Title: The Extraordinaries
Author: TJ Klune
Pages: 400
Genre: Young Adult: Superheroes/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Publication Date: 14th July 2020
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
“I don’t need you to be an Extraordinary, Nicky. Not when you’re already extraordinary to me.”
In Nova City, there are extraordinary people, capable of feats that defy the imagination. Shadow Star protects the city and manipulates darkness, and Pyro Storm is determined to bring the city to its knees using his power over fire.
And then there’s Nick who . . . well, being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?
Instead of fighting crime, Nick contends with a new year at school, a father who doesn’t trust him, and a best friend named Seth, who may or may not be the love of Nick’s short, uneventful life.
It should be enough. But after a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without Seth’s reluctant help . . .
Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl meets Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart in TJ Klune’s YA debut: a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves.
My review:
I want to thank Hachette Australia for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book wasn’t on my radar at all until I got an email from Hachette to promote it. But when I read the synopsis, I knew that I needed to read it right away (or as soon as it came out). And let me tell you right now, it did not disappoint. It’s cute and fluffy and awkward and funny and ahhh The Extraordinaries was extraordinary (okay, I’ll stop).
“I realised that it’s okay to have doubts. That I’m a person, and I have a right to feel the way I do…“
THINGS I LIKED:
- SUPERHEROES? LGBTQ+ REP? POC CHARACTERS? ADHD MAIN CHARACTER? YES PLEASE. I think I may have a thing for LGBT+ rep and superheroes because I’ve read Not Your Backup and Secondhand Origin Stories and loved them, and The Extraordinaries has just been added to my new favourites list. I think this may be my first book with ADHD representation and it was informative to get an insight into on the experiences that ADHD patients have.
- Nick, the protagonist, has ADHD and is gay (which I believe are own voices experiences, but correct me if I’m wrong). He’s an awkward and oblivious bean and I just want to wrap him in a blanket and protect him from any and all harm.
- Nick is flawed and imperfect, but that makes him so much more relatable. Honestly, most of the time, I’m just like, wow I’ve said something or done something along these lines before. And the other times, I’m yelling at Nick in my head for reasons I will not disclose because I want you all to read it so no spoilers from me 🙂
- Nick has such a supportive friendship group, and it’s so cute to see their interactions. Nick’s female friends are in a f/f relationship (yay! they’re adorable and badass), and he’s best friend is the sweetest person ever and I ship Seth (Nick’s best friend) and Nick so so much.
- I feel like we don’t get enough positive parental figures in YA, so I was happy to see the relationship between Nick and his father. Their relationship isn’t perfect, especially After, but a perfect relationship means something is wrong right? You can tell that both love each other a lot, and that they’re trying their best. Honestly Andrew Bell is a good father, and he’s trying and that’s all I have to say haha.
- Actually, the ending kinda has me doubting. Like I know he’s a good father and all but WHAT SECRETS ARE YOU HIDING??
- The plot of this story was not too slow or too fast. It was at a pace where I could enjoy every moment with the characters and get to know them. Though it does slow down a bit in the middle.
- I’ve never read any of TJ Klune’s books, but The Extraordinaries is filled with so much fun and humour. I laughed a lot throughout this book, and I rarely laugh out loud whilst reading.
- Chapter 4 is one of my favourite scenes and it’s so funny. Nick is so awkward but I know that I would probably do the same in his position.
- Nick has an obsession with Shadow Star, which is amusing to read about, but also causes him to do a lot of stupid things. He’s a fanfiction writer, and write about Shadow Star which is funny
- Also, I had a theory about Nick which I think might be right. I don’t want to say anything just in case it might be a bit spoilery. But also Nick might be very good at guessing the future too due to his fanfiction
- Also there’s a scene with Shadow Star, Nick and his fanfiction and I died reading that part.
- I also was able to guess the identities of Shadow Star and Pyro Storm (the current Extraordinaries in Nova City). I initially got it wrong but then realised the actual identities after a certain moment. I was close though haha. I’m not sure if the author intended for us to know who the Extraordinaries were before Nick found out, but it was pretty obvious (one of the reasons why I kept yelling at Nick haha)
“He said when he was a kid, they actually had to go to the library to look things up. I can’y believe a time existed when things were so archaic.”
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
- I feel like the world building is lacking. I understand that Extraordinaries have powers and such and that it’s a mystery as to how, but we don’t get much of an explanation on that. I think this is going to be a trilogy so hopefully we’ll get to know more about this world and how Extraordinaries came to be
- I’m not sure if I’m satisfied with the ending. I think there’ll be more books in this series, so maybe it’s leading to that, however, if there is a sequel, the ending doesn’t really push me to read it. I probably will read it (okay the ending ending is sort of a cliffhanger but the ending before that doesn’t), but it was an anti-climatic ending.
Overall, as you can tell from my long gushing of this book, I absolutely adored The Extraordinaries. I will definitely be reading a sequel if there is one, and it has quickly become a favourite for the year. If you want a book that’s fluffy and cute and makes you laugh, this book is for you. I’m probably going to reread this book in the future and write down my predictions (I tabbed the book when I made connections, but don’t have the courage to write in them yet.)
The Extraordinaries will be released soon. Will you be picking it up and reading it?
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