School for Sidekicks by Kelly McCullough (review)

Evan has always wished he could be a superhero—he even hits the floor with his face every morning after rolling out of bed and hoping he can suddenly fly. After he unexpectedly becomes part of a battle between ultimate hero (or at least, as far as anybody knows) Captain Commanding and his nemesis, Spartanicus, Evan is shocked to not only find himself alive but also enrolled in a hero school. In fact, Evan now has powers of his own, and with the help of cool classes, a drunk and belligerent but also gifted superhero mentor, and a new moniker, Meerkat, he feels he can finally become all he was ever meant to be. It hurts him that his parents aren’t on board, and he’s a bit too young and idealistic to handle some disturbing secrets about the school (and the whole history of superheroes/villains and how they came about), but Evan’s a survivor, and he has some good new friends to help him handle the hard parts. The immediate sense of home that Evan feels at the boarding school is palpable—readers will likely be as relieved as he is that he finally found a place where he truly seems to belong. The book’s use of humor is enjoyable, and it’s also a good deflector for some pretty unsavory details about the governmental construction of good vs. evil and manipulation of superpowers. Pair this with Ferraiolo’s equally funny and irreverent Sidekicks (BCCB 4/11) for two looks at the uncelebrated, unappreciated sidekicks who do much of the work but get almost none of the glory.