School for Sidekicks

“Evan Quick, Heros Log, May the 25th… and darn it - I just cant do this. Im never going to be a Mask. Get over it Evan.”

Evan Quick has spent his whole life dreaming of becoming a hero. Every morning he wakes up and runs through a checklist of test to see if hes developed powers over night, and every day it is the same thing - nothing. No flying, no super strength, no heat rays or cold beams. No invulnerability - that always hurt to check - no telepathy, no magic. Not even the ability to light a light bulb without flipping a switch. And now, hes finally ready to give up. 

But then, the class field trip to the Mask Museum is interrupted by a super villain attack, and Evan somehow manages to survive a death ray. Even better, Evans favorite Mask, Captain Commanding, shows up to save them all -- and when things go very wrong, its Evan who finds the strength to come to Captain Commandings rescue.

Yet the heros reception Evan is expecting never happens. Before he even gets the chance to say hello, Evan is bundled away to The Academy, an institution derisively called The School for Sidekicks by its students. Forced to take classes like Banter Basics and Combat with Dinnerware, while being assigned as an ‘apprentice to Foxman - a Mask widely considered a has-been -- Evan starts to worry that hell never be able to save the day…

KELLY McCULLOUGH is the author of the adult fantasy series Webmage and Assassins Blade. School for Sidekicks is his first novel for young readers. He lives in Wisconsin with his physics professor wife and a small herd of cats, all of whom he adores.