Astrid Rose (white), pre-med in her sophomore year at Columbia, manages her time with the precision of life-and-death maneuvers; it’s how she stays on top of her intense schedule full of classes and activities to impress on her future medical school application. She even schedules make-out sessions with her boyfriend, Max. After Astrid is kidnapped out of the blue and rescued by the superhero known as Kid Comet—who saved her entire class during a supervillain attack in high school—Max reveals that he is Kid Comet. Max encourages her to enroll in a training program for the significant others of superheroes, designed to help them stay safe during kidnapping attempts, which are apparently inevitable when dating a superhero. Despite Astrid insisting she doesn’t have time to attend, at Max’s urging she makes time. Part adventure, part mystery (someone keeps sabotaging Astrid’s work at the coveted lab job she landed), part romance, and all fun, this fast-paced, spirited debut is not without substance as Astrid grapples with questions about her life, relationships, and priorities. No one, least of all Max, wants Astrid to compromise her dreams or ideals; but while Astrid is not averse to self-reflection, the one thing she never schedules time for is considering whether her long-term goals continue to reflect her true desires. Ever since the attack in high school, she’s been driven to be in control, but it’s after things spiral out of control that Astrid finally regains a sense of balance in her life. (Age 12 and older)

A romantic coming-of-age story about growing up, falling in love, and surviving life—all set in the world of superheroes—from debut author Cristina Fernandez, proving that you don’t need a superpower to be the hero of your own origin story, perfect for fans of The Rest of Us Just Live Here and Renegades.

* Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year 2023 * CCBC Choices Best of 2023 *

Falling for a superhero is dangerous. You have to trust that they’ll catch you.

Astrid isn’t a superhero, not like the ones she sees on the news, but she has something she thinks of as a small superpower: She has a perfect sense of time. And she’s not going to waste a single second.

Her plan for college is clear—friends, classes, and extra-curriculars all carefully selected to get her into medical school.

Until Max Martin, a nerdy boy from high school, crashes back into her life. Things with Max were never simple, and he doesn’t keep to her schedule. He disappears in the middle of dates and cancels last-minute with stupid excuses.

When a supervillain breaks into her bedroom one night, Astrid has to face the facts: Her boyfriend, Max Martin, is a superhero. Double-majoring as a pre-med was hard, but now Astrid will have to balance a double-life. This wasn’t part of her plan.