Oh, my goodness. This book, y'all. I couldn't stop laughing. Now, just so you know, it is really hard to get me to laugh out loud while reading a book, even a funny one. Usually, I smile and nod, or maybe I'll do a small chuckle once in a while. But this book made me guffaw, snort, and laugh out loud—sometimes hysterically. And it did this to me many, many times over the course of the book.

Part of the hilarity comes from the premise of the book. The government comes calling on retired sidekicks after their heroes get murdered by an unknown villain of incredible power. The three sidekicks are: Sam (aka Kid Random) whose power is to change reality at will, only he can never predict how it will change; Anna (aka Allergy Girl) who can give a terrible rash to a bad guy; and the lunatic Randy, who has a vigilante Batman complex (right down to the raspy Batman voice) and who claims he can talk to butterflies and get them to do his bidding. How these three are supposed to save the world is anybody's guess—they certainly don't know how they are going to do it—but it is fun going on the ride with them to find out how.

The Sidekick's Initiative by Barry J. Hutchison was released in 2019. The book itself is funny. But I think the narrator, Phil Thron, really upped the ante. He made it come alive. His voices and delivery of the different characters were top notch. Especially for Randy. That Christian Bale Batman voice had me in tears!

If you are in need of a good laugh, get this book!