The Extraordinaries has a rather unusual take on the super-hero story and I wasn’t totally sure whether we were meant to see this as genuine fantasy, fan-fiction comedy, or some weird hybrid. Elements of this were very funny, the hints of what’s to come in the bigger picture are definitely interesting but there’s a few elements that I feel will make this problematic.
Our main character is Nick Bell, son of a local cop. Nick has ADHD and is struggling since the killing of his mother. He has a close group of friends that he claims are the school outcasts, though their bond is close enough they don’t seem to take much notice of this. His ex, Owen, still hangs around and pushes his buttons - but seems very keen to see how Nick’s best friend Seth reacts. Nick keeps himself occupied by writing fan fiction about his crush on the superhero Shadow Star.
From the outset we see how important the superhero is to Nick. He ends up rescued by him, but then there’s the small matter of Power Storm, his nemesis. We don’t know quite what’s going on (although it doesn’t take long to figure some parts out) but the rapidly escalating violence between these two starts to cause problems.
The focus on Nick means we are, naturally, kept a little in the dark about some aspects of the world-building and events taking place. As Nick learns, so do we. Watching him bounce round causing chaos was funny, but not particularly helpful at times. However, once we get further details of the role certain characters play it certainly offered more interest- don’t want to give anything away, but the revelations about Nick’s mum right at the end certainly imply there’s more to this than we’ve got here.
Unfortunately, the humour and general lighthearted focus was marred by some of the details given and the characters’ reactions. As the son of a cop, Nick gets away with a lot. In light of current affairs and concern about police behaviour, to have him joking about such affairs seems in bad taste. We find out his dad was demoted after punching someone involved in a case. Few details are given, but it adds nothing to this story and seemed a poor decision to feature when so much is being talked about with regard to the behaviour of those in charge of maintaining law and order. I’ve seen a couple of reviews where this feature was picked up on and vociferously decried, so it’ll be interesting to see whether attention is paid to these advance reviews and whether any changes are made prior to publication.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for my thoughts.

This was a fun read. I always enjoy YA books with queer friend groups. The addition of Nick with ADHD is much appreciated and a demonstration that not having a typical brain does not mean that you are useless. As what I'm assuming is a first in the series, I felt like there was an appropriate amount of build up and background necessary to have these superheroes continue to help out Nova city. I really appreciated that the high schoolers did not appear to be written as older than their age or as preaching about things. It's definitely worth a reread as well.

This book does not take itself seriously at all. Which means it’s a chaotic mess of feel good laughs, second hand embarrassment, assorted danger, tons of mishaps, and endearing love.

At its core, The Extraordinaries is a study in growth. Growth in love after hardship, growth in friendship after heartbreak. And the growth of one boy into someone soon to be extraordinary.

As the story evolves around Nick, a headstrong good hearted teenager coping with ADHD (and an insatiable crush on a superhero), T.J Klune takes readers along on the dizzying thought patterns that Nick goes through without ever making it confusing or excessive. Further enhancing Nick’s charm and lovability as he just blurts out the first and most often least appropriate thing on his mind. And while those situations are funny and great for the comic relief, the author also respectably works in the duality of ADHD as Nick faces struggles in school and gathering social cues.

This chaotic energy lending well to the plot twists even if some were foreseeable. And yet, what I enjoyed most about that very aspect is that the characters themselves know it as well. Time and time again poking fun at the coming of age and superhero/ super villain origin story cliches and at themselves as the event unravel around them.

So while I didn’t quite love everything in the reading, like Gibby and Jazz coming off as one unit dependent on each other in order to be interesting, and also what felt like an unneeded amount some questionable jokes – I can honestly say that I was never once bored.

I love TJ Klune. He's the bro equivalent to VE Schwab to me, in that I've never read something from him that I don't like.

Including The Extraordinaries.

Here's the thing about this book: it's YA. No, really. This is not YA where the characters are 16 but they act like they're 25 and make really great responsible decisions about love and life. Nah. These characters are 16 and they're disaster gays and fanfic writers and make horrible choices because kids, amirite?

Nick Bell is a 16 year old obsessed with the Extraordinaries in Nova City where he lives. Well, he's obsessed with Shadow Star. We get a look at Nick's self insert fanfic and as a fanfic writer, it was the most realistic part of the entire book. So funny and honestly, better than half the fanfiction I've read. You go Nick Bell. Nick decides he wants to be extraordinary after meeting his hero, and proceeds to go on a journey to try and get what he wants to help the people he loves, including his best friend who he may or may not love for real. He's not sure. But SUPERHEROES.

I just want to say that I LOVE the ADHD rep in this book. There's a part where Nick sees a hotdog on the ceiling in the train station and a few pages later he's still randomly thinking about the WHY of that hotdog, and if that's not the fixation of ADHD, I don't know what is.

The characters are all very likeable, and I hope we see more of his friends in the books to come! Jazz and Gibby are his adorable lesbian besties, and though they were fun, I wish there was a bit more depth there. Seth was probably my favorite and the most lovable, because who doesn't love a boy in penny loafers and bow ties? The relationship between Nick and his Dad was so sweet, and I can't see where it goes with the way the book ended.

Nick is clueless and oblivious and makes really stupid, irrational decisions. But you know what? You're a gem Nick Bell. I'm here for kids having room to mess up and redeem themselves, especially when they're nuerodiverse and struggle with impulsivity.

I've always been a fan of TJ's humor, and this book did not disappoint. I laughed through the entire thing (when I wasn't crying) and it left me feeling warm. It's a sweet slow burn romantic comedy that I'll definitely visit again!

T.J. Klune’s YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is one of the most laugh-out loud funny books I’ve read in a long time. A cross between Marissa Meyers’ Renegades and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, The Extraordinaries follows Nick, a gay teen and popular fanfiction writer who writes stories for the Extraordinaries superhero fandom. Nick’s fanfiction centers around Shadow Star, the Extraordinary he has a major crush on. Nick dreams of meeting Shadow Star and winning his affections, and Nick’s dream only increases when against all odds, he has a chance meeting with Shadow Star, that leaves him utterly awestruck and formulating a hilarious yet slightly unrealistic plan as to how he too can become a superhero so he and Shadow Star can be a real team and live happily ever after.

Nick and his “adorkableness” are really what made me love this book. His nerdy crush on Shadow Star is just adorable, as is his passion for his fanfiction. I think Nick is going to be a character that a lot of readers relate to as well. Nick has an amazing queer friend group that supports his crush and yet has fun mocking him relentlessly over it. He’s also got an ex-boyfriend that just won’t go away, which makes life interesting yet awkward for everyone. On a more serious note, Nick has ADHD that he takes medication for to help him stay focused, and he’s also dealing with the loss of his mom, who was killed during a robbery. One of my favorite parts of the novel is actually Nick’s relationship with his ultra-supportive Dad as they try to navigate their new normal without Nick’s mom in their lives. As much as I was sitting there giggling right along with Nick’s friends as they gently poke fun at his crush, I also had moments where I just wanted to grab him and give him a big hug because he just needs one every now and then.

I don’t want to say much more because with superheroes, secret identities and even a bit of a mystery thrown in the mix, it’s just way too easy to run into spoilers, but I will say if you’re looking for a read that is as heartwarming as it is funny, The Extraordinaries should be on your must-read list. I highly recommend it to anyone who loved Renegades and Fangirl and to anyone who enjoys a good friends-to-lovers romance. The Extraordinaries has something for everyone!

Oh man this is just friggin' delicious with a generous helping of physically painful hilarious teenage angst and a pinch or ten of cheesy-goodness. I can't tell you how many times I literally laughed out loud while reading this lol.
I love that TJ Klune wrote this book. The world needs more LGBTQ+ content, especially YA content, and especially especially content with queer characters doing things besides coming out or dealing with bullying. Where it's just normal to be queer. Because it is .

I really, really wanted to love this book. The inclusion of so many LGBTQ characters was a huge plus and the story sounded tremendously entertaining: real life superheroes and teen awkwardness sound like a fantastic combination. The plot was wonderful, without a doubt, but the writing felt like the author was working a bit too hard to be entertaining. The characters didn't feel real enough to me. Reading the book felt too much like watching a movie. Everything seemed surface level.

This book was entertaining. It is one that I would recommend to someone who needs a laugh. But if you are looking for deep characters who feel like real people, this wouldn't be my first choice.

“But that doesn't mean that you still can't be a good person, right? Just because you did something wrong doesn't mean that's who you are.”

In Nick Bell’s world, heroes and villains alike with superpowers are called Extraordinaries—and Nova City has two of them: a hero named Shadow Star and a villain named Pyro Storm. Nick is an awkward sixteen-year-old boy with ADHD and a massive Shadow Star obsession. After Shadow Star saves Nick and his friend from imminent danger, he’s determined to transform himself into an Extraordinary, too.

The Extraordinaries is an extraordinarily fun read full of superheroes, queer romance, and coming-of-age themes. Nick is a very relatable character, even if you aren’t personally a neurodivergent teenage boy, and especially if you’ve ever been a part of any kind of fandom-space. Though not as focused on fandom as the synopsis initially had me believe, I found that this was one of the most accurate portrayals of “fan life” that I’ve ever read—down to the formatting of the excerpts of Nick’s fanfic. Beyond that, Nick’s rambling and inner-monologues offer plenty of secondhand embarrassment and adolescent relatability that will have you simultaneously laughing and cringing. For the first installment in a series, there’s just the right amount of exposition and worldbuilding. And though somewhat predictable in plot, it’s easily overlooked considering the formulaic nature of superhero stories.

Overall, The Extraordinaries is an enjoyable summer read, but I would be remiss if I ignored the portrayal of police in the novel. Given the recent attention given to America’s long-standing police brutality problem in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black Americans, it’s unsettling to read a YA novel that glosses over the racism so deeply imbedded in our criminal justice system. Consider Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and the role that the police play in that novel as opposed to the valorization of the police in The Extraordinaries, which is written by a white man. Thomas’s novel is balanced, offering different perspectives and subsequently allowing readers to see the layers and complexities of an unjust police system.

Understandably, the narration from Nick’s point of view is not going to cast the police in a negative light since his father is a cop, but I wonder what the novel could have been like had Klune ventured to explore the nature of police in our world in conversation with a coming-of-age superhero story. Given the slow nature of publishing, Klune’s book was probably written long before the events of 2020, but police brutality has always been a prevailing issue whether or not it’s in the news cycle. While it’s not every author’s job to address social issues in their work, these decisions potentially contribute to perpetuating ideology, nonetheless.

PRR Writer, Caroline Ross

I love this one so much! TJ Klune has quickly jumped to the top of my favorite author list and this one might be one of my favorites of the year, if not all time. It had fantastic ADHD rep. It is so rare to see authors work to create characters like this on a page and make it about more than just "oooo squirrel" moments. ADHD is so much more than that and it was incredible to be able to read a book and be able to see myself on the page (yes, I realize that I am an almost 30 year old female talking about the pov of a male teen, not talking about THAT) in the little things that make up the main character, the little actions or fixations or attitudes towards certain things. There was a conversation that read exactly like countless ones I have had with my husband. I don't know if I have ever seen the way my brain works be put on paper like this and it was refreshing to see. There was so much in this that was true and relatable that brought the story down to earth even though its literally chock full of superheroes (The Extraordinaries). I love this book so much. And that ending... there has to be more. Please tell me there is more coming, because I don't know if I can deal with that being the end. I strongly recommend reading this one. I think it has a little bit of something for everyone and am so very grateful that I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun ride. Nick Bell is a great protagonist. Owen Burke says what I am thinking: Nick is "adorably clueless". There are some riotously funny moments. Renegades meets Perks of Being a Wallflower with so much queer, teen angst. Loved it.

Omg is the first time that read about this author and I really love it, I can’t stop thinking about this so cute funny story, omg I want read wolfsong.
Thank you so much for this ARC.

The Extraordinaries follows Nick, an avid fanfiction writer who has the biggest crush on his city's superhero, Shadow Star. Nick not only loves Shadow Star but also loves the idea of being extraordinary like him. This love leads him down a path with many exciting, and some morally questionable, twists and turns.

The Extraordinaries was such a delight to read! TJ Klune’s writing is amazing and he truthfully writes the best characters and relationships. The main character, Nick, is great BUT it’s the side characters who make this book so great. Nick’s best friend, Seth, is the ideal best friend! He is incredibly sweet and he cares about Nick so much it is endearing. Nick’s other friends, Jazz and Gibby, are outstanding! They bring the story to a whole different level and add a bunch of humor and banter between the characters. There are many other characters who you will fall in love with once you pick up this book as well!

An issue I have with many young adult books is that they don’t capture actual teenage attitudes or personalities, but I feel that Klune was able to do this perfectly in The Extraordinaries. We get to see these great angsty teen traits through Nick as he is dealing with crushes and finding his way through the world.

I will say that I did see the twist coming, but that did not make it any less impactful. Overall this was a great young adult book with wonderful LGBTQ+ representation and I highly recommend picking it up!

Nick Bell is a 16 year old out-gay boy who has a fierce group of queer friends. There's Seth, who is likely gay but never dated anyone. He's Nick's oldest and dearest friend--Nick expects to spend a lifetime of friendship with Seth. Then, there's Gibby, a take no crap baby butch black girl in her senior year. Gibby is in a committed relationship with Jazz, head cheerleader of their high school. And, Nick is sort-of friends with Owen, his rich and popular ex who relishes needling Seth.

Nick's world is a little richer by virtue of true superheroes, dubbed "the Extraordinaries," who save people with their superpowers. Nova City, where Nick lives, is home to Shadow Star, a superhero that can pull shadows to do his bidding, as well as his arch nemesis, Pyro Storm, who uses fire to wreak havoc. Nick is unabashedly crushing on Shadow Star, and has written literally hundreds of thousands of words in fanfic celebration of a possible love between Shadow Star and everyday boy "Nate Belen". This mission and crush has helped lift Nick from the depression he suffered when his mother was tragically killed two years ago.

Nick's dad is a cop and his only remaining family. They have a good relationship, but Nick struggles to connect with people in general due to his ADHD and neurodiverse situation. This is likely why he cannot see that Seth is actively pining for Nick--and it's soon clear that Nick is missing the biggest secret in Nova City: he's actually friends with the Extraordinaries that he idolizes.

Nick's mission is to be normal at school, allaying his father's fears for his future, but also to join the ranks of Extraordinaries, so he can:
1. get Shadow Star to fall in love with him, and
2. protect his dad from harm.
Much of the story is Nick strategizing hare-brained plans to unlock his Extraordinary potential. His awkwardness and complete obliviousness to reality is shake your head funny, but Nick isn't the butt of jokes. His sincerity and desperation bring a gravitas to him, even when it's clear that most everyone can see the bigger picture while Nick's trapped in minutia.

Nick's anxiety, depression and ADHD are a huge part of his character's personality, and I really enjoyed the mental rollercoaster that Nick lived in. I felt how deeply it encompassed his worldview, and how frustrating it was to struggle with these hurdles minute-by-minute and pill by pill. Nick's impulsive nature is further rattled when his dad gets injured while protecting people from the increasingly more dangerous battles between Shadow Star and Pyro Storm.

This is the first story in a series, and I seriously could not stop turning the pages. I was charmed and intrigued throughout, only slightly discombobulated by the fanfic opening. I adored Nick, and his narration is a masterstroke of YA voice. His one-sdied love afair with Shadow Star morphs into something much greater, and more satisfactory as he gains both knowledge and perspective. Expect some boys kissing!

We get some solid leads on the direction of the next story by well-placed clues about previous Extraordinaries that have disappeared, and the startling occurrences that shield Nick when Shadow Star and Pyro Storm are involved in battle. It's a coming of age story, in many ways, but it's also a coming to terms story, with Nick being a (lovable) petulant teen, confused why his dad now insists that Nick "leave the door open" when Seth visits his room. He clearly doesn't get that they are only best pals! He's also mortified by his dad's "protection" demos involving items like bananas and vague threats of talks with his service pistol handy. There is so much awesomeness packed in this story, I can't believe my iPad didn't explode with cape-wearing kittens and chocolates filled with rainbow ganache.

I'd honestly read this story over and over, and highly recommend it to YA readers, and fans of superhero or LGBTQ stories. Like every Klune book I've ever read, I'm anxiously awaiting the sequel.

I love TJ Klune’s books, so when I saw that he was publishing his first YA novel I requested it immediately! A series about a gay fanfiction writing superhero nerd and other super-powered individuals? Sounds like a dream come true! Unfortunately, I ended up being a little bit disappointed with this book.

One thing I love about TJ Klune is how different his writing style seems to be in each of his books that I've read. The House in the Cerulean Sea is totally different from Wolfsong, which is completely different from the Tales from Verania series. With The Extraordinaries though, I felt like I was reading a PG version of The Tales of Verania.

Nick, the main character in The Extraordinaries, is incredibly similar to Sam from The Tales from Verania. Not in any plot or backstory related way, but character and personality-wise, it was like I was reading about the same person. Their mannerisms to run their mouths and say everything on their minds was the same, and they even had similar turns of phrases, which I understand is to be expected when the same author writes both characters, but the similarities were too striking for me to ignore.

Also, much like Sam, Nick is the densest, most oblivious character in existence. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be endearing or not, but it’s just so cringey how everything goes over Nick's head no matter what’s happening. It’s especially ironic that Nick isn’t able to figure out the most obvious of things being that he wants to be a detective when he graduates high school.

Now I know that it seems like I didn’t enjoy this book at all, but that’s not the case. For the first 50% of the book, I wasn’t really enjoying myself. The plotline was obvious, the characters were cringey and awkward, and I felt like there was nothing really special about the book. I also have a personal pet peeve for when books reference pop culture, and there were lots of superhero references in this, so it was really not going well.

However, towards the end, I started enjoying it a lot more mostly because the book recognized its “issues”. One criticism I had was the stark comparison that could be drawn between Nick and his friend/ex Owen, and the infamous Harry Osborne from the Spiderman comics, but this was brought up and addressed! I enjoyed the ending because it didn’t take itself too seriously, and what I thought was super obvious from the beginning ended up being less obvious.

A few other things I enjoyed about the book were Nick's relationship with his dad and with his friends. His father is super supportive, and it's clear that he really cares about Nick no matter what happens. I also loved his friends, Jazz and Gibby, mostly because they have honest conversations about issues they have with each other in order to solve conflict, which I find is pretty rare in YA books.

Overall, I don’t think this is the most creative of books, and I’m personally not a fan of oblivious characters, but I think that it was okay. The ending was nice, and the epilogue got me excited for the next book! (Even though the “twist” in the epilogue was incredibly obvious from chapter 1, but oh well).

I ended up giving this book 3.5 stars. I can tell that a lot of people will end up loving it, but it just wasn’t for me.

The Extraordinaries had me from the first sentence which sent me screaming back into feeling like a high schooler writing fanfiction for the first time. Let me sum it up for you in one word: angst. The subject of Nick Bell’s fanfiction is Extraordinaries, people with powers, in particular archenemies Shadow Star and Pyro Storm. Nick isn’t an Extraordinary, unless you count his powers of fanfiction writing and going on tangents! Luckily, he has a pretty awesome friend group that loves and supports him. But when Nick decides that he wants to become an Extraordinary, everything changes.

With strongly held beliefs about heroes and villains, Nick is convinced that he has what it takes. However, Nick’s earnest efforts to become an Extraordinary will force him to make choices about friendship and protecting his family. There are some very loveable characters here and I can’t wait to read more about them in book two! Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend, is one of my personal favorites! The excellent representation in terms of race, sexuality, and neurodiversity made this story an absolute delight to read. At the same time, this is a book about the love of superheros and is very silly and fun.

True friendship is portrayed beautifully, with friends who understand how to help Nick in moments of crisis and how to tease him mercilessly when his latest idea is ridiculous. While Nick pursues his dreams, he also provides insight into what it's like to have ADHD. I found the sarcasm and sass in Nick’s train-of-thought tangents hilarious. I really appreciated the portrayal of the imperfect, but loving relationship between Nick and his dad. The sincere bond between them was so heartwarming to see!

The Extraordinaries laughs at itself, by making fun of and then effectively utilizing hero/villain superhero tropes in the same breath. This is a story that will make you laugh incredibly hard, wince at the angst, and tear up, all in the same chapter. I can’t wait to see how Nick’s adventures continue. Special thanks to T.J. Klune for that epilogue because WHY!? If you love people with superpowers, heroes and villains, and clueless golden-hearted heroes trying their best, then you need to read The Extraordinaries. The Extraordinaries releases July 14, 2020. Thank you so much to T.J. Klune, Tor Teen, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Extraordinaries is phenomenal. Fast-paced and dramatic as a 16yo can be, this book takes the standard superhero trope and sets it alight with an M/M flair. Nick and his motley crew are so well written you will immediately feel like one of the team. Nick’s journey as he chases feeling extraordinary will leave you in a constant fit of giggles.

This book is billed as YA and is suitable for a young audience; however, I really enjoyed it as an adult as well. TJ writes teenagers beautifully and the tension between Nick and his dad is touching for anyone with kids in their lives.

I absolutely cannot wait for more Extraordinaries!!

This book was delightful!

We follow Nick, a high school student with ADHD, and a fascination with THE EXTRAORDINARIES. The Extraordinaries are superhero types, who watch over Nova City, and Nick desperately wants to be one of them.

It's been such a long time since I've actually laughed out loud while reading a book, but it happened so many times as I read The Extraordinaries. The humor is kinda silly and ridiculous, but oh, so funny. It had some sort of fanfiction feel to it, but in the best way possible! Overall, I liked Nick's voice and watching the story play out from his point of view. He's gay and neurodiverse and I loved seeing this in a YA book (I believe the author has ADHD, so the representation is authentic, yay!). Nick's friendship group is totally queer and you can just feel how much they care about each other even though they make mistakes and do stupid things.

Nick's father is a cop, and he is a big presence in the story. Their relationship felt real and complicated but also filled with so much love. And their conversations were always great! It's wonderful to see such a great parent in a genre where it's common for them to be absent. Actually, I just liked most of the adults in the book. They all seemed to care and help the teenagers, though they also held them accountable.

The one thing I didn't really like with the book was how predictable it was. From chapter three on I'd pretty much guessed the 'twist' and I'm not sure if the author intended that, but there was so much foreshadowing that that might be the case... I also hope we get to know the girls more in the sequel. At times their characters felt a little superficial. There were also a few times where I felt the story dragged a bit, but honestly, every scene was fun to read, so the humor really saved it for me. I'll definitely have to check out what else Klune has written.

This is the first book in the series and I am ready for the sequel. Because that Ending?! I'm excited to see what happens next!

This book was a happy marriage of My Hero Academia, and Percy Jackson from the PJO series.

But we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. I'd first like to thank Tor Teen and NetGalley for giving me an E-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since I've gotten back to reading after an insanely long reading slump. *Four years,* it was rare for me to find that perfect balance of a good adventure/action pack story, and comedy. I am either that reader that loves hardcore and intense stories or light-hearted comedy. The latter part is what I insanely need with the whole global pandemic keeping me on my toes and reading became my survival medicine for the quarantine period. So when I stumble upon this book, "The Extraordinaries" by TJ Klune, I was curious. Yes, I am a victim of cover buying books, but the little blurb on the cover, "Some people are extraordinary, some are just extra." And it hooked me enough to read it.

Truth be told, I am not a huge fan of the superhero trope. However, I love My Hero Academia, and I half-expected the story to be such. But I was insanely proven wrong. I'd gone into this book with minimal expectations, and I love it.

This was also the first book I've read from said author, TJ Klune, but I have heard a lot about him through my bookstagram friends. I did place his other work, The House in the Cerulean Sea on my TBR, but due to the pandemic, I couldn't order anything from BookDepository, so there's that. Anyways back to the review. I really want to keep this review spoiler-free as much as possible, even though I feel so much for this book.

For a short gist of the story. The Extraordinaries follows our unlikely main character, Nick Bell, a young teenage ADHD fan fiction writer that writes about his superhero crush, Shadow Star vs. Pyro Storm. What started out as a simple fanfic writer, Nick had a sudden turn in his life where his next dream was to be a superhero like Shadow Star. The only problem is, he has no powers and is already dealing with a lot in his life. Throughout the story, we follow Nick and his colorful assemble of friends, as they figure out a way to help Nick become an Extraordinary, while at the same time discover hidden secrets between the two super-powered beings that battled every now and then in their not-so-quiet neighborhood in Nova City.

In a single statement that summarizes my whole reading experience. "I absolutely ADORE THIS STORY!" The characters are all quirky and stand out so much for me. While the story did mostly revolved around Nick, we got to see his relationships with his friends, and family. His bond with his dad, Aaron Bell had a good balance of humor and seriousness as well. Nick's dad was overprotective, but I love how he also knew when to poke fun at Nick and their banters are simply to die for. Then we have the other characters, aka, his squad, Gibby Jazz, and Seth and their own LGBT-Q circle in school.

Gibby and Jazz have their own thing going on and are very supportive, but at times sarcastic towards Nick. While Seth, his childhood friend is just simply adorable, and even Nick treats him as this soft and very pure person that he gets very protective of him.

When you look critically into the writing and the plot itself. It is very simple, and the events/plot twists for me were somewhat predictable, however, it is truly the humor and characters which made me an instant fan of this story. Fight me now, but I love Nick, and how the author made him as someone very pure, and innocent, yet super loyal and determined to make his father proud and happy. The story also gave me a whole different perspective on people who have ADHD. This kind of mental illness was a huge part of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a book series that started my entire bookish path. With Uncle Rick's work, ADHD kids were their own heroes.

Yet here, Nick feels a lot more real and less fictional with his mental illness, and his burst of anxieties. It made me connect with him so much because most of what happens with Nick in this book really stick close to the reality of how some kids with ADHD, or depression, or suffer from panic attacks go through in their lives. TJ Klune made this book to be a light-hearted read but with a lot of moral lessons about relationships and bonds would do. Overall, I gave this book however, a 4.5-star rating out of 5. Don't get me wrong, this book made me a fan of the author, yet there were parts in the story where the events fell flat and I kinda wish became a huge shock. I sorta guessed the plot twist before it happened because of the massive clues that came to me as too obvious to lessen the surprise a lot before it was revealed.

Overall, however, I can't wait for that will happen next with Nick, Seth, and the rest of his crew. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and honestly, this story makes one of my faves reads for 2020. The Extraordinaries is set to come out on July 14, 2020, go check out when the book hits the digital stores or your local library.

I was feeling <b>majorly conflicted about The Extraordinaries</b>. I really wanted to like it, as it has queer superheroes, great disability, and grief representation as well as a focus on friendship and family. However, the more I read, the less I found myself enjoying the book as irritating things started to pile up. I really hope that other readers might enjoy this book a lot more than I did though, as there was plenty of potential!

<strong>✅ There was so much great representation!</strong> ➽ Nick has ADHD and we also see him dealing with the grief of losing his mother two years ago. I definitely liked how the author explored his hurt and fear of also losing more people he loved, as well as how his ADHD impacted his life. <strong>We get a great insight into Nick's thought process</strong> and troubles in school because his teachers don't approve of his way of thinking and always get him into trouble. It broke my heart to see Nick so defeated at times, but I loved that he had a good support system that actually understood him. His father can sometimes be harsh, but he tries his best to understand Nick and for him to be happy. I really liked the message that Nick was extraordinary in his own right, no matter what everyone thought. I also <strong>loved that his friendship group was entirely queer</strong>: Nick himself is gay, Seth is bisexual and Jazz and Gibby (who are together) are both lesbians.

<b>✅ Nick and Seth were really cute </b>➽ I was tempted to give the book 3 stars just for their cuteness, but in the end, it wasn't enough. <strong>I loved their soft moments and the mutual pining, especially made painful by Nick's obliviousness for Seth's feelings</strong>. They have been best friends for years and went through a lot of things together, so their bond is very strong to begin with. I loved that Seth really understood Nick and always tried to be there for him: he accepts Nick for who he is and is one of the few people that gets him. You can also see how much Nick cares for his friend: he's constantly thinking about how Seth is the greatest person he knows and one that he needs to protect. They both love each other so much, it was painful to see Nick be so oblivious about his own feelings for his best friend. <strong>This was truly a great friends to lovers story, as Nick and Seth are really adorable together</strong> and adore each other so much that it melted my heart. Their interactions and pining was my favorite part of the book.

<b>⛔ There was barely any worldbuilding </b> ➽ In general, superhero stories are very popular so there's a need to put an interesting spin of them or at least an interesting origin story for superpowers ... but here we got nothing. There <strong>was only one big info dump in the first quarter of the story</strong> about how Extraordinaries came to be after the second world war and that no one has any idea where the powers came from or if they are made vs. born. That was about the extent of the worldbuilding and it really bothered me, as it needs to be woven into the story, but here we didn't get anything. Tha's why the book read more like a contemporary with some vague fantastical elements. It really bothered me to not know more and <strong>I had so many questions</strong> like <em>how come no one had researched Extraorindaries</em>, their powers and how they came to be? The police mention that they are annoyed at them for causing trouble for them, so w<em>hy has no one tried to register them</em>? Sure they all have secret identities, but I find it a bit unbelievable that the government hasn't tried to contain them or set rules in any kind. Also: How did the Extraordinaries fandom come to be??

<b>⛔ The plotline was all over the place </b>➽ At first, I thought it would all be about Nick getting closer with his hero Shadow Star and therefore getting involved in superhero business. However, it quickly delved into <strong>Nick trying to become an Extraordinary</strong> himself (that gave me major <em>Vicious</em> flashbacks) and that is where it got a bit badly planned and downright messy. Because <strong>we have no foundation for how Extraordinaries work</strong> (with better worldbuilding, he could have at least a good starting point), <strong>Nick can only make absurd guesses</strong> taken from comic books and the media. It felt a bit silly at times, as he had no solid plan and his attempts to get powers were obviously not going to work, as he had no idea what he was doing. That irritated me a lot because it felt like the entire plotline wasn't well thought out and became unbelievable really quickly, as it wasn't based on any logical decisions. I<strong> also thought that it would have been a great idea to have the fanfiction snippets that Nick writes</strong> after every chapter. The book compares itself to Fangirl, yet shows us maybe 3 excerpts of Nick's writing when there was great opportunity to include some chapters from his really long story.

<b>⛔ A lot of scenes tried to be funny but came across as cringey </b> ➽ There were some genuinely funny scenes in the book, but most of the time the scenes that were intended to be witty and fun came across as a bit cringey. From<strong> overused, cliche phrases</strong> (the book trying to mock that and be self-aware failed for me as well) to <strong>weird slang</strong> that I have never heard anyone use, I sometimes felt like the scenes were a bit stilted and all over the place. Sometimes it was hard to follow the conversations as parts of the dialogue felt so unnatural that they prevented the writing from flowing organically.

<b>⛔ Owen's character was such a stereotype and so irritating </b> ➽ Now I don't think that we were meant to like him, as Nick and his friends call out his jerkish and mean behavior, yet they never did anything about it. The book leads us to believe that Jazz and Gibby take no nonsense from everyone, so why didn't they call out Owen more?<spoiler>It makes no sense that Owen was 'friends' with them as he was constantly mean and no one actually liked him. Not to mention his lack of respect for Nick's boundaries and how he was just another stereotypical bad boy with parental issues. I didn't think that he had any depth, basically, Owen only existed to stir up trouble.</spoiler>

<b>⛔ Minor things that irritated me</b> There were a lot of things that began to irritate me as the book went on and it got to a point where they all oiled up. I really wanted to give this book maybe 3 stars, but I found myself not enjoying the book at all as every few scenes I would feel a bit irritated. so here are some of the small things that bothered me:

➽ <strong>The constant hate for the reporter Rebecca Firestone</strong>. Nick hates her because she seems to be dreamy for his idol Shadow Star, but his vicious judgment of her got annoying really quickly. It was strange with what a fervor he hated her.

➽ <strong>Jazz and Gibby also felt a bit stereotypical.</strong> Their characters felt a bit exaggerated at times, as the book tried to emphasize how they can defend themselves and beat up anyone. At one point it just was a bit much.

➽ <strong>Nick's obsession with Shadow Star</strong>. At first, it was funny that he wrote basically self-insert fanfiction about his hero and him, but as the book went on I felt myself growing tired of his monologues about how he loved Shadow Star and how severely he reacted when someone criticized him.

➽ <strong>Also: Nick was so naive at times it hurt</strong>. I can accept his obliviousness, but sometimes he was so naive that it aggravated me as a reader. E.g. he was being stalled by someone and he genuinely believed them that their house was haunted and used to be an asylum 🤐

➽<strong>It was so predictable and obvious who the real identities of Pyro Storm and Shadow Star were.</strong> We figure it out as the reader pretty early on, as there are so many hints, so it was a bit frustrating to see Nick constantly dismiss them.

➽ <strong>The ending wasn't that great.</strong> It made a character who had been so supportive turn into someone who had done unforgivable things and pulls one of my least favorite 'twists'.

<strong>IN CONCLUSION.</strong> ➽ <i>The Extraordinaries </i>could have been a great story about queer superheroes but<strong> sadly it lacked a coherent, logical plot as well as good worldbuilding.</strong> In the end, I felt myself being more irritated at the book and not even the cuteness between Seth and Nick could get myself to enjoy my reading experience.

This book just exceeded every single expectation that I had. Nick is the most lovable and awkward and realistic character I have encountered in a long time. Nick has ADHD and I have to say that there were conversations where I felt like I was listening to my husband . . . it was eerily accurate! He went on so many tangents and his friends just teased him and loved him through it all. I loved how well the author portrayed his ADHD and that it wasn't just a convenient plot device. What I liked about this book is that even though there are obvious fantasy elements (what with all the superheroes and everything), this was also a contemporary novel about friendship and dealing with death and family and Nick's crazy obliviousness when it came to his feelings for his best friend, Sam.

First of all, Nick's friends are AMAZING. Gibby and Jazz are lesbians and they were so incredibly freaking sweet and adorable -- they made my tooth ache they were so sweet. I loved their relationship with each other, and with Nick. I loved how they just sat back sometimes and watched him be awkward while making their quips. They were hilarious. Sam and Nick are best friends and it is obvious to EVERYONE but Nick that they are in love with each other. It's so cute. And here's the thing: there was so much diversity with race and sexual orientation and I loved that someone being gay or bisexual wasn't a huge deal -- it was just a part of who they were. I also loved Nick's relationship with his dad. Nick and his dad have been struggling big time ever since Nick's mom died in a bank robbery. Theirs was an incredible relationship. It was obvious that Nick's dad loved him, even if they both made mistakes sometimes. Part of the reason why Nick wanted to be a superhero so much was because he wanted to save people the way he could not save his mother.

So the main issue I did have with the book was that the pacing was a little slow at times. Sometimes Nick's tangents just went on a little too much. And I would have loved a little more of the superhero part of it. We got a lot of action from the two superheroes (and the "twist" where they were concerned was kind of predictable, but still amazing), but we didn't get a whole lot of world building around it. Maybe that will come in future installments? I did love the message of the book and that epilogue was AMAZING and made me want to get my hands on the sequel RIGHT NOW!!!

This was a fantastic read and I can't wait for more from these characters!