This is the second book in a trilogy, following up on Not Your Sidekick from last year (which I also SUPER ENJOYED), and focuses on the character of Bells. Bells is a shape-shifter, something of a rebel even before he learns about the massive government conspiracy (his family is also in rebelling: they believe in food freedom, and run an underground market so that people can get real food). Bells is trans.

(This is actually the SECOND series with a trans main character who is also a superhero I've read this year, WHICH IS AWESOME. The more the merrier. I really loved both books (the other is Dreadnought/Sovereign), but VILLAIN is less...intense. I've posted about Dreadnought/Sovereign before, and Danny, the protagonist, deals with ALL KINDS of shit from her family, colleagues, the press, etc. etc. That can be difficult for trans kids to read. VILLAIN isn't like that. Bells is just trans and a superhero. I cannot stress how pleased I am that BOTH OF THESE STORIES EXIST.)

ANYWAY, so we pick up Bells' story a little bit before the end of NOT YOUR SIDEKICK, and then follow him through Jess' adventure until his own comes to the front. This means the beginning of the book is a little choppy, but overall, I found it an effective storytelling method. I love the world CB has constructed here, and the way the superheroes work is just SO COOL (nutshell: your strength as a super is measured by how long you can sustain your power, not by what your power is. WHICH IS NEAT).

I loved the balance of CONSPIRACY and teenage shenanigans. I love the way Bells, Jess, and Emma interact (and how they incorporate Jess's girl-friend Abby). I LOVE THE PARENTS AND SIBLINGS.

The third book, NOT YOUR BACKUP, will be from Emma's POV, and I am pretty darn excited about it. (And not just because the book ended with her confessing that she's ace!)