Article contributed by Jena Brown
In Mike Chen’s latest book, We Could Be Heroes, we meet two people with extraordinary powers who embark on an unlikely journey into friendship and self-discovery.
Jaime woke up with no memories. Just an empty apartment, a nametag with his name, and the ability to read and erase people’s memories. Oh, and a cat named Normal. Jaime dreams of disappearing to an island where he and Normal can drink coffee and read books in paradise. So what if he has to rob a few banks in order to get there? They’re insured, so no one gets hurt. At least, that’s what he tells himself.
Zoe also woke up without her memory, but in a different apartment, with a different nametag, and no cat. She uses her super strength and incredible speed to deliver fast food, though sometimes her crime-fighting detours threaten her immaculate five-star rating. But what she really wants is to know who she is, something her powers can’t seem to track down.
The two meet at a memory-loss support group, where a freak accident reveals their secret identities to each other. Realising that the only way to get answers to their elusive pasts may be through each other, they team up. As they follow clues about who they are, both Jaime and Zoe realise there’s more at stake than their memories and their delicate friendship. Because to be a hero, they’ll have to learn how to trust not only themselves, but each other.
We Could Be Heroes is the perfect blend of light science fiction and contemporary fiction. It’s accessible and easy to read, but because of how vivid the characters are, this book is guaranteed to hook readers from the very first page.
We first meet Jaime as he’s robbing a bank. It’s difficult to introduce a character mid-bank robbery and make him endearing, but Chen does just that. Maybe it’s how a library book almost slips out of the backpack he’s using to carry the money. Or how he has to remind himself to stick to the script and maintain his over-the-top accent to cover his actual accent. Whatever it is, it’s pretty clear Jaime is probably not the villain of this story. Or not a very good villain anyway. Especially as he stumbles out of the bank just as Throwing Star, the local superhero vigilante, shows up.
It’s clear Zoe is the hero. Or she thinks she’s the hero. At least, she wants to be the hero. But just as Jaime isn’t exactly the villain, Zoe isn’t quite hero material. She has the strength and the speed to be the hero. She can hover and see heat signatures. And she doesn’t have a catchphrase like the Mind Robber, though she thought maybe she could work one in. No, Zoe’s not the hero because she isn’t really great with people for one thing, which is sort of important in the hero department. And she is technically a vigilante, which is frowned upon by the police. But really, it’s that she can’t quite make the lifestyle commitment necessary to being a full-time hero, where doing things like drinking before heroing isn’t at all allowed.
And this dynamic is the magic of this novel. Two misfits with extraordinary powers and no idea who they are. Neither one of them knows why they woke up alone in their apartments with nothing to tell them who they once were. And while Zoe desperately tries to solve the mystery of her past, Jaime would rather disappear entirely, believing that his past is better unknown. These are two flawed people who accidentally come together in an amazing enemies to friends storyline.
It isn’t often we get a story where the main relationship is a platonic friendship, but it is absolutely the perfect dynamic for Jaime and Zoe. These are two people who are lost in this world. Sure, they can do incredible things, but there are giant black holes in their history and that makes it hard for them to really know who they are. They struggle with the fundamental mystery of why the memory blackout exists at all, but Chen then gives us the deeper, more introspective struggle that grappling with memory loss creates. The question of who they were, and how they each handle that unanswered question are fundamental to who they currently are. Zoe feels incomplete without the memories where Jaime is terrified of who he could have been. Where one pushes to know, the other runs away, and yet they both feel the loss. It impacts their confidence and keeps them from believing in themselves fully and wholly.
The memory loss is a wonderful exploration about how the choices we make shape us. We often believe we have to know who we were in order to understand who we are. But how true is that? As Jaime finds out snippets of his past, it only makes him question what type of person he truly is. And yet, when it comes down to the choices he makes and the sacrifices he’s willing to make, we’re able to see that our pasts don’t have to define us. At least, not entirely. Because they don’t know where they came from or who they were, Zoe and Jaime aren’t the summation of their past choices. They are able to become exactly who they choose to be, and that turns out to be more powerful than their superpowers combined.
Often in superhero stories, the good versus evil dichotomy is very on the nose. There’s a good hero and an evil villain and the two are diametrically opposed. But life is rarely that stark and people are never that one-dimensional. Even after finding out that Jaime is the Mind Robber, the fact that he also has memory loss and superpowers immediately makes her believe they have more to gain by working together than being on opposite sides of justice. Just as their lack of memories take away a history of previous choices, it also gives them the opportunity to throw out expectations. No one knows who they are, at least, no one willing to tell them. So, there’s no reason to work against each other. In fact, being alone in their memory loss actually makes them more willing to trust each other. There are no previous betrayals holding them back, no complicated emotional histories influencing their future. This vulnerability is handled beautifully, and having both Zoe and Jaime struggle through all these various internal facets while also dealing with external antagonists is what makes this book such a stunning read.
For all of these deeper themes, We Could Be Heroes is a fast read with a ton of laugh out loud moments. Jaime and Zoe are a riot together and make gloriously bad choices so many times. Part of this misguided decision making is their obvious tendency to rely on their powers. They have the cheat codes to being human, but as they both learn, cheat codes only get you so far. As their investigation takes them further into their past, an actual villain emerges, forcing them to face their fears and insecurities. The themes of identity, choice, and believing in yourself are woven through every aspect of the story, giving the plot depth and heart. The characters are endearing, and the story is entertaining, culminating in a satisfying ending that ties up the loose ends while leaving a few tantalising threads open for potential future books.
We Could Be Heroes is a perfect crossover read. Part misfit superhero story, part contemporary, and part light science fiction, this novel will appeal to a wide audience. It’s perfect for a beach read or cosied up in front of a fire. Zoe and Jaime will make readers laugh, keep us on the edge of our seats, and inspire us to live a life that matters. It does what all superhero novels does: it makes us realise that if we choose to, we all really could be heroes. Plus, it’s a ton of fun.
We Could Be Heroes is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up We Could Be Heroes? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be.
Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.
Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.
When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.
