takes on an internship with the town's biggest supervillain, and finds herself working with her crush Abby and the mysterious M, who she also begins developing feelings for. Jess soon finds that there is much more to the heroes and villains of her world than she ever knew, and starts to uncover a plot that could change her society forever.

The world Lee has created in Not Your Sidekick is straight out of a comic book. It fully captures the essence of the superhero genre from the past and present, but deals with it in a way that is incredibly refreshing.

Jess is a protagonist I loved rooting for. She is a nerd and a bit of an outsider, especially at home, where her whole family is far more remarkable than she is. She also feels like an outsider in her communities, struggling to find her place as a biracial girl with Chinese and Vietnamese heritage, and in school where she feels she doesn't belong in the LGBT society even though she's bisexual. I love how Lee took this trope seen in many superpowered narratives and diversified it to show a wider range of struggles faced by young people other than being nerdy and unathletic. It allowed the story to feel more genuine, and made my connection to Jess and the other characters much stronger.

Although Jess is the star of this book, there are many other characters in this book that are so lovable. Her friends Emma and Bells were fully fleshed-out characters, and I love the role her parents and the other adults in this story had to play as well. Plus there is no ignoring the cuteness that is Jess' budding romance with Abby. What starts off as a crush develops over the course of the novel into something really strong, and every interaction between them made my heart squeal with joy.

The writing is uncomplicated, but Lee builds up an excellent narrative with it. What starts as a cute story with superpowers shifts into a highly plot-driven story with a lot of action, and deals with the nature of how we define heroes and villains in a way that reveals the true heart of the novel.

All in all, Not Your Sidekick is a marvellous story of identity and relationships. It takes all the conventions of superpowered narratives and transforms them into a story that is diverse, thrilling, and incredibly sweet. You'd be amiss to let this one pass you by.