Rise of the Sidekicks by Charity Tober

Rise of the Sidekicks is a middle grade fantasy book that was sent to me by the author. 12-year-old Ethan Parker attends the Justice Academy school for kids with superpowers. He and his friends are ecstatic for the Sidekick Tryouts competition where the Nexus Guardian superheroes of the city will choose recruits. While he doesn't have powers like super speed or pyrokinesis, he hopes that his tech skills and inventions will impress them. But a week before he can, the "Hero Smasher" tricks the Guardians into leaving and mind-controls the population into surrendering all the supers for neutralization. Ethan and his friends band together to take on the Hero Smasher and his army of mechanical robots.

While a very familiar concept of those with powers banding together to save the city and mind-controlled robots, Tober weaved an interesting plot of the Sidekick auditions and the kids desperate to prove themselves to the Guardians. Irony is, they aren't here to see it. The author also did a great job of character development, overcoming self-doubt and fear. Rise of the Sidekicks is the type of book that can be read over and over again, even knowing the ending. For the author's first middle grade book, it is impressive.

A central theme was also what defines a superhero. Ethan doesn't have flashy powers, and battled the belief that he doesn't have "real" superpowers. His cleverness, tech-savvy skills, and leadership abilities are outstanding. Ethan did remind me of Richard Greyson (Robin), from the Teen Titans, and most others reminded me of those featured in The Arrowverse. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it made the book a bit nostalgic and more enjoyable.

The only complaint that I have is the lack of origin for their powers. Where did these powers come from? Why these families? The Hero Smasher's background story of why he came to hate the Guardians was strongly written, and it made perfect sense. His origin story was great, but I am just missing the piece of people had these powers to begin with. But for middle grade readers, they may not care about that part.

I recommend this book!

Title: Rise of the Sidekicks
Author: Charity Tober
Publisher: Charity Tober
Pages: 315
Series: No
Rating: 4 Stars
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