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Sidekick Squad #3
Not Your Backup
Emma Robledo has a few more responsibilities than the usual high school senior, but then again, she and her friends have left school to lead a fractured Resistance movement against a corrupt Heroes League of Heroes. Emma is the only member of a supercharged team without powers, and she isn't always taken seriously. A natural leader, Emma is determined to win this battle, and when that's done, get back to school. As the Resistance moves to challenge the League, Emma realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.
320 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2019
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3424 people want to read
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May 27, 2019
This isn't going to be a regular review. I've been too closely involved with the aro & ace rep in NOT YOUR BACKUP to really do that, honestly. But I will tell you: I love this book to pieces, I love Emma, I love the way it twines her questionning and her relationship with Bells and the whole dismantling a government conspiracy, and I love how her aromantic and asexual experience is deeply rooted in who she is.
January 2, 2020
My full review can be found on my blog, The Quiet Pond.
Friends, this series is just getting better and better. I absolutely loved Not Your Backup and I know all of you are going to adore Emma.
- Follows the Sidekick Squad as they work together to take down the corrupt League of Heroes. This book centres on Emma, the Latinx teen part of the Sidekick Squad!
- I really loved Emma's perspective. I loved Jess's because I related to her struggle as being part of diaspora and her heritage, but I love Emma because... well, she is me. A perfectionist, a little anxious, and is doing her best to prove that she can do a good job, even without her powers.
- Also explores being aromantic and asexual! I really loved this exploration through Emma's character, and learned a lot about being ace and aro - and where I fit in these categories.
- Though this book has its moments of fun, it's also critical, discursive, and so compelling in its socio-political commentary.
- Honestly? Such a great addition to one of my favourite series. I cannot wait for book #4!
Trigger/content warnings:
Friends, this series is just getting better and better. I absolutely loved Not Your Backup and I know all of you are going to adore Emma.
- Follows the Sidekick Squad as they work together to take down the corrupt League of Heroes. This book centres on Emma, the Latinx teen part of the Sidekick Squad!
- I really loved Emma's perspective. I loved Jess's because I related to her struggle as being part of diaspora and her heritage, but I love Emma because... well, she is me. A perfectionist, a little anxious, and is doing her best to prove that she can do a good job, even without her powers.
- Also explores being aromantic and asexual! I really loved this exploration through Emma's character, and learned a lot about being ace and aro - and where I fit in these categories.
- Though this book has its moments of fun, it's also critical, discursive, and so compelling in its socio-political commentary.
- Honestly? Such a great addition to one of my favourite series. I cannot wait for book #4!
Trigger/content warnings:
June 4, 2019
I received an early copy of this book for the blog tour in exchange of an honest review
Original review posted on my blog : Word Wonders
CW: sci-fi violence, off page minor character death, internal shame though aroace questioning.
If you’ve been following my blog for a couple years you know how much I adore THE SIDEKICK SQUAD, I started up loving Not you Sidekick and then fell more in love with this series through Bells’ perspective in Not your Villain. So imagine my delight when I got accepted to be part of the blog tour for Not you Backup, the next installment I’ve been eagerly waiting on for the past two years, especially since we discover at the end of the second book that Emma, the main character in this one, is aroace questioning.
The writing is simple (in a good way), flows very smoothly and matches the fun but still serious tone of the book perfectly, just like with its predecessors. Although I must say that with each book, I’ve loved Lee’s writing a bit more, so this one was my favourite in that aspect. Not your Backup picks up right after the events of Not your Villain with Emma & our superheros regrouping in a safe house and trying to get as many people to join the resistance as they can, from Emma’s perspective of course, and what makes her different is that whereas our two previous protagonists have powers, Emma is absolutely and completely normal.
And…I loved that. It was really refreshing to see that even without having any extraordinary abilities, Emma was irreplaceable for the team. This books shows that anyone can make a change if only they put their mind to it. Emma is a born leader, strong, fierce, outspoken and not afraid to take charge and tell people who needs to do what, and make them listen to her without them feeling like she’s bossing them around. Like any good leader really. In the past two books, we see Emma as this super popular, confident and bubbly latinx girl who is smart, charismatic, flirty and can make friends easily. But in this book that’s all about her, we see that there’s more to her than what meets the eye, a whole other side of her that is mostly inside her brain. She’s a perfectionist who’s quite hard on herself and absolutely hates failure. But what makes up a non negligible part of this book is the fact that she’s aroace questioning.
And as an aromantic spectrum person, I found that exploration incredibly well done. Granted, I haven’t read many books with aromantic representation, but out of the few I’ve read, this one was the closest to my own experiences and thought processes. Not a perfect match, but the questioning part was spot on. I saw so much of the girl I was a couple years ago in Emma, the girl who didn’t really feel comfortable in romantic relationships, like an ill fitting jacket (a comparison made in the book as well), the girl who wondered more than once if anything was wrong with her because I just couldn’t make myself stay feel comfortable and stay long in relationships because they became at some point things I dreaded.
I’m getting a bit personal but all of this to say that Emma was, in many ways, me. And I will forever cherish this book for that. I cannot speak on the ace representation but it was handled in the same ways the aro rep was so I’m assuming it’s great as well. Because it not only allowed Emma to explore her feelings and orientation, it also made space for people across the aroace spectrum to feel seen and welcome through a conversation Emma has with Bells’ brother, the gist of which was that no matter where you are in the spectrum you’re valid.
Now I want to talk about the one thing that bugged me about the book, and that unfortunately made it my least favourite in the series (still pretty good though, OKAY? READ THE SERIES!). It’s the fact that this very much felt like a filler book. It had a good start and a phenomenal ending but the middle of it just…dragged for me, and not much happened through it. Which is understandable because Emma is kind if shut out but that doesn’t make for the most entertaining reading material, especially with how fast paced the two previous installments were, it was quite a drastic change. There was a lot of waiting around, driving long distances and trying to get people to agree on a plan in this book.
That being said, the discussions on socio-political issues were better than ever. I know I was just complaining but I really liked seeing the Resistance grow and gain more ground even while they struggle and hit some road blocks. I loved the continuing discussion on good vs evil that started in Not Your Villain. And I also loved seeing how easily governments can twist the truth, or hide, or manipulating to fit their agenda and still look innocent to the public eye. Because that’s kinda terrifying and happening in quite a few places around the world as we speak, and how even though a majority pick up on that manipulation, not everyone does and those people who keep believing in corrupt people in power can stir trouble.
We didn’t see much of the other characters since they were separated more often than not, besides Bells. Who’s forever the national treasure he was set up to be in the previous book. He loves and supports Emma so unconditionally and just wants her to be happy and safe and AAAHHH! He’s so amazing. Still my favourite character in the series. I also want to mention something, without wanting to be presumptuous, Abby, who was the love interest in Not you Sidekick and will be the main character in Not you Hero (the 4th book) seems to be going through a manic episode. The word in never used as no one really knows what going on with her, but all the signs are there and I’m fairly curious to how that will play out and be handled in the book that’s all about her.
This series is so so good and so so diverse and rich and timely while still being fun, funny and quick to read, and on the lighter sci-fi side. So I’d recommend anyone who’s looking for that to read it. And I honestly cannot wait to continue on with it ESPECIALLY WITH HOW THIS ONE ENDED!!
Original review posted on my blog : Word Wonders
CW: sci-fi violence, off page minor character death, internal shame though aroace questioning.
If you’ve been following my blog for a couple years you know how much I adore THE SIDEKICK SQUAD, I started up loving Not you Sidekick and then fell more in love with this series through Bells’ perspective in Not your Villain. So imagine my delight when I got accepted to be part of the blog tour for Not you Backup, the next installment I’ve been eagerly waiting on for the past two years, especially since we discover at the end of the second book that Emma, the main character in this one, is aroace questioning.
The writing is simple (in a good way), flows very smoothly and matches the fun but still serious tone of the book perfectly, just like with its predecessors. Although I must say that with each book, I’ve loved Lee’s writing a bit more, so this one was my favourite in that aspect. Not your Backup picks up right after the events of Not your Villain with Emma & our superheros regrouping in a safe house and trying to get as many people to join the resistance as they can, from Emma’s perspective of course, and what makes her different is that whereas our two previous protagonists have powers, Emma is absolutely and completely normal.
And…I loved that. It was really refreshing to see that even without having any extraordinary abilities, Emma was irreplaceable for the team. This books shows that anyone can make a change if only they put their mind to it. Emma is a born leader, strong, fierce, outspoken and not afraid to take charge and tell people who needs to do what, and make them listen to her without them feeling like she’s bossing them around. Like any good leader really. In the past two books, we see Emma as this super popular, confident and bubbly latinx girl who is smart, charismatic, flirty and can make friends easily. But in this book that’s all about her, we see that there’s more to her than what meets the eye, a whole other side of her that is mostly inside her brain. She’s a perfectionist who’s quite hard on herself and absolutely hates failure. But what makes up a non negligible part of this book is the fact that she’s aroace questioning.
And as an aromantic spectrum person, I found that exploration incredibly well done. Granted, I haven’t read many books with aromantic representation, but out of the few I’ve read, this one was the closest to my own experiences and thought processes. Not a perfect match, but the questioning part was spot on. I saw so much of the girl I was a couple years ago in Emma, the girl who didn’t really feel comfortable in romantic relationships, like an ill fitting jacket (a comparison made in the book as well), the girl who wondered more than once if anything was wrong with her because I just couldn’t make myself stay feel comfortable and stay long in relationships because they became at some point things I dreaded.
I’m getting a bit personal but all of this to say that Emma was, in many ways, me. And I will forever cherish this book for that. I cannot speak on the ace representation but it was handled in the same ways the aro rep was so I’m assuming it’s great as well. Because it not only allowed Emma to explore her feelings and orientation, it also made space for people across the aroace spectrum to feel seen and welcome through a conversation Emma has with Bells’ brother, the gist of which was that no matter where you are in the spectrum you’re valid.
Now I want to talk about the one thing that bugged me about the book, and that unfortunately made it my least favourite in the series (still pretty good though, OKAY? READ THE SERIES!). It’s the fact that this very much felt like a filler book. It had a good start and a phenomenal ending but the middle of it just…dragged for me, and not much happened through it. Which is understandable because Emma is kind if shut out but that doesn’t make for the most entertaining reading material, especially with how fast paced the two previous installments were, it was quite a drastic change. There was a lot of waiting around, driving long distances and trying to get people to agree on a plan in this book.
That being said, the discussions on socio-political issues were better than ever. I know I was just complaining but I really liked seeing the Resistance grow and gain more ground even while they struggle and hit some road blocks. I loved the continuing discussion on good vs evil that started in Not Your Villain. And I also loved seeing how easily governments can twist the truth, or hide, or manipulating to fit their agenda and still look innocent to the public eye. Because that’s kinda terrifying and happening in quite a few places around the world as we speak, and how even though a majority pick up on that manipulation, not everyone does and those people who keep believing in corrupt people in power can stir trouble.
We didn’t see much of the other characters since they were separated more often than not, besides Bells. Who’s forever the national treasure he was set up to be in the previous book. He loves and supports Emma so unconditionally and just wants her to be happy and safe and AAAHHH! He’s so amazing. Still my favourite character in the series. I also want to mention something, without wanting to be presumptuous, Abby, who was the love interest in Not you Sidekick and will be the main character in Not you Hero (the 4th book) seems to be going through a manic episode. The word in never used as no one really knows what going on with her, but all the signs are there and I’m fairly curious to how that will play out and be handled in the book that’s all about her.
This series is so so good and so so diverse and rich and timely while still being fun, funny and quick to read, and on the lighter sci-fi side. So I’d recommend anyone who’s looking for that to read it. And I honestly cannot wait to continue on with it ESPECIALLY WITH HOW THIS ONE ENDED!!
May 27, 2019
This book has some of the best ace rep I've ever read and I love it so much for that.
August 23, 2019
I'm sitting here and thinking: do I want to go personal in this review?
The answer is no.
But I'm just going to say this book means a lot to me and I did cry. The conversation between Emma and Sean is excellent and is, in fact, the reason I cried.
Representation is important, y'all
The answer is no.
But I'm just going to say this book means a lot to me and I did cry. The conversation between Emma and Sean is excellent and is, in fact, the reason I cried.
Representation is important, y'all
June 3, 2019
3,5 stars
Thank you to netgalley and interlude press for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion in anyway.
The third book in the Sidekick Squad already. Not Your Backup is yet another fun installment. I will say that this book had its positive and negative for me which made me not quite love it. Even though I wish I could because it has so much important bits in it.
Let’s start with the positive. In this story Emma is our main character. One I didn’t care too much for in the previous two installments. However once you get into her head in this book a lot of things just fall into place more about who she is and what she struggles with. You see Emma is asexual. This is something that she struggles with throughout the book in that she is in search of what that means for her and her relationship with Bells. Especially that aspect. I can’t tell you how important it is to see this in a book. It showed the variations of asexuality, including all of them. It made me realize that I am on the ace spectrum. (Can you imagine what it would do to teens to read this and realize they aren’t alone?) And at the end Emma hasn’t figured everything out. In such a short time frame, who can? But that also makes it realistic.
Jumping onto the rest of the characters, the Sidekick Squad are such gems. I love Bells forever. He is such a cinnamon roll and so respectful of Emma, her wishes and her struggles. He is fine with whatever way that she wants him with her. Jess and Abby, oh gosh. Much love there too. I can’t wait for a bit more focus on those two.
Having said that I found the plot a lot slower than the previous two. A lot of that had to do with Emma, as she is a very different character (and the only one without powers) and a lot of things happened in her head and in interactions instead of the big action. Which is fine, but it also stalled a bit in the middle there. Not all of the decisions made a 100% sense, especially at the end there. That just got thrown at us. And I got kind of annoyed with the constant ‘Abby isn’t doing so well’ but not getting any answers on that.
Even so I do think this book and its series is still very much worth a read just for the rep and characters alone.
Thank you to netgalley and interlude press for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion in anyway.
The third book in the Sidekick Squad already. Not Your Backup is yet another fun installment. I will say that this book had its positive and negative for me which made me not quite love it. Even though I wish I could because it has so much important bits in it.
Let’s start with the positive. In this story Emma is our main character. One I didn’t care too much for in the previous two installments. However once you get into her head in this book a lot of things just fall into place more about who she is and what she struggles with. You see Emma is asexual. This is something that she struggles with throughout the book in that she is in search of what that means for her and her relationship with Bells. Especially that aspect. I can’t tell you how important it is to see this in a book. It showed the variations of asexuality, including all of them. It made me realize that I am on the ace spectrum. (Can you imagine what it would do to teens to read this and realize they aren’t alone?) And at the end Emma hasn’t figured everything out. In such a short time frame, who can? But that also makes it realistic.
Jumping onto the rest of the characters, the Sidekick Squad are such gems. I love Bells forever. He is such a cinnamon roll and so respectful of Emma, her wishes and her struggles. He is fine with whatever way that she wants him with her. Jess and Abby, oh gosh. Much love there too. I can’t wait for a bit more focus on those two.
Having said that I found the plot a lot slower than the previous two. A lot of that had to do with Emma, as she is a very different character (and the only one without powers) and a lot of things happened in her head and in interactions instead of the big action. Which is fine, but it also stalled a bit in the middle there. Not all of the decisions made a 100% sense, especially at the end there. That just got thrown at us. And I got kind of annoyed with the constant ‘Abby isn’t doing so well’ but not getting any answers on that.
Even so I do think this book and its series is still very much worth a read just for the rep and characters alone.
May 17, 2020
#1) Not Your Sidekick ★★★★☆
#2) Not Your Villain ★★☆☆☆
quick thoughts:
• i really adore this cast of characters, but especially the main Sidekick Squad
• lee's writing is so addictive. it's fast-paced and action-packed. i marathoned this series v easily
• idk what it is about the world-building but i find it almost impossible to visualise the settings and fight scenes
• this had the most incredible discussions about aromanticism and queerplatonic relationships
• i have a terrible feeling jess & abby's timeline was kept purposefully vague because the fourth book is going to be from abby's pov and it'll backtrack like the second book
• this series is just so much fun. i have no regrets
➸ Trigger warnings for .
▷ Representation: Emma (mc) is Latinx, questioning aroace & has two mums; Bells (li) is a (bi?) Black trans boy; Jess (sc) is bisexual & Chinese-Vietnamese; Abby (sc) is a lesbian; Brendan (sc) is gay (?) & Chinese-Vietnamese; Sean (sc) is Black, ace & demiromantic; queer, hijabi, & bipoc scs.
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July 20, 2020
Now opening the Sidekick Squad official fan club, please feel free to join.
Not Your Backup is the third book in the Sidekick Squad series, this time following the POV of Emma Robledo, a Latina and aro/ace main character, with the same badass and loveable crew, along with a few new faces.
Something I've noticed about this series is that I love each book more than the last, and I have adored this series from the start. So, consequently, Not Your Backup is definitely my favorite of the series so far.
Part of the reason this book in particular appealed so much to me is because it was mainly focused on my favorite thing - important socio-political discussions. While I was so, so pleasantly surprised with the superhero angle of the first two books, this idea of resistance and basically a full-fledged dystopia in the face of corruption is one of my favorite tropes, and this book fulfilled that so well.
The exploration of the intricacies of the corruption of the Collective and the League were at an all-time high in this novel, and I was in love with how Lee handled these discussions.
Another brilliant aspect of this series is the balance of larger plotlines with a very personal and humanistic journey for the main character. And again, that balance is something that has only grown in my opinion - Emma's personal journey in this novel was absolutely fantastic.
I absolutely cannot wait for the fourth book of this series, as the first three have been so incredible.
disclaimer: i received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, this in no way impacted my opinion.
Not Your Backup is the third book in the Sidekick Squad series, this time following the POV of Emma Robledo, a Latina and aro/ace main character, with the same badass and loveable crew, along with a few new faces.
Something I've noticed about this series is that I love each book more than the last, and I have adored this series from the start. So, consequently, Not Your Backup is definitely my favorite of the series so far.
Part of the reason this book in particular appealed so much to me is because it was mainly focused on my favorite thing - important socio-political discussions. While I was so, so pleasantly surprised with the superhero angle of the first two books, this idea of resistance and basically a full-fledged dystopia in the face of corruption is one of my favorite tropes, and this book fulfilled that so well.
The exploration of the intricacies of the corruption of the Collective and the League were at an all-time high in this novel, and I was in love with how Lee handled these discussions.
Another brilliant aspect of this series is the balance of larger plotlines with a very personal and humanistic journey for the main character. And again, that balance is something that has only grown in my opinion - Emma's personal journey in this novel was absolutely fantastic.
I absolutely cannot wait for the fourth book of this series, as the first three have been so incredible.
disclaimer: i received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, this in no way impacted my opinion.
June 30, 2019
This is my least favorite series installment so far, the first book was the best, in my opinion, and now it just goes down. I'm not that invested in the plot anymore, a bigger gap between book two and three may be the reason why. And I'm still not keen on Emma as a POV character, nothing really draws me to her personality. However, this was a quick read, some parts were actually exciting and well-written and I also don't want to drop the series right before the final book.
June 28, 2019
2.5/5
idk if my issue was i didn't reread the first two, I was so... bored. Like really bored. I will read the last book but this instalment was boring for me.
idk if my issue was i didn't reread the first two, I was so... bored. Like really bored. I will read the last book but this instalment was boring for me.
June 13, 2020
I've loved Not Your Sidekick and Not Your Villain, and while the first book is still my favourite, Not Your Backup is definitely the most relatable for me. A big part of this book consists of the main character, Emma, questioning her (lack of) romantic and sexual attraction.
"...there's that feeling that's always been in her heart, that maybe the way she loves someone might not be the same way they want to love her."
I especially loved the talk Emma had with one of Bells' brothers, where he tells her there's different ways to be asexual and all of them are valid. And to make things even better, Emma and Bells have a few great talks about boundaries and figuring out what they want from their relationship as well.
I will say though, the writing style isn't consistently great - it's a little forced at times. On top of that, the plot dragged a little. While the dialogues and the character's interactions are always fun, the bigger plot is a little hard to follow at times because it moves quite slowly.
All in all, I did really enjoy this book! The way C.B. Lee writes romance/friendship just has me so soft.
Rep: questioning aroace Latinx MC, trans bisexual (?) Black love interest, queer-platonic relationship, bisexual Chinese-Vietnamese side character, lesbian side character, aroace Black side character. The MC also has two mothers.
CWs: there is some internalized aphobia, which does get challenged in the book.
"...there's that feeling that's always been in her heart, that maybe the way she loves someone might not be the same way they want to love her."
I especially loved the talk Emma had with one of Bells' brothers, where he tells her there's different ways to be asexual and all of them are valid. And to make things even better, Emma and Bells have a few great talks about boundaries and figuring out what they want from their relationship as well.
I will say though, the writing style isn't consistently great - it's a little forced at times. On top of that, the plot dragged a little. While the dialogues and the character's interactions are always fun, the bigger plot is a little hard to follow at times because it moves quite slowly.
All in all, I did really enjoy this book! The way C.B. Lee writes romance/friendship just has me so soft.
Rep: questioning aroace Latinx MC, trans bisexual (?) Black love interest, queer-platonic relationship, bisexual Chinese-Vietnamese side character, lesbian side character, aroace Black side character. The MC also has two mothers.
CWs: there is some internalized aphobia, which does get challenged in the book.
July 1, 2019
4.5 stars! LOVED the aro/ace-spec rep and talk about queerplatonic relationships which is way too rare in fiction tbh
January 27, 2020
This series is consistently quite good, and I'm so here for it! (That being said, I'm ready to read something different for a little while. I'm not really cut out for reading a series all at once anymore.)
Not Your Backup was my most anticipated of this series. There's not many books with aspec characters, and there certainly isn't many that explore the questioning process, especially with another well-developed plot in play. Not Your Backup easily fills that gap, and I'm really excited about it, so that's what I'm going to talk about first.
At the end of Sidekick Squad's second installment, Emma tells her friend that she thinks she might be asexual. A bit of prompting, and she makes it clear that she'd not actually sure to what degree she's aspec - aspec meaning the collective aromantic and asexual spectrums and the interconnected complexities. In her POV installment, no time is wasted getting into her confusion even as she deals with other developments.
I really appreciate how Emma deals with questioning both spectrums simultaneously, as that is highly characteristic of the aspec experience and rarely conveyed. Often, all the questioning individual recognizes is that how they experience attraction isn't the same as the norm. Society's tendency to conflate sexual and romantic attraction makes it difficult to distinguish between the asexual and aromantic identifiers, which is why many people believe asexuality to be an absence of sexual and romantic attraction rather than solely sexual.
And Emma can't tell the difference, not exactly. She doesn't know where the expected lines should manifest, she doesn't understand much beyond how she's feeling. It's also refreshing to see her own up to the notion that she doesn't know where exactly she falls on the spectrum and deciding it doesn't matter - what matters is how she feels now and the impact it has on her life and relationships. It's a very common element of the aspec narrative that I've never seen conveyed before. Identifying definitive absences is difficult to do with any certainty. The very nature of the terms "aspec," "ace-spec," and "aro-spec" are literally designed to facilitate that element of uncertainty; I'm so happy to read a narrative that acknowledges that.
Also??? Can we take a moment to appreciate the discussion of queerplatonic relationships??? I've never dreamed of seeing any honest, respectful discussion outside of contemporary fiction, and yet!!! It's so exciting to see!!!
Not Your Backup is also an honest discussion on self-worth. We've seen elements of this in both previous installments, but Emma's resonated with me personally in a way the others didn't. Emma is a highly capable individual, and she intellectually knows that. That doesn't prevent her from feeling like a fraud or questioning her position in relationship to others. It's the kind of impostor syndrome where you feel the hit of everything that goes wrong, even when other things have gone right. She even has trouble when things go ultimately right, but the details aren't according to plan. Because if the details didn't go according to plan, can she really credit herself with the given success, even if she had a hand in it?
Can I just say: BIG MOOD. The BIGGEST of moods.
Her insecurities don't exactly go away, either, just like she never fully answers her questions about her identity. Rather, she puts forth the effort to keep moving forward and surround herself with people who acknowledge her contributions even when she has trouble doing it herself. It's not portrayed as "wrong" that Emma can't completely dismiss these mental hurdles; learning to cope with them is enough.
The overarching story continued to develop in this one, and I'm very excited to soon be able to talk more about it at length! The pacing of the series as a whole makes it a little difficult to comment of developments that occur in individual books, but suffice it to say that our Sidekicks are getting more and more embroiled into their efforts to dismantle the League, and they're starting to see results even as bigger obstacles arise.
Excitedly anticipating the next installment!!!
Not Your Backup is the third installment of the Sidekick Squad series. It follows Emma Robledo and her friends in their continued efforts to expose the corruption of the League of Heroes and the collective, even as Emma struggles with finding her place and defining her relationship with Bells. An excellent portrayal of the common questioning process for aspec individuals.
Not Your Backup was my most anticipated of this series. There's not many books with aspec characters, and there certainly isn't many that explore the questioning process, especially with another well-developed plot in play. Not Your Backup easily fills that gap, and I'm really excited about it, so that's what I'm going to talk about first.
At the end of Sidekick Squad's second installment, Emma tells her friend that she thinks she might be asexual. A bit of prompting, and she makes it clear that she'd not actually sure to what degree she's aspec - aspec meaning the collective aromantic and asexual spectrums and the interconnected complexities. In her POV installment, no time is wasted getting into her confusion even as she deals with other developments.
I really appreciate how Emma deals with questioning both spectrums simultaneously, as that is highly characteristic of the aspec experience and rarely conveyed. Often, all the questioning individual recognizes is that how they experience attraction isn't the same as the norm. Society's tendency to conflate sexual and romantic attraction makes it difficult to distinguish between the asexual and aromantic identifiers, which is why many people believe asexuality to be an absence of sexual and romantic attraction rather than solely sexual.
And Emma can't tell the difference, not exactly. She doesn't know where the expected lines should manifest, she doesn't understand much beyond how she's feeling. It's also refreshing to see her own up to the notion that she doesn't know where exactly she falls on the spectrum and deciding it doesn't matter - what matters is how she feels now and the impact it has on her life and relationships. It's a very common element of the aspec narrative that I've never seen conveyed before. Identifying definitive absences is difficult to do with any certainty. The very nature of the terms "aspec," "ace-spec," and "aro-spec" are literally designed to facilitate that element of uncertainty; I'm so happy to read a narrative that acknowledges that.
Also??? Can we take a moment to appreciate the discussion of queerplatonic relationships??? I've never dreamed of seeing any honest, respectful discussion outside of contemporary fiction, and yet!!! It's so exciting to see!!!
Not Your Backup is also an honest discussion on self-worth. We've seen elements of this in both previous installments, but Emma's resonated with me personally in a way the others didn't. Emma is a highly capable individual, and she intellectually knows that. That doesn't prevent her from feeling like a fraud or questioning her position in relationship to others. It's the kind of impostor syndrome where you feel the hit of everything that goes wrong, even when other things have gone right. She even has trouble when things go ultimately right, but the details aren't according to plan. Because if the details didn't go according to plan, can she really credit herself with the given success, even if she had a hand in it?
Can I just say: BIG MOOD. The BIGGEST of moods.
Her insecurities don't exactly go away, either, just like she never fully answers her questions about her identity. Rather, she puts forth the effort to keep moving forward and surround herself with people who acknowledge her contributions even when she has trouble doing it herself. It's not portrayed as "wrong" that Emma can't completely dismiss these mental hurdles; learning to cope with them is enough.
The overarching story continued to develop in this one, and I'm very excited to soon be able to talk more about it at length! The pacing of the series as a whole makes it a little difficult to comment of developments that occur in individual books, but suffice it to say that our Sidekicks are getting more and more embroiled into their efforts to dismantle the League, and they're starting to see results even as bigger obstacles arise.
Excitedly anticipating the next installment!!!
Not Your Backup is the third installment of the Sidekick Squad series. It follows Emma Robledo and her friends in their continued efforts to expose the corruption of the League of Heroes and the collective, even as Emma struggles with finding her place and defining her relationship with Bells. An excellent portrayal of the common questioning process for aspec individuals.
December 5, 2020
This series is such a joy to read, truly the epitome of a mood booster.
I absolutely loved reading from Emma's perspective. She's a somewhat anxious perfectionist with a heart of gold who just wants to do right by the ones she cares for (which is pretty much anyone who's been wronged.) However, with the stakes being so high, this care and loyalty leads to her putting a huge amount of pressure on herself to get things 'right' and prove herself to be worthy of helping, even without powers. I absolutely loved this part of her character and the growth that came alongside it. I also adored following her journey when it came to questioning her sexuality and exploring her aro-ace identity. It was written in a sensitive, honest way and the conversations she had with herself and others on the topic were wonderful.
As I've come to expect from this series, the discussions and exploration surrounding socio-political issues were superb. It's critical and honest and pretty terrifying at times in the ways it mirrors issues in our own society. The character, as always, were also wonderful. We got to see a lot of Bells (who is an absolute gem of a human) but we not too much of Abby & Jess in this book but from what we did see has me incredibly intrigued to see how Abby's character is going to grow and where the story will take the squad.
With a fast paced, addictive and aware plot and a cast of characters you want to both fight alongside and wrap in bubble wrap, it's impossible to read this series without feeling that little bit better and I can't wait to get book four in my hands.
I absolutely loved reading from Emma's perspective. She's a somewhat anxious perfectionist with a heart of gold who just wants to do right by the ones she cares for (which is pretty much anyone who's been wronged.) However, with the stakes being so high, this care and loyalty leads to her putting a huge amount of pressure on herself to get things 'right' and prove herself to be worthy of helping, even without powers. I absolutely loved this part of her character and the growth that came alongside it. I also adored following her journey when it came to questioning her sexuality and exploring her aro-ace identity. It was written in a sensitive, honest way and the conversations she had with herself and others on the topic were wonderful.
As I've come to expect from this series, the discussions and exploration surrounding socio-political issues were superb. It's critical and honest and pretty terrifying at times in the ways it mirrors issues in our own society. The character, as always, were also wonderful. We got to see a lot of Bells (who is an absolute gem of a human) but we not too much of Abby & Jess in this book but from what we did see has me incredibly intrigued to see how Abby's character is going to grow and where the story will take the squad.
With a fast paced, addictive and aware plot and a cast of characters you want to both fight alongside and wrap in bubble wrap, it's impossible to read this series without feeling that little bit better and I can't wait to get book four in my hands.
June 4, 2019
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*
After leaving high school to help the Resistance full time, Emma is still struggling to feel like she’s a member of the team. All her friends are meta-humans or, in the case of Brendan and Abby, super geniuses. While they’re training to battle the League or building cool new tech, she’s relegated to boring administrative tasks. But Emma knows she capable of more.
Emma is the one making the plans and coming up with ways to take down the League. She knows she’s worth more than she’s being treated, but she’s still not quite sure how to show this to everyone. And at the same time, Emma is dealing with some more personal struggles. While officially in a relationship with Bells, Emma is still attempting to figure out where she falls on the asexual and aromantic spectra.
After the two previous books focusing on Jess (Not Your Sidekick) and Bells (Not Your Villain), it’s finally Emma’s turn to be the spotlight. As always, the rest of the Sidekick Squad gets plenty of face time so don’t worry about not seeing your favs. And just like the previous two books, this one is so much fun and so fast paced.
The exploration of asexuality and being aromantic through Emma’s questioning process was fantastic. I, personally, am not asexual but this book met the criteria for respectful rep. It looked at Emma’s process of coming to terms with being asexual and figuring that out in the context of a romantic relationship. Then, when things still don’t feel quite right, Emma starts to understand and consider the idea of what it could mean to be aromantic.
Through her questioning process, Emma’s friends were kind and respectful. That’s one of my favorite things about this series. Characters are queer, trans, nonbinary, and nobody has a problem with it. It’s common practice for characters to introduce themselves with their names and pronouns. The fact that more series in fictional worlds aren’t like this is a real shame. After all, if you’re making up a fantasy world why not make it inclusive?
The character growth was, once again, fantastic. Seeing Emma understand more about herself and come into her own was amazing. Her growth through the book was so strong and C.B. Lee really knows how to write phenomenal characters. As you can probably tell from the summary, Emma steps into her role as a leader and I am officially here for it. And her crazy driving. So here for all of it.
As for overall progression of the story, this book really progressed the overall plot very well. The revelations in this book were absolutely stunning and the stakes have definitely been raised. The last two to three chapters I was screaming pretty much every page because so much was happening.
Just another fantastic book. I can’t believe this series isn’t 1000x more popular than it is because it is so, so good!
Five stars! I can’t wait for Not Your Hero!
After leaving high school to help the Resistance full time, Emma is still struggling to feel like she’s a member of the team. All her friends are meta-humans or, in the case of Brendan and Abby, super geniuses. While they’re training to battle the League or building cool new tech, she’s relegated to boring administrative tasks. But Emma knows she capable of more.
Emma is the one making the plans and coming up with ways to take down the League. She knows she’s worth more than she’s being treated, but she’s still not quite sure how to show this to everyone. And at the same time, Emma is dealing with some more personal struggles. While officially in a relationship with Bells, Emma is still attempting to figure out where she falls on the asexual and aromantic spectra.
After the two previous books focusing on Jess (Not Your Sidekick) and Bells (Not Your Villain), it’s finally Emma’s turn to be the spotlight. As always, the rest of the Sidekick Squad gets plenty of face time so don’t worry about not seeing your favs. And just like the previous two books, this one is so much fun and so fast paced.
The exploration of asexuality and being aromantic through Emma’s questioning process was fantastic. I, personally, am not asexual but this book met the criteria for respectful rep. It looked at Emma’s process of coming to terms with being asexual and figuring that out in the context of a romantic relationship. Then, when things still don’t feel quite right, Emma starts to understand and consider the idea of what it could mean to be aromantic.
Through her questioning process, Emma’s friends were kind and respectful. That’s one of my favorite things about this series. Characters are queer, trans, nonbinary, and nobody has a problem with it. It’s common practice for characters to introduce themselves with their names and pronouns. The fact that more series in fictional worlds aren’t like this is a real shame. After all, if you’re making up a fantasy world why not make it inclusive?
The character growth was, once again, fantastic. Seeing Emma understand more about herself and come into her own was amazing. Her growth through the book was so strong and C.B. Lee really knows how to write phenomenal characters. As you can probably tell from the summary, Emma steps into her role as a leader and I am officially here for it. And her crazy driving. So here for all of it.
As for overall progression of the story, this book really progressed the overall plot very well. The revelations in this book were absolutely stunning and the stakes have definitely been raised. The last two to three chapters I was screaming pretty much every page because so much was happening.
Just another fantastic book. I can’t believe this series isn’t 1000x more popular than it is because it is so, so good!
Five stars! I can’t wait for Not Your Hero!
release-2019
November 1, 2019 Not Your Sidekick ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Not Your Villain ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Not Your Villain ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
July 7, 2020
4.5 stars
hi I love Emma I love this book I love this series
also I cried
hi I love Emma I love this book I love this series
also I cried
September 2, 2019
5 stars
TW: internal shame about ace/aro questioning, violence, government tracking, discussion of non-consensual medical experiments
Rep: Hispanic questioning aroace female MC, Creole trans boy SC, Vietnamese-Chinese-American bisexual female SC, lesbian SC, minor older queer couples, minor aroace SCs, minor queer SCs
The Writing
A common theme with C. B. Lee books is that I never pay attention to the writing because I'm so distracted by the rest of the book and how good it is that I forget to care about the writing?? I think the writing is definitely the weakest part of this series, but it does its job, so I can't really complain about it.
The Plot/Pacing
The plot in this book goes up about fifty notches again and I love it. The stakes are constantly rising in this series and I'm so excited to see where C. B. Lee takes this in the next and final installment in this series. The pacing does feel a bit slow for the first half of this book, but that's pretty much the only complaint that I have, plot-wise.
The Characters
Emma Robledo absolutely owns my heart. Her journey to figuring out that she is aromantic and asexual was just,,, so refreshing and it felt so honest and i was sitting there sobbing over some of the conversations that Emma had with other aro-ace people in this book because damn... The way this book discusses asexuality is one of my favorite ways that I've ever seen asexuality discussed in literature and anyways y'all should read this book.
Also, the attention that was given to queerplatonic relationships was just so??? well-intentioned?? and i loved the way those relationships were portrayed in this book.
Other than that, it goes without saying that I love pretty much all of the side characters and that Bells remains an absolute favorite of mine, so we're gonna move on to the next section.
The World
I know I mention this in every single review I do for this series, but this world is just so,,, effortlessly inclusive and I know that it's going to sound like the most dramatic thing in the world, but it genuinely makes me want to sob every time I see a character introduce themselves using their name and pronouns. Like,, it's that simple y'all.
Overall
we love books that break me and then put me back together again :))) anyways read the Sidekick Squad series.
TW: internal shame about ace/aro questioning, violence, government tracking, discussion of non-consensual medical experiments
Rep: Hispanic questioning aroace female MC, Creole trans boy SC, Vietnamese-Chinese-American bisexual female SC, lesbian SC, minor older queer couples, minor aroace SCs, minor queer SCs
The Writing
A common theme with C. B. Lee books is that I never pay attention to the writing because I'm so distracted by the rest of the book and how good it is that I forget to care about the writing?? I think the writing is definitely the weakest part of this series, but it does its job, so I can't really complain about it.
The Plot/Pacing
The plot in this book goes up about fifty notches again and I love it. The stakes are constantly rising in this series and I'm so excited to see where C. B. Lee takes this in the next and final installment in this series. The pacing does feel a bit slow for the first half of this book, but that's pretty much the only complaint that I have, plot-wise.
The Characters
Emma Robledo absolutely owns my heart. Her journey to figuring out that she is aromantic and asexual was just,,, so refreshing and it felt so honest and i was sitting there sobbing over some of the conversations that Emma had with other aro-ace people in this book because damn... The way this book discusses asexuality is one of my favorite ways that I've ever seen asexuality discussed in literature and anyways y'all should read this book.
Also, the attention that was given to queerplatonic relationships was just so??? well-intentioned?? and i loved the way those relationships were portrayed in this book.
Other than that, it goes without saying that I love pretty much all of the side characters and that Bells remains an absolute favorite of mine, so we're gonna move on to the next section.
The World
I know I mention this in every single review I do for this series, but this world is just so,,, effortlessly inclusive and I know that it's going to sound like the most dramatic thing in the world, but it genuinely makes me want to sob every time I see a character introduce themselves using their name and pronouns. Like,, it's that simple y'all.
Overall
we love books that break me and then put me back together again :))) anyways read the Sidekick Squad series.
December 19, 2019
Honestly? I read most of this book on a cross-country plane ride to visit my parents, and I almost cried twice over seeing the phrase “queerplatonic relationship” in a published novel. It was kinda embarrassing. But also, this is the best/most relatable aroace rep I’ve ever read. We get to see Emma figuring her stuff out, and I think that’s a valuable and potentially reassuring thing to get to see in a novel. Plus, basically everyone in this book is queer – there’s even a brief and very casual mention of a poly triad who raised a child together – and honestly it’s just...really nice to see.
June 4, 2019
I received a review copy from the publisher as part of the blog tour. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
As I said I've been invested in the Sidekick Squad series for a while now. When book two, Not Your Villain, was released, I quickly binged book one and haven't looked back since. I will always admired C.B. Lee's commitment to diversity in a world where its characters are appreciated, loved, and celebrated for who they are. I can't think of a better book to begin Pride month!
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/blog...
As I said I've been invested in the Sidekick Squad series for a while now. When book two, Not Your Villain, was released, I quickly binged book one and haven't looked back since. I will always admired C.B. Lee's commitment to diversity in a world where its characters are appreciated, loved, and celebrated for who they are. I can't think of a better book to begin Pride month!
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/blog...
August 13, 2020
*fists hit the table* MORE
May 29, 2019
I LOVE EMMA ROBLEDO SO MUUUUUCH.
Full review to come ;)
Full review to come ;)
December 5, 2019
The Resistance is continuing to fight against the league. As a leader, and the only member without superpowers, Emma is determined to come up with ways to defeat the League and get the word out about the lie. As the battle gears up, Emma finds herself trying to find her place in the team and determined to prove her worth.
I was thrilled to read this book. I had fallen in love with Emma throughout the other two and Not Your Backup made me fall more in love with her. She is a character that I relate to one a number of levels and to see this representation was so important to me.
Not Your Backup doesn't have as much action as the others which for some could feel like a filler, but this book was so much about Emma's development. It was her finding her place not only in the team as the only one without superpowers, but about her figuring out where she falls with her sexual and romantic orientation. It was beautiful and there were so many important conversations throughout it that really explore the ace and aro spectrum. This book has the best rep that I've seen for ace and aro and for that, I will probably always be biased about it.
This book was also furthering the plot more. It was setting up the last book as more things about the League came to light and while that can typically be boring for many series I found myself completely invested in it.
So far, this has been my favorite book in the series. With Abby's continue character arc throughout this one, I'm interested to see how that continues on throughout the next book as well as how they all manage to continue to fight the League.
I was thrilled to read this book. I had fallen in love with Emma throughout the other two and Not Your Backup made me fall more in love with her. She is a character that I relate to one a number of levels and to see this representation was so important to me.
Not Your Backup doesn't have as much action as the others which for some could feel like a filler, but this book was so much about Emma's development. It was her finding her place not only in the team as the only one without superpowers, but about her figuring out where she falls with her sexual and romantic orientation. It was beautiful and there were so many important conversations throughout it that really explore the ace and aro spectrum. This book has the best rep that I've seen for ace and aro and for that, I will probably always be biased about it.
This book was also furthering the plot more. It was setting up the last book as more things about the League came to light and while that can typically be boring for many series I found myself completely invested in it.
So far, this has been my favorite book in the series. With Abby's continue character arc throughout this one, I'm interested to see how that continues on throughout the next book as well as how they all manage to continue to fight the League.
Read
June 9, 2019Content Warnings
Not Your Backup is the third installment in a queer YA superhero series that I adore, and I think it might be my favorite. It has a lovely aroace questioning arc that runs parallel to the resist the corrupt government arc, and resolves to a queerplatonic relationship with the person who started out as the MC's boyfriend. It's about friendship, identity, finding your place in activist movement, and it's such a hopeful book to have right now in 2019.
Read my full review on my blog.
Not Your Backup is the third installment in a queer YA superhero series that I adore, and I think it might be my favorite. It has a lovely aroace questioning arc that runs parallel to the resist the corrupt government arc, and resolves to a queerplatonic relationship with the person who started out as the MC's boyfriend. It's about friendship, identity, finding your place in activist movement, and it's such a hopeful book to have right now in 2019.
Read my full review on my blog.
June 18, 2021
The third book in the Sidekick Squad tells the story from Emma's POV. I read all of the released Sidekick Squad books and I think I liked this more than the second one. While Jess had a very fun voice, Bells' POV fell short for me. But Emma was fun, even though she isn't my favorite character. I could relate to her so much.
Emma doesn't have any superpowers and when they all try to team up with the adults in order to reveal the corrupt government, she is often left behind. And in the midst of it all, she is also trying to figure out her feelings toward Bells and what being an asexual could mean for her. Honestly, I loved Emma's wits and mastermind thinking in this book. Her emotions were real and even the writing was much better. Surely it did get boring at times as there were couple of filler chapters. I liked the introduction of the new characters and believe that they added so much excitement to the story.
The way the author tends to incorporate vulnerable human emotions in the midst of heavy sci-fi scenes is really commendable. Although, the books do feel a lot like telling instead of showing. There are outright statements of information without actually showing us the picture, which was one of the biggest drawbacks for me in this entire series so far.
Another thing that bothers me is how gullible and bad decisions they all make. I understand they are supposed to be kids on the run but certain things really don't match up. Like, they legit take some decisions without thinking them through. But I guess that is what it was supposed to seem like, since they are kids and will do reckless things? I don't know ah.
I did enjoy this book and I'm really looking forward to the next book, even though Abby's character has potentially decreased in my hierarchy of liked characters. But I'm excited to see how her story is captured, what with her being almost powerless.
Overall, I think its a really fun little series which reads more like a middle grade adventure. I love the diversity in them and the fact that it touches on various topics while being a sci-fic about overthrowing and exposing the government.
Emma doesn't have any superpowers and when they all try to team up with the adults in order to reveal the corrupt government, she is often left behind. And in the midst of it all, she is also trying to figure out her feelings toward Bells and what being an asexual could mean for her. Honestly, I loved Emma's wits and mastermind thinking in this book. Her emotions were real and even the writing was much better. Surely it did get boring at times as there were couple of filler chapters. I liked the introduction of the new characters and believe that they added so much excitement to the story.
The way the author tends to incorporate vulnerable human emotions in the midst of heavy sci-fi scenes is really commendable. Although, the books do feel a lot like telling instead of showing. There are outright statements of information without actually showing us the picture, which was one of the biggest drawbacks for me in this entire series so far.
Another thing that bothers me is how gullible and bad decisions they all make. I understand they are supposed to be kids on the run but certain things really don't match up. Like, they legit take some decisions without thinking them through. But I guess that is what it was supposed to seem like, since they are kids and will do reckless things? I don't know ah.
I did enjoy this book and I'm really looking forward to the next book, even though Abby's character has potentially decreased in my hierarchy of liked characters. But I'm excited to see how her story is captured, what with her being almost powerless.
Overall, I think its a really fun little series which reads more like a middle grade adventure. I love the diversity in them and the fact that it touches on various topics while being a sci-fic about overthrowing and exposing the government.
June 10, 2019
I was provided a free copy of the book for its blog tour. See full review here.
Surprisingly, this book took the longest in the series for me to actually want to pick up. I felt hesitant to read it because Emma’s characterization felt flat for me in the other books—she really did feel like a backup—but after seeing the title for this, I knew I had to get my hands on NYB. Fortunately for me, it blew all my expectations out of the water and gave me a glimpse of the world of the Sidekick Squad from the point of view of a character who did not have any sort of power, in addition to her complexity. C.B. Lee’s writing is the best it’s ever been, and the world-building showed in Not Your Backup places an emphasis on that.
I can’t say much about how well the rep was done, but the fact that so many reviewers who are aromantic have said that it was close to their own experiences. This is the first book I’ve read with aroace representation, and I certainly hope it won’t be the last. There is a special scene in the book where Emma talks with Bells’ brother, about being confused with her sexuality, and while bits of the conversation sounded like it was picked up from a dictionary, I can’t deny that it wasn’t a well-written scene. As a reader, it was easy for me to see the effort that the author took to make readers across the whole spectrum welcome. Not Your Backup is a novel full of adventure, excitement, EXPLOSIONS, betrayals and especially soft moments with each character. It’s filled with character-driven moments that can make your heart clench.
The whole Sidekick Squad series is an amazing gift to the universe. It’s about a group of diverse individuals, all driven in their own way, working to fight a corrupt government. What more could you ask for?
Surprisingly, this book took the longest in the series for me to actually want to pick up. I felt hesitant to read it because Emma’s characterization felt flat for me in the other books—she really did feel like a backup—but after seeing the title for this, I knew I had to get my hands on NYB. Fortunately for me, it blew all my expectations out of the water and gave me a glimpse of the world of the Sidekick Squad from the point of view of a character who did not have any sort of power, in addition to her complexity. C.B. Lee’s writing is the best it’s ever been, and the world-building showed in Not Your Backup places an emphasis on that.
I can’t say much about how well the rep was done, but the fact that so many reviewers who are aromantic have said that it was close to their own experiences. This is the first book I’ve read with aroace representation, and I certainly hope it won’t be the last. There is a special scene in the book where Emma talks with Bells’ brother, about being confused with her sexuality, and while bits of the conversation sounded like it was picked up from a dictionary, I can’t deny that it wasn’t a well-written scene. As a reader, it was easy for me to see the effort that the author took to make readers across the whole spectrum welcome. Not Your Backup is a novel full of adventure, excitement, EXPLOSIONS, betrayals and especially soft moments with each character. It’s filled with character-driven moments that can make your heart clench.
The whole Sidekick Squad series is an amazing gift to the universe. It’s about a group of diverse individuals, all driven in their own way, working to fight a corrupt government. What more could you ask for?
September 9, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
4 stars
The stories feature a host of characters of color, and a variety of gender identities and sexual orientations. I love that even the side characters are widely diverse, including a Muslim reporter and a poly threesome. I appreciate how Lee really incorporates such a wide range of diversity and it all flows so seamlessly in the story. This is particularly important in a young adult series like this one, and this is probably one of the most overall diverse series I have ever read.
In this third book, we continue the overarching storyline regarding the corrupt government and the Heroes League of Heroes. The truth comes out about what is going on in the previous book, and now Emma and her friends are determined to spread the word. The hallmark of this series for me continues to be the incredible world building and even three books in, there are such great little details that really making things shine. Everything from the technology they use, to the way the cities are built, to the politics, to the way the government is run is just so richly detailed, it just brings these books to life.
Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.
4 stars
The stories feature a host of characters of color, and a variety of gender identities and sexual orientations. I love that even the side characters are widely diverse, including a Muslim reporter and a poly threesome. I appreciate how Lee really incorporates such a wide range of diversity and it all flows so seamlessly in the story. This is particularly important in a young adult series like this one, and this is probably one of the most overall diverse series I have ever read.
In this third book, we continue the overarching storyline regarding the corrupt government and the Heroes League of Heroes. The truth comes out about what is going on in the previous book, and now Emma and her friends are determined to spread the word. The hallmark of this series for me continues to be the incredible world building and even three books in, there are such great little details that really making things shine. Everything from the technology they use, to the way the cities are built, to the politics, to the way the government is run is just so richly detailed, it just brings these books to life.
Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.
June 6, 2019
I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley
actual rating: 3.5
As with the second book in this series, I just felt that this book moved a little bit slower than I would have liked [although at least here we don't spend a third of the book doing a recap, which I why I rounded up instead of down]. I guess I just feel like the characters should have made more progress at this point [something that Emma and I seem to have in common], but I suppose it kind of makes sense for the first three books to take their time a bit more and focus on the POV characters over plot development. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty that is happening here, but I am kind of wondering where it's all going and how long the whole series will be. I did absolutely love the frank discussion of Emma being aro/ace and all the different ways she could adapt that label though. I am aro/ace myself and you very rarely see characters in fiction that are both [most seem to just be ace], so it always makes me happy to see such a cool character that uses that label.
actual rating: 3.5
As with the second book in this series, I just felt that this book moved a little bit slower than I would have liked [although at least here we don't spend a third of the book doing a recap, which I why I rounded up instead of down]. I guess I just feel like the characters should have made more progress at this point [something that Emma and I seem to have in common], but I suppose it kind of makes sense for the first three books to take their time a bit more and focus on the POV characters over plot development. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty that is happening here, but I am kind of wondering where it's all going and how long the whole series will be. I did absolutely love the frank discussion of Emma being aro/ace and all the different ways she could adapt that label though. I am aro/ace myself and you very rarely see characters in fiction that are both [most seem to just be ace], so it always makes me happy to see such a cool character that uses that label.
September 15, 2021
While these books still definitely have a certain charm, this one sort of left me... bored? Each book's individual arc is about its focal character's self-discovery, but there's also the ur-arc of, y'know, trying to overthrow the corrupt government, and VERY little progress is made on that front. To a degree I appreciate the element of realism with regard to how hard it is to create change, but from a storytelling standpoint it sort of drags; it doesn't feel like these characters ever have a notable success.
I do very much appreciate the character arc aspect, and I think it's great that teen readers these days have the opportunity to encounter these books while they're figuring out their own sexuality/identity questions, but that can't be all that makes this series notable. I'm hoping that the fourth book will wrap things up in an interesting and satisfying way!
I do very much appreciate the character arc aspect, and I think it's great that teen readers these days have the opportunity to encounter these books while they're figuring out their own sexuality/identity questions, but that can't be all that makes this series notable. I'm hoping that the fourth book will wrap things up in an interesting and satisfying way!
June 9, 2021
This book was really good!! I liked the other ones a bit better but I am super excited to read the next one!!
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