Everyone knows that meta-abilities are genetic, but 16-year-old Jessica Tran shows no signs of having inherited any from her superhero parents, Li Hua and Victor Tran, better known as Smasher and Shockwave. Her chances of becoming a superhero are therefore near zero. Bummer. Resigned to her failure, Jess begins searching for an internship instead and eureka! finds one at fabled Monroe Industries. There's just one hitch: she discovers she will be working for the villainous Master Mischief, her parents' bête noire. Her immediate supervisor is the mysterious M, who wears a mecha suit with a visor so Jess is unable to see her face. On the plus side, however, she finds herself working with her classmate, the beautiful Abby, on whom the bisexual Jess has a major crush. Funny thing, though: M and Abby are never in the same place at the same time. Hmmm. Perhaps things aren't what they seem. A mash-up of sf lite and romance, the predictable story is nothing special but pleasant enough for a satisfying summer read.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2016 Booklist

In the 22nd century, the population includes meta-humans, those whose dormant superhuman powers were activated by the solar flares that also sparked World War III. Jessica Tran struggles to find her voice as a regular teen sandwiched between an older sister who inherited their fathers ability to fly and an intellectually brilliant younger brother. The daughter of Vietnamese and Chinese refugees, bisexual Jess is a Nevada high school junior with two best friends, Bells, a Creole trans man, and Emma, who is wealthy and Latina. While the trio avidly follow the exploits of Captain Orion, celebrity face of the Heroes League of Heroes, Jess has kept quiet her parents undercover identities as their citys minor local superheroes. An internship at a leading tech giant results in another secret: the fact that shes now working on behalf of her parents longtime enemies. With her fellow intern Abby, a red-haired, blue-eyed, white girl she is desperately attracted to, Jess gets involved in adventures far more risky than the boring clerical job she signed on for. Although the central romance is sweet, and Jess and her friends are appealing, the writing suffers from more telling than showing, awkward word choices that pull readers out of the story, and inconsistent descriptions of individual characters as well as the world of the novel. A superhero tale that never quite takes flight. (Science fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The non-superpowered teenage daughter of two minor league superheroes ends up secretly working for their worst enemy-as an intern. Jessica Tran, 16, would like to be a hero like her parents and older sister, but if she can't do that, working in the Experimental Division at Monroe Industries will at least help with college applications. Much to her surprise, it's a front for the dreaded villain Master Mischief. Jess takes the job anyway, and she quickly comes to enjoy working with the mysterious mecha-suited M and her longtime crush, volleyball star Abby. Soon, Jess learns that strange things are afoot, with numerous villains disappearing, and the Heroes' League of Heroes may be involved. Lee (Seven Tears at High Tide) offers up a fast-paced, engaging tale set in a quasi-dystopian 22nd-century America where the line between hero and villain is often blurred. With a diverse cast of characters, both in terms of sexuality and ethnic background, and a wholly adorable romance for Jess, it's a lively exploration of morality in a superpowered age. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.