The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up**
The Extraordinaries brought an explosion of quick wit and good humor. Oh, and also Queer Superheroes and relatable fandom vibes.
Need I say more?
Set in the fictional landscape of Nova City, superheroes are very real. They’re called Extraordinaries and swoop in to save the city just as you would expect them to do.
Also, as you would expect, there are people who are obsessed with them and their own unique celebrity. Fangirls and fanboys alike swoon over their power and abilities.
Nick Bell is a regular teen in Nova City, who also happens to be the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom.
His biggest crush, Shadow Star, is currently one of the active Extraordinaries in the city. Frequently battling his archnemesis, Pyro Storm, the two sometimes leave destruction in their wakes.
Nick is invested in every minute of it.
The story follows Nick and his absolutely phenomenal friend group, as he sets his sights on a relationship with Shadow Star, even if that means he’ll need to become Extraordinary.
Y’all, the writing of this story is incredibly strong.
It’s so rapid fire and intelligent.
The dialogue amongst characters will definitely keep you on your toes. The main character, Nick, suffers from fairly severe ADHD, and in a way, the narrative seemed to reflect that.
I’m not sure if I am explaining that correctly, but it seemed as if the narrative accurately portrayed how Nick would have been experiencing, or reacting, to what was going on around him.
It felt extremely real, even though a lot of the storyline was actually rooted in unreality.
Overall, I was really, really in awe of how this story unfolded.
I loved all of the characters, the nod to classic superhero story arcs, the serious real world issues that were addressed; it was all quite impressive.
I definitely intend to carry on with this series, if there are more books planned. The characters were very easy relate to; so much so, you’ll want to be part of their friend group.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me a copy of this to read and review. I was so impressed with T.J. Klune. I cannot wait to pick up more of their work!
