The Extraordinaries

The Extraordinaries is a fun, wonderful novel.
I didn't know quite what I was getting into when I started the book. Despite reading the summary and several reviews, I was under the impression that Nick wrote fanfiction about a TV show with superheroes. So imagine my surprise when there are actual superheroes and peoples with powers in this world. It didn't detract from my enjoyment at all, but it was a different book than I was expecting!
It took a few chapters to get into the groove of the boo. The dialogue and characters seem over the top and past the point of believability (looking at you Nick). However, that quickly became what I loved about it. I was laughing out loud consistently throughout the story, partly at how oblivious Nick is and the suffering of his friends.
There is one aspect I think some readers may have issues with. Nick's dad is a police officer – a police officer that had been demoted for punching a suspect. Police are a central part of the story. The main character's dad is a police officer - he's around the house, and his job is very relevant to the story. It also seems like Nick's dad will play an active part in a sequel. I don't know - the portrayal of the police didn't sit quite right with me, but I'm also not sure what would make it better.
All in all, I loved reading The Extraordinaries, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Nick Bell and his friends.
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Adorable in the way you look at a high schooler and think “Oh, god, I'm glad I'm not there anymore”. I may still be a disaster, but in a different way than that. This was earnest and charming and extremely gay, all of which I appreciated, but you'll need to build in time for pausing to bury your head in your hands at the secondhand awkwardness.

This book is set in a world where there are these superheroes called Extraordinaries. The story follows a boy named Nick who has been obsessed with these heroes for years. He goes so far as to write fanfic about them. When his best friend starts becoming absent and Nick starts to feel like no one likes him for who he is, he starts devising plans to make himself become an extraordinary.

This book was so funny. I was laughing out loud constantly. The narrator was so perfect at bringing these characters to life. Each character has such a distinct personality, and Klune does such a good job of making you feel so deeply for all of them. I teared up a few times, I laughed out loud, and I gushed. TJ Klune has quickly become my favorite author due to his wholesome, lovely, funny stories. I will be reading every single book he ever releases from here on out. I'm so excited for “Flash Fire”, the sequel to this book, to come out. I will be listening to it as well because the narration made this book that much more incredible.

Everyone, please read this book.

TW: ableism (internalized), anxiety, fire, grief, homophobia (minor), hospitalization, injury, medication, panic attack, parental death (past), self-harm/risk, sexism, slurs, violence

O livro demora um pouco pra engatar a narrativa de fato, mas uma vez que acontece, que viagem incrível! No início pode ser frustrante o quão inocente o Nick é, não enxergando as coisas mais óbvias que estão literalmente na frente dele, felizmente me diverti acompanhando isso, embora acredito que isso pode frustar muitos leitores.

“Love is such a weapon in the face of darkness, if you only know how to wield it,”

Esse livro é tão incrível quanto o Nick diria, e ele diria que é DEMAIS!!!, não tenho dúvidas. Nick e Seth foram feitos um pro outro, e é tão incrível quanto frustrante acompanhar toda a confusão que vem com Seth tendo que chegar nele, e Nick tendo que perceber que sempre gostou do garoto que sempre esteve ao lado dele.

“Life isn't a comic book, Nick. There isn't always good and evil.”

The Extraordinaries é um livro sobre se encontrar e sobre querer proteger aqueles que amamos, mesmo que eles não entendam isso. Mesmo que custe um preço alto.

As a superhero enthusiast, I was intrigued by this “real world” superhero coming of age romance so I picked it up. I had to keep reminding myself that as an adult I am not the audience for a YA novel, because I was exceptionally frustrated by this book's protagonist Nick. He has ADHD and is very impulsive, OK. Got it. He's obsessed with superheroes and can't put together the pieces that his best friend/crush IS one of the city's superheroes??????? When it's so obvious?? Everyone else puts it together? Like I guess it would just be hard to believe that such greatness could be right under your nose? And I guess sometimes it's fun to know more than the characters know. But I was like NICK GET IT TOGETHER.

Also BTW, Nick's single dad is a hero cop who tragically got demoted for punching a suspect in the face while interrogating him?? And everyone feels bad about this and knows that he was a really great cop who was just grieving his late wife?? When I read that I was like “uhhh is this book older than I thought?” but no it came out in 2020?? Big Blue Lives Matter energy for a queer romcom from 2020!!! WHY??? Is it because you're Canadian, TJ Klune?? READ THE ROOM. Like I get that superheroes & cops have a longstanding friendly antagonism in fiction, but this ultimately kinda feels like you're taking the cops' side? And also if you wanted to have your main cop character be in trouble at the department couldn't it have been for like, forgetting to file paperwork due to wife grief? Letting a suspect get away due to wife grief? Why did he have to punch someone in the face due to wife grief?????

update: https://www.tjklunebooks.com/new-blog/2020/7/29/a-message-about-the-extraordinaries

The good news is the series isn't over. On Wednesday, July 15th, I sent my publisher an email because I wanted to open the conversation about how to make this right in my work going forward. The second book in the series is already written but hasn't been edited. My editor and I will be taking this conversation very seriously going forward. If Nick were living in our world over the past few months, he would have a lot to say about police brutality and he would be on the right side of history. OK I GUESS??

I did think the romance was cute but personally I was too busy gritting my teeth over the rest of the plot to really enjoy it. Some readers might get more out of this.

OH AND I know there's a sequel to this that I'm almost tempted to read bc this book has an epilogue from the dad's POV that reveals that the medication Nick takes for his "ADHD" is actually medication to suppress his superpowers??? not to pre-judge but uhhhhhhhhhhh certainly seems like that could go in a problematic anti-medication direction!

This book is so good. Although it made you want to smash your head on the wall about the stupidity of some of the characters, it makes you want to keep reading it time and time again! I feel like this story could go on and on forever! Thank you T.J. Klune for writing such Extraordinary books!
(sorry for the pun)

This was not, in fact, a perfect novel - in fact, even as I type this I can think of plot issues and character inconsistencies. What it was, however, was competely delightful through and through, and a wonderful way to round out 2020. I truly enjoyed myself the entire time I was reading The Extraordinaries, and honestly what more could I ask for from a book this year? Pick it up. It's just so dang much fun.

This book is so good. It's exactly what it's billed as and just awesome. The characters are all great - but I especially love some of the choices that the author made as to ‘twists' in the story. They were good, foreshadowed well and I would have loved to have been taken a little more by surprise of them than I was. But I give him two thumbs way up for the choices that were made.

Also, as a fan of superhero movies, I love the little ‘stinger' at the end of the book, after the credits, if you will. Things have also been set up quite nicely for sequels. (Sequels that I will almost certainly be excited for.)

Listened through the Libby app -
This was definitely a different kind of superhero story. The interweaving of high school crushes and superheroes was an interesting take. Especially since Nick wrote fanfiction about the superheroes. I was enthralled by the story enough that I am picking up the next book immediately.