Welcome to Litsy!

I really just feel like this book had high potential, but the author focused too much on the romance. The twists were very expectable and obvious. I just felt like it could have been so much more than it was, especially since I love sci-fi, dystopian, and superhero books, and this was all three. 3⭐️

The first book of a fun middle-grade superhero series. I love the title (not saying I can relate 😉), and I got attached to endearing MC Jessica Tran, a teen girl who‘s half-Chinese, half-Vietnamese, bisexual, and (to her dismay) doesn‘t seem to have inherited any superpowers from her famous local superhero parents.🔸#julyreads2021

I did some more #audiostitching while I tore through NOT YOUR SIDEKICK. It was exactly the queer futuristic superhero YA novel I needed today. If you could use a dose of that, too, it‘s free through the Audiofile Sync program until next Wednesday.

Oh this was fun. I enjoyed. And the story clearly has more to come. Will keep an eye for the sequel.

Another library book!

Ugh, this was way too middle-grade-y for me ... I abandoned it after the third chapter or something because I just could NOT with the writing style. Had some kind of a bad fanfic vibe for me, idk. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.

“We can‘t just sit on our asses and not live our lives while we‘re trying to expose a corrupt government.” Truth.

Really fun book! I enjoyed the characters, futuristic setting, and the completely nonchalant presentation of queer folks. Also loved Jess. #queerbooks #readwomen Fantastic book for pre-teens, teens, and adults.

Jessica Tran desperately wants a superpower. She‘s the daughter of two superheroes and her sister is one too. So what‘s her ability? She doesn‘t seem to have any! She lands a dream job but soon learns she‘s working for her parents‘ enemies! But they‘re missing and instead a mysterious M is taking over. A fun read. Loved that the main character is a bisexual Vietnamese-Chinese teen & that her friends are a diverse lot.

Starting the morning off right with some scrambled eggs and half a buttered bagel. Also, a big mug of Yorkshire Gold with a splash of milk. I always start my mornings off with tea and then later I‘ll have an espresso. How about you? Are you a coffee or tea person?

This was really great. I wish the library had the next in the series. 💖📚

#Riotgrams | Day 8 | #Freebie

A stack of freebies I won at the Banned Books quiz awhile ago. Going to be donated to my sister‘s classroom library @Saknicole since I‘m not interested in reading any of them.

An upbeat meta-human adventure set in the 22nd century & featuring a group of #queer teens of colour. The central character, Jess Tran, seems a lot like author C.B. Lee: a #bisexual Chinese-Vietnamese American who enjoys outdoor activities. The pace is slow at the start but it picks up when corruption in a government superhero agency is uncovered. There‘s also a sweet lesbian romance. Next in this series features a Creole trans boy. #lgbt #YA

Nefarious abuse of power is going on. What do you think, Littens, is this sentence a Bitch Planet reference?:

“This is the last time you‘ve been noncompliant with the League rules,” [redacted] yells.

“Bells is great. I love their hair, they always do those bright colours, and so often—“
“He,” Jess corrects. “Bells uses he/his pronouns.”
“Oh. I didn‘t know.” Abby takes a bite of her sandwich.
“It‘s okay. I think it‘s pretty cool you thought of using ‘they‘ when you didn‘t know for sure.”
#genderidentity #lgbtq
(Internet photo)

The only time Jess has come close to being ‘known‘ was when she accidentally came out as #bisexual during sophomore English class while talking about her favourite poem. That‘s old news now. No one really cares, but it was exciting at the time. Jess had a few overwhelming weeks of curious looks and some intrusive questions until Emma and Bells put an end to it.
#LGBTQ
(Photo taken at Edmonton‘s Pride parade last week)

It‘s a great feeling when you can pinpoint the exact moment in a plot that makes you sit up, take notice, and feel absolutely compelled to see where the author is taking you. For this book, it was on p. 139, pretty much the midpoint of the novel. Jess gives a wrong answer in her history class and then is determined to find out where she got the misinformation. Textbook content changes; I wasn‘t expecting that!

But it‘s hard to ruin a simple potato, and Jess is fond of all its forms, particularly tater tots. They‘re consistently good here, and by good Jess means not terrible.

(Another book, another #tatertot reference for @MrBook )

Delightful read! Pretty predictable but so much fun!!! I can't wait for the next one in the series

A fun comic book style adventure and love story, with a truly diverse cast of characters.

Today's #riotgram prompt is #underratedreads . Here are a few I don't think are talked about enough. Baby Groot thinks you should get into them!

Loved this! Read it in a single afternoon.

I can't believe September is here already. My jasmine is flowering and the summer heat is not far away.

Here are my stats for August - I read so much good stuff I couldn't possibly pick a fave.

I read Not Your Sidekick basically all in one day. It's a super cute story set in a post-WWIII world where, due to radiation, some people have acquired superpowers. Jess, the main character, is a canon bisexual biracial Asian-American (Chinese-Vietnamese) who feels like she's not good enough to fit in anywhere due to lack of superpowers, among other things. I really liked the plot and the book also features a canon f/f romance. Definitely reread.

Last book of #24in48 with a little more than an hour to go!

It was really fun. I saw a lot of the plot line coming. But because it was so good I honestly didn't care. The author did such a good job with making it enjoyable and diverse.

One of my absolute favourite books (maybe ever?!) and I'm not usually one for superhero books. Definitely one you need to check out!

I just loved this! It's cute, it's fun and it has a lot of action. The characters are pretty diverse, it's #ownvoices in some aspects (prota is bisexual and a first gen Asian-American) and the world is fascinating. Plus I just love superheroes and kickass heroines 💛

This was a really fun read! Think the vibe of Sky High but with incredibly diverse characters and more worldbuilding. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out 💥

This is about as much "wilderness" as I'll see today so I'm totally counting this floral pit stop on my walk to work as #booksinthewild for #riotgrams ???

This is a cute fast paced story with some super characters. I liked the story and the internal dilemma but I wish the characters were developed a little more

Tonight's bedtime read is very nicely colour-coordinated for my overall current bed aesthetic.

Went to the Rainbow Book Fair at John Jay. I ran into a friend who was working at a booth. Her wife works for Interlude Press! Picked up this book, which looks super cool. #LGBTQ #YA

A quick read for those who like their stories light-hearted and full of fun with a side of quality representation for biracial people, bisexual folk and transgender individuals. Not to forget, an endearing protagonist who's journey is one of self-discovery and getting the girl (yay for ladies loving ladies). Though a Young Adult novel, the writing read more like middle grade.

I give Not Your Sidekick 3 stars out of 5.

I am reading this right now and I love it! #thatsawkward when you work for your parents archenemy.

A fantastic YA book with a diverse cast and a cute f/f romance at its heart. The ending wobbled a bit, but overall I really enjoyed it.

Hello Friday! Enjoying my day off with some coffee and this little gem!

Finally feeling better so I spent today bundled up outside, rereading C.B. Lee's wonderful Not Your Sidekick. How are you all doing?

#diversebooks #diversesuperheroes #bisexuality #AsianAmLit

This book was such a sweet, fun futuristic superhero story with a bisexual Asian teenager as the main character. The story includes complicating the ideas of good and evil, a transgender best friend, having immigrant parents with superpowers, a tender queer love story and some good old superhero conflict. So fun! #LitsyAtoZ #LetterL #queerbooks #transbooks #diversebooks

(Image: cbmesser.com)

Loved this YA adventure! Set in a post apocalyptic, post WWWIII, world, superheroes are real and so are super villains! This story features the daughter of two superheroes. She is both biracial and bisexual, and about to cross another societal division by taking an internship with the local villains!

#LitsyAtoZ #LetterL @BookishMarginalia

My #marchstats! March was a shorter month for me. Out of town every weekend, family issues and ran a half marathon. Not to mention work! I was glad for #audiobooks this month. Only one #pocauthor and one #LGBTauthor. Hopefully in April I can increase those numbers. Read one for #litzyatoz and woefully few from #mountTBR. Here's to a good month!!

I can not just ask Abby if she likes girls or not! What if she dooes not know? What if… I… Yeah. It's too much risk.

Sweet story about lgbtq teen superheroes? Count me in and keep them coming!

The book is great as it is - written for the young audience, exploring the typical for the age insecurities and anxieties and with no unnecessary drama.

superheroes + school crushes + secret identities = mess and so much more!

It's funny, it'sweet, it's the necessary distraction from mandatory reading.

I am already waiting for the sequel.

Love this dedication! 😍 #queerbooks

Starting this one! So excited!

I like these chapter heading illustrations. Very comic book.