Wonderful! TJ Klune never disappoints. The characters were so rich and believable. And the feels.... no one does feels like TJ

It took me a while to read this, and write a review where I could accurately describe what I was feeling. I thought the magic system was really well developed, and I loved that you learn more about it early on so you're not that confused later in the book when different kinds of magics were discussed and how it was used. The book started off pretty slow but I think that's normal, just for kind of an introduction, the pace picked up later and it was done well throughout the book.

I love that it's plot driven, and the writing is very well done I also love that there was romance but the story didn't rely on it entirely.

4.5/5

It was such a entertaining read. I flew through it very quickly. The main character felt like a regular teen--obsessed with fanfiction and celebrities and has tunnel vision for the things that matter to him. But he has good people around him and a good cast of characters around him. The love story was cute as well, I'm very excited to read the new one!

If you like superheroes, contemporary love stories, you will enjoy this book. In my opinion the story was good but it wasn't for me.
3 stars
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review

This book was an almost utterly predictable, superhero-themed rom-com, in the best possible way. It hit all the right beats and was immensely satisfying, like your favorite comfort film you've seen 100 times. Neurodivergence is handled really thoughtfully, but it's got some weird, thoughtless ideas about the role of police and policing. There's a lot of jokes about, and <em>very</em> unpleasantly, a lot of sympathy toward, police brutality. That's very common in the superhero worlds being played with, too, but at this point that's really no excuse. If we can explore what is really "right" and "wrong" in the concepts of superheroes and supervillains, we can extend that to pretty obvious analogs like the cops, right?

I hope the author turns away from the really pretty prevalent police glorification, because this book ends (post acknowledgments) with some cool setup for the equally obvious superhero tropes to be explored in the sequel. I really hope to enjoy the next installment!

This book is somehow written just for me. It has everything I love and then some! I laughed, I cried, and then I cried again, and then I swooned and gasped and gahhh! Why didn't I read this sooner? I am a shrieking puddle of feels, that's all I am now.

The Extraordinaries is funny, romantic, exciting and emotional. Nick is an amazing character and I fully adored all of him. He has ADHD and the rep was amazing, probably partly because it's Own Voices. I also adored that his friends were always there for him no matter what and honestly, just friendship goals. I super shipped Nick and his best friend Seth because they were just two knuckleheads who loved each other but either didn't realize it or were too afraid to admit it.

Is it predictable and full of tropes? Perhaps. Did that take away my enjoyment? Abso-freaking-lutely not. I love this book with all my heart and I just want the sequel in my hands immediately please and thank you.

If you love a superhero story told from the comedic love interest with a contemporary feel, this book is just for you. If you love the friends-to-lovers trope, this book is for you too. Check it out if you haven't already while I go sob in a corner until I can read the sequel.

This book was the very first T. J. Klune book I’ve ever read and I loved it so much I went after everything I could get my hands on. In short, it made me a Klunatic.
I really enjoyed the theme of the book, from superheroes having fandoms and fanboys who write fanfictions, to the characters’ dynamics, specially between Nick and his father. I also adored the oblivious romance between him and Seth! The ending was so unexpected! It left me craving more - that’s why I have now read about 15 of TJ Klune’s books.
Living in Brazil, sometimes it’s hard to get physical copies of books, but I couldn’t not have this book on my shelf, specially with that amazing reversible jacket!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely fantastic. I loved the characters and the plotline.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

A relatively average story for me. I didn't dislike any of the characters, but I also did not connect with them. I did really love the MC's relationship with his father though and found it added a lot to the plot of the book. The story itself was pretty flat and I guessed the big twist within the first ten minutes which then didn't leave much anticipation or imagination for the rest of my reading experience. Overall, really average. I'm definitely going to pick up more of Klune's work though in the future. The storytelling did capture my attention enough to want to know what else they could do. Be sure to check out other reviews, as I know people were harmed by the portrayal of police in this novel. T.J. Klune has addressed the issue, but it's something to think about before heading into this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen for sending an ARC of this my way. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is a terrific. A wonderful and creative story, with powerful themes both big and small. The characters are compelling. Can’t wait to see what comes next. Highly recommended!

I loved this book, although it is a bit too mature for my middle school patrons. Nick is such an awkward teen, and the author has done a great job of getting his voice. I felt so bad for him when he actually meets his crush, but couldn't stop myself from laughing, while still cringing in embarrassment.

I enjoyed the writing style and the eclipse of fan fiction and life for the main character. Unfortunately I also found that although the premise was interesting there wasn’t a lot that kept my attention during the story

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Did not finish. I just could not get into the story. I listened to the audiobook as I read along and it just did not connect with me. Three starts is actually generous.

This was incredibly entertaining! I loved that this took everything the clueless protagonist said he wanted, gave it to him but twisted it in such a way that made every reveal that much more entertaining. This is for the fan fiction lovers, the ones who have ever looked at a popular media and wanted more, and to be included. From the side characters to the mental health representation, to the family bonds - this book was extraordinary.

This has a 4.18 rating.

This has a 4.18 rating.

I am so confused.

Y'all, this is not a good book.

This is, in fact, a really bad book.

Why does it have a 4.18 rating? I am really confused.

I mean, to start off, unless this book is supposed to be a middle grade and was put in the wrong age range, the writing is really bad. We start off with a work of fanfiction that, quite hysterically, is supposed to be one of the most popular in the fandom.

I was a part of fandom. I used to read a lot of fanfiction. That work of Mary Sue would never have made top 10 in any of them.

In fact, I think my very first fanfic, which was also a Mary Sue piece of trash, was better than that.

Anyway, tangent. I wasn't entirely surprised that was poorly written, because Mary Sue fics, by nature, are just bad. Self insert fanfiction is crazier than most.

But then we get to the actual book, and the writing didn't change. It was like this entire book was written by our lead character. This is not a good thing.

If this were a middle grade, it would make sense that everyone in the story is ridiculously dumb. That literally no one can figure out what's going on, when anyone with half a brain cell can figure out who is who and what is what from the very first chapter.

But this isn't a middle grade. You can tell because of the obscenity and sexy talk. It's mild, a lot more on the young YA, Percy Jackson level, but still. Past Middle Grade level.

And quite frankly, had I known this was a Middle Grade masquerading as a YA, I never would've read it.

I've read one other TJ Klune book, which was most assuredly not YA or Middle Grade, and I'm pretty sure I gave it 5 stars, because it was hysterical, raunchy, and an absolute delight.

This was none of those, and it was disappointing from start to end.

The whole thing revolves around Nick, a wannabe Extraordinary turned fanfic writer. He is absolutely obsessed with Extraordinaries, in particular Shadow Star. So much so that when they meet in a chance encounter, he losses all sense of reason. Envisage that you met your favourite band. Now make it that they saved you from being mugged and murdered. And it got caught on camera… After this chance encounter, Nick will do anything to stop his policeman father from finding out. Now throw in some ADHD as well as some gay boy fabulousness and you have yourself a ripper of a novel.

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you, this is a predictable novel for the most part. Yes, there’s a few twists but its definitely not one where you can miss what’s happening. Like our protagonist does ON MULTIPLE OCCASSIONS. Nick is so ridiculously tied up within himself, he misses some massive clues as to what’s ACTUALLY going on with the Extraordinaries.

Now Nick himself is fairly likeable if not a little ‘token bumbling idiot’. I get it, you are hyper fixated but some of the clues that his friends leave are less clues and more flashing neon signs as to the truth. But to be honest, it kind of made me like him more. Owen on the other hand is a little bit of a cockwomble by all accounts. Honestly if Lex Luthor had a baby with the Snow Queen from Narnia, then added a whole heap of narcissism and teenage angst, that would be Owen. Which then leaves Seth, Nicks daytime crush, a sweet boy who is just squishy marshmallow and feigned innocence – honestly, I loved his internal struggle and when it came to how it all panned out, I just wanted to whisper that everything would be ok while I yelled at the Bad Man
I realise I am currently rambling because, well, it’s a hard book to put into words how I feel. I loved most of the characters but found a couple to be meh. Absolutely adore the neurodivergent rep and the fact that being gay was not in any way shape or form a plot point or means to an end (seriously if you release a book and its bury your gays, I will find you, break open your door and bludgeon you to death with your own words.) The love interests were sweet and gave me warm fuzzies whilst also being age appropriate for the most part. Also, this book gives you lesbian fury! Basically, if teenage angst, cute couples, and superheroes are your thing, you will love this one.

Taken from my Instagram Review @ohyouread :

Did you say Cinnamon Roll? Because this book was cuteness overload! An adorably quirky queer boy with ADHD has an obsession with a Superhero (Extraordinary) and can’t see the love interest that is staring him in the face: his BFF! This book is a mixture of humor, shade, camp, and fun. Which is definitely becoming a trend with TJ Klune books that I’ve read (which so far is only 2)... now I must read more from him! There is an opening for a sequel, so I NEED this to happen!

I wish I could give The Extraordinaries six stars. Alas. It had me engrossed from the very first page, right up to the last sentence of the epilogue’s epilogue (read past the acknowledgements!). While I couldn’t get into TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, I thoroughly enjoyed his Green Creek series, and part of it was the extreme difference in writing styles between the two books. For The Extraordinaries, Klune opted for a third writing style and I have to commend him for that. It suits the story and the personality of the high school protagonist perfectly. It also showcases his writing abilities and his talent for voice in his writing.

Nicky is a gay teenage boy with ADHD who is obsessed with people with superpowers called Extraordinaries. Especially one in particular: the mysterious hero called Shadow Star! He’s what one could describe as a firecracker; he’s loud, chaotic, spontaneous, and you have to keep a close eye on him to avoid anyone getting hurt (especially himself). TJ Klune has done an amazing job incorporating what are so obviously his own personal experiences with having ADHD into this story and into Nicky’s personality. Having been diagnosed with ADHD from a very young age myself, I really connected with Nicky in terms of his thought process, his proclivity to hyper-fixate, and his experiences with feeling rejected due to his disability. It’s the first time I’ve connected with a character on such a deep and emotional level. It’s also the first book I’ve read where a character’s ADHD has a continuous presence throughout the story and hasn’t been portrayed as having a mostly negative impact on the character or the story.

I found the main characters all very endearing in their own way (excluding Owen). Nicky’s group of friends – Seth, Gibby, and Jazz – are all unique individuals with their own personalities, goals, and problems. Even Nicky’s awful ex-boyfriend, Owen, a minor antagonist but a constant presence in the book, had his own interesting past and goals that felt in line with his characterization. I really liked Jazz and Gibby’s relationship; head over heels in love and yet both a little low on self-esteem in terms of where they stood with their relationship. It was a startling contrast to Jazz’s high level of self-esteem and developed the characters somewhat. I think that if Gibby and Jazz had a bigger side-plot, it might’ve felt too forced or like too much and not really important in the grand scheme of things.

The tension between Seth and Owen was palpable. I constantly questioned why Nicky hung out with Owen when he was so purposely antagonistic towards Seth, Nicky’s longest and best friend. I think Owen was meant to be a character that the reader sort of felt bad for at some points, especially when learning about his relationship between him and his father, but I only ever found him extremely unlikeable.

The minor characters – Seth’s aunt and uncle, the rookie officer, the police captain, and Nicky’s father – all had their own important roles in the story, none of which were one-off moments. They gave better insight into the main cast, the Extraordinaries’ powers, and how people aside from a group of five teenagers have reacted and continue to react to the existence of Extraordinaries.

The mysteriousness of both Pyro Storm and Shadow Star really made Nicky’s hero-fanatic craze more entertaining. The build-up to finding out the truth about Shadow Star and Pyro Storm’s enemy-ship is subtle yet one can pick up on it quickly if you’re not as oblivious as Nicky is. The big unmasking of both heroes wasn’t entirely unexpected, for the reasons mentioned in the previous sentence, but the suddenness of it made up for the lack of shock factor.

I found the climax to be really charged, heavy on the drama and comedic lines. I was laughing one minute, and on the edge of my seat the next. There were a few lines and even a few moments where I felt the comedy took away from the moment too much, and one line took me right out of the book. Aside from that, I loved how dramatic Shadow Star was and how he went about staging the moment, lines and all. So many comic villains are extremely serious only to end up being overly dramatic that one might look at the moment like “really?” With the final battle in the Extraordinaries, I like that T.J. Klune decided “this villain is going to be so dramatic on purpose” and, frankly, I enjoyed every minute of it. The climax didn’t feel out of proportion in comparison to the rest of the book because Shadow Star and Pyro Storm’s fights had been escalating on-page.

The reveal of one of the main characters’ special abilities at the very end made a lot of sense: there were a lot of very subtle hints that something wasn’t quite right and some things weren’t making sense. There’s not a lot I can say about this without giving it away, but those last few paragraphs of the book made the stakes in the next book skyrocket.

This is definitely one of the few books that I enjoyed so thoroughly that I’ll go back and reread for the fun of it. I’m so psyched for the sequel.

This book will be a hit for teenagers interested in super hero narratives and lgbt+ themes. Fun and engaging. T.J. Klune has a knack for relating to teenagers. The language is appropriate and easy to read. The author never talks down to the reader. II will be putting this on my classroom shelves,