Books & Boba discussion

Happy June, everyone! Thank you to everyone who read our last month's book club pick, The Leavers. For our June book club pick, we will be reading C.B. Lee's Not Your Sidekick.

This book has been on our TBR list for a long time, and we're so excited to talk about it on the podcast. It's also been a while since we read a sci-fi and lighthearted book, so it'll be a change of pace.

As always, we strongly encourage people to share their thoughts on the book here in the forums or on Twitter. :D

I'm so glad we're reading Not Your Sidekick this month! It's one of my favourite books and I just finished reading one of CB Lee's other books, Seven Tears at High Tide recently (which is also really good). It's been a while since I've read it (and I intend on rereading it before the month is over) but when I read it for the first time, I remember I couldn't stop smiling the entire time.

I know people who've read it and found it predictable but its predictability is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. There is definitely a place for LGBT fiction that is sad and depicts our very real problems but it is mentally and emotionally exhausting to read, so to read a lighthearted book knowing that Jess will 1) get the girl and 2) come out alive at the end of the story, is not only refreshing but also really healing. Sometimes, it's just nice to see a bi Asian character in one of your favourite genres. 'Tired' tropes are a lot less tiring when the characters involved actually look and act like you.

I also just really enjoyed Not Your Sidekick's take on the superhero genre: the transition from slice-of-life to dystopian was very much up my alley. Jess and Abby were really cute and the side characters are so charming (I am so glad Bells is trans and a shapeshifter because a good majority of trans and/or nonbinary folks I know, myself included, all wish we could shapeshift). Not Your Villain was also very good and I cannot wait for the next book! Happy Pride Month, everyone!

I'm so happy to read a post-apocalyptic book that is not about survival!

Jas, I completely agree with you on how the book's predictability makes the story more enjoyable. A vast majority of LGBTQIA books I've read have focused on coming out and the discrimination queer folks face. Those books are definitely crucial to publishing, but it also feels so great to read a story in which queer teens can just be themselves, fall in love without some tragedy befalling them, and fight crime.

I'm in the middle of reading Not Your Villain, and it's great. I love Bells, and you learn more about how superheroes are assigned to districts. CB said there will be four books in total, so I'm excited for the next two, which should focus on Emma and Abby, respectively.

I know the podcast episode has since been released, but I wanted to let you all know that I finished this book a few days ago.

Yes, it was predictable at times (while other times, not so much), it was an enjoyable read. Sometimes, the level of how much you were entertained by a story is all that matters; especially when the focus is on characters who otherwise aren’t always the heroes of their own stories.

I am now tempted to find out what happens in “Not Your Villain.” I may need to borrow that one from the library at some point.

Hi, I loved the podcast episode and also the interview with CB Lee! Thanks for reading my comment on the episode! I know it's too late to fix but my pronouns are actually they/them; in the future if you could use those rather than she/her, that would be much appreciated, thanks!

Ahh, so sorry about that. We'll keep that in mind for future discussions. Hopefully that means you'll keep participating :)