Sidekicked - by John David Anderson

Finally, a superhero book that really gets it right.  This is the story of would-be sidekick Andrew Bean, who would like nothing more than to have his hero pay him some attention, for the girl he likes to stop hanging out with his mortal enemy, and for those pesky villains to stop hanging him over pools of acid.  Sadly, when it seems that things are getting better, they are actually on their way to getting much, much worse.

Through Andrew's view as narrator, we meet an unlikely crew of middle school students who are secretly training to become superhero mascots.  When they are not training in the school's basement, they are trying to live normal lives, which isn't easy.  It becomes even harder when a super-villain long thought dead returns to terrorize their city, and the superheros who are expected to defeat him are not who they seem.

This is a great story, a wonderful take on the superhero genre from an unusual point of view, and an excellent bit of writing.  You don't have to love superheros to admire this super story.