Sidekicks

Found this book at HPB today and finished it... today. I didn't mean to buy it, but accidentally got dragged in after reading the first few chapters. It was a fast read with a lot of interesting points, but heavy on the pros and cons-

PROS:
-The writing flows really well
-The characters are likeable
-The premise is interesting and well-executed
-The fight scenes are easy to visualize
-Ferraiolo dodges/subverts a lot of annoying teen-superhero tropes

CONS:
-The book kicks off with some embarrasment about teen problems, which I wasn't particularly interested in reading about, although it was a really powerful motivator for the MC
-The book goes by so fast that some of the plot progression hits you like a punch in the face
-The romance, similary to the romance it is compared to (Romeo and Juliet), feels rushed and forced, esp. because of the age of the characters
-Overall, the novel seems compacted- I'm tempted to say I would have liked it split into multiple books to leave time for more foreshadowing, etc., but it's possible that would have slowed it down too much

Overall, I'd stil recommend it to anyone who enjoys fast-paced middle-grade, as long as they're old enough to handle the beginning. I plan to reread, myself; I did finish it in a three-hour block, so that might have affected my perception of the pacing.

Edit: Did a reread (finally!) and enjoyed it more than last time, so I changed my rating to the 5 stars I think it deserves. It's definitely still the most I've had to read about kissing in one book, but I forgive it because it's so snappy and compelling. I didn't really have any problems with the pacing this time around; I think my reading style has changed a little since 2017 so the writing just suits me better now.