I love T J Klune’s writing and this book was just as brilliant as his others. I loved the superhero’s in this and how Nick has to manage in a world without his own superpowers. I found him very relatable.

I loved this book! It has taken me a while to get round to it (I forgot I had an EARC and bought a hardcover) and omg it was amazing. Fun and funny and full of great characters, campy superheroness, and all around a great romp!

After loving The House in the Cerulean so much I decided I needed to read everything by T.J. Klune. The Extraordinaries was on my Netgalley shelf for quite some time and I knew it was time to pick it up. This book did not disappoint at all.

The Extraordinaries was the perfect balance of humor, heartwarming moments, and amazing characters. This book was predictable in many ways, but that did not bug me at all. The author was able to surprise me a few times and that was really nice. I’m a big fan of superheroes and villains and the world created by Klune made me look at them differently. I loved that the whole concept of superhero and villain was discussed. Not something I’ve seen done like this before.

Besides an interesting plot we also get an amazing cast of characters. Nick is such an amazing character. He is flawed and knows he isn’t perfect. His friends know this as well and accept it. He’s still dealing with things that have happened in his family and this really hit me in the feels. I have to admit this book had me in tears a few times. Nick has ADHD and some anxiety after a tragic event in his life. I can’t say if these things were done completely right, but they felt genuine and are similar to things I’ve seen in my own family members. He’s still discovering a lot about himself and I love how clueless he still is about certain aspects in his life.

Nick’s best friends and his father are amazing side characters and I enjoyed reading about them all. The aspect of fan fiction was also included and while it stays more in the background it was definitely interesting. All in all, I really liked this book and I’m excited to read the sequel.

I had pretty high hopes for this one! After loving The House In The Cerulean Sea I knew T.J. Klune could write an amazing story and create an interesting world. The Extraordinaries is a YA fantasy set in a contemporary world so for me that does come with different expectations. While I heard before that T.J. Klune wrote funny books, I did not expect this to be that funny, but I laughed so much during my read!

The plot is pretty predictable and that was okay. Like I said, I have different expectations for different books and this book didn't need to have a surprising plot. Although I will say there were some nice twists! Most of them I did see coming but I liked how they were done a lot. One of the things I loved most was how funny this book. I laughed out loud multiple times. The characters said hilarious things and the situations were super funny. This was also about superhero's and villains, something I enjoy. And I especially enjoyed that there was some conversation about what makes a hero a hero and how it's not always easy. I'm looking forward to more of that in the sequel. 

Another thing I loved were the characters! We got a nice diverse group of characters. Nick is our main character, very well developed and definitely flawed. His whole friend group is queer and I loved how supportive they were. But they also told Nick how it was and didn't let him get away with all of his idiocy all the time. Nick has ADHD and I thought that was portrayed really well. I don't personally have ADHD so I can't fully speak to the representation but it fit very well with what I learned getting my degree and what I see in my students. So I really liked that. I also liked that Nick was flawed, he made some bad decisions but he also showed real growth and I think that is much more realistic and interesting to read about.

Overall I really enjoyed the story and definitely want to read the sequel, especially after that ending! I think this is the perfect book is you want to read about a queer group of friends, superhero's and villians and just want to laugh out loud a lot.

God, it's been a long time since a book made me laugh so much.

Is this story a bit predictable? Yes. Is it ridiculous? YES. But that's kind of the point - it's a comedy delighting in and poking fun at superhero tropes (as well as fan-fiction and to a lesser extent YA tropes), and it does so amazingly well. For example, some things are pretty obvious to us readers - as obvious as Clark Kent in glasses, one might say - that aren't quite so obvious to our characters, and T.J. Klune fully exploits that for comedic effect. Nick's wild attempts to become an Extrordinary were also some of the funniest parts of the book - they're just so ridiculous, they're actually brilliant. And his friends are there to provide equal amounts of support and affectionate teasing re: his cringiest moments, which I also enjoyed very much.

Speaking of his friends, this story also has one of the strongest friendship groups I've read about in a while. Every character has a unique relationship with every other character in the group, and the love and fondness they all have for each other was so wholesome to read. To be honest, I loved pretty much all the characters in this. Loveable dumbasses are my favourite, and basically everyone in the story falls into that category, including the adults, so I had a great time with all of them.

If you're looking for an unpredictable plot, this probably won't be the book for you - it's very much a story of how the things you expect to happen unravel, rather than one of unexpected twists and turns. This comedic story is also at its heart a character-driven novel with a huge focus on grief and identity and responsibility, typical superhero themes given a more realistic, contemporary edge here. As much as I love books that make me laugh, I much prefer books that make me laugh and pull at my heart-strings, which this book certainly does. There are plenty of heart-wrenching moments to balance out the humour and ridiculousness, especially with Nick and his dad.

Anyway, I loved this way more than I thought I would. I can see myself coming back to this as a comfort read in the future. Can't wait for the sequels!

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.

T J Klune has been one of those authors that everyone has been raving about over the last couple of years. Even though I wanted to read House Of The Cerulean Sea, there was something about The Extraordinaries that captured my attention. It was everything I wanted it to be, and I am sad that I read a great book at the start of the year.

I have to admit that when I first started to read it, there was a disconnect with the story, and I did not love it. I left it alone a bit and came back to the story again, and it was like something clicked. The writing style and T J Klune's voice is so distinct and funny that it draws you in. Once I was immersed in the story, I found it so hard to leave. This especially happened towards the end of the book, as I just had to know what happened.

One of the majors draws to the story has to be the audiobook. The narrator, Michael Lesley, does a great job of bringing the characters and the story to life. So scenes were so well-done that I was laughing out loud. This is also a credit to T J Klune's writing of course.

I am a major fan of superhero stories which was a big plus point for me, and I think justice is done to the genre. The story is really grounded. Even though it is set in Nova City, Nick is really relatable and is basically a massive ball of chaotic gay energy. I also think that it is at its heart a superhero story but still manages to keep the stakes quite low. No mythic alien came down in the final acts, and all the tension is built up previously.

I loved seeing the plot evolve and progress over the story, and I think it has to be one of the only superhero stories that wanted you to know the secrets before the characters. I managed to guess a couple of reveals quite early on, and I think this was there to reinforce Nick as a character.

The story also focuses on family and friendship, and all of these are so well-developed throughout. I loved the relationship with Nick and his Dad and how it evolved over the book through some events. The friendship was also great, and I especially loved Gibby and their involvement in the plotline.

It is also less common to get gay characters at the focus of the story, and The Extraordinaries does that which I loved. Nick also has ADHD, which was really great to see although I can't speak for the representation. Also, Nick goes on a journey throughout, and I loved how flawed he was. I think we can see the main protagonists perfect, but Nick develops so much over the course of the novel and makes so many mistakes that were great to read about.

Basically, I loved this book and the epilogue/ post-credits scene, left some answers open, and I can't wait to see what happens in Flash Fire!

The Verdict:

The Extraordinaries is a fun and entertaining superhero story featuring chaotic gay vibes with a lot of heart.

4.5 stars

Content warnings for death of a parent, violence, discussions of homophobia and ableism.

Thanks to Hodder for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Nick, a teen with ADHD, who loves Extraordinaries (superheroes) and if a massive fan of his city's very own hero, ShadowStar. After a chance encounter with ShadowStar in person, Nick decides that he should become an Extraordinary and set about devising a way to do so.

This was my first read of 2021 and what a great read to begin the year. I read TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea last year, so I knew I enjoyed his writing style and characters, but I found that I liked this even more than his adult novel.

The characters explode off the page and their development is streamlined and captivating. We see Nick coming out of an intense period of grief at the beginning of the novel and then trying to behave at school for his father, who is a police officer. I know some people have found Nick's POV too intense at the beginning of the book, but I'd recommend sticking with it because I think this is a story that really comes into its own at the half way point.

I loved the queer rep in this book and the way that TJ Klune gently and fondly mocks some of the main tropes in fanfiction. There are a lot of in-depth discussions of ADHD and neurodivergence that were really important to the story and brilliantly written. Klune has ADHD, so this book is own voices for that rep and the care and nuance he's put into writing Nick's story really comes across on-page.

One of my favourite aspects of his book was the humour. The dialogue was bright with funny comebacks and witty one liners and they lit up the story. I lost count of the number of times I laughed out loud, and I haven't done that since reading Boyfriend Material in June 2020.

The mystery of ShadowStar and PyroStorm's secret identities is pretty predictable, but that's kind of the whole point? Figuring out their identities isn't the main focus of the plot, it's waiting for the moment that Nick figures it out and seeing his reaction (which was worth the wait).

The ending of this book was brilliant and in-keeping with the growing climax in the final few chapters. I was still thinking about it days afterward (I'm still thinking about it now tbh) and I can't wait for the sequel.

I don't know where to begin with this book cause my thoughts go all over the place whenever I sit down to write about this book, so we will start from there:

The Extraordinaries is the story of Nick: a scatterbrained, soft, disaster queer boi who loves his dad, his friends, superheroes, writing self-insert fanfiction about superheroes and perhaps is in love with his best friend, BUT SSSHHHH, Nick doesn't know that yet - though literally everyone around him does! Phew! That was a lot to read, wasn't it? That's Nick - he's EXTRA™.

I was recommended The Extraordinaries because my friend Anjali (@bookstersisters) said Nick is very much like me - and boy was that accurate. Nick is a speaking, walking DISASTER. He's a dork. He hyperfixates on things and doesn't stop talking sometimes. He really has to stop talking sometimes. He is annoying at times too and honestly, # RELATABLE.

The thing I most enjoyed in this book was its dorky sense of humor. I just absolutely loved the writing style (and the audiobook narration was *chefs kiss*). I am in love with all the precious characters too. If you know me, I value silly banter among characters in books (number 1 reason why I love Simon VS) and this book was perfection in terms of my expectations for banter.

The Extraordinaries is a joy to read, and it's bound to bring a smile to your face when you read it. If you remember the old Disney movie, Sky High - this book is like that - but make it gay and extra cute. 5/5, would recommend. I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy!

↣ a fanboy who has a crush on the city's superhero and writes long fan-fictions about them, while facing the challenges of having ADHD and being genuinely interested in his friend—and the plot thus offers only so much, often keeping me uninterested in the story itself.

↣ the characters, on the other hand, keep me engrossed through their distinct personalities, their personal story lines, and their chaotic emotions + the impressive narration that leans on hilarious, awkward, and ridiculously cute conversations.

↣ an inclusive sexual diversity, the representation of which I can't comment on but has been appreciated by ownvoices readers so worth positively highlighting.

↣ some cliche phrases and overused instances made it all a little annoying at times, more intricacy in terms of world-building and system setting was expected, and while superhero fictions are fun to read, they sometimes become unintentionally flat—and maybe this is a very personal take on the book.

I really liked it - like a lot.
It’s one of those books where you feel the whole range of emotions. I smiled, I laughed, I cried and I was excited.
It’s well written, the characters have some depth and the storyline is really good.

I had high expectations for this book and somehow it ended up being even better than I had hoped it would be. I can definitely see how this wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, between the superhero element and the main character sometimes being a bit insufferable, but I enjoyed this very very much.

Nick Bell has a crush on an Extraordinary (aka superhero) called Shadow Star. He also writes self-insert fanfiction involving Shadow Star. Meanwhile he's completely oblivious that his best friend Seth is in love with him, his ex-boyfriend Owen keeps hanging around, and his two friends Jazz and Gibby are here, queer and disgustingly-sweet in love. On top of all that, Nick has been having trouble finding the right ADHD medication and he's adjusting to only having one parent after the death of his mother. And the fact that his father is a cop in a city that is often the battleground for two Extraordinaries isn't exactly helping Nick stay calm and focused on school.

The characters are all perfectly written for their role in the story. I suppose you could say this story relies heavily on clichés from the superhero genre, but TJ Klune manages to breathe new life into those tropes and make them feel fresh and new.

For a book that spends a lot of time on grief and anxiety, there was a surprising amount of humour in it as well. It may not work for everyone, but Nick's observations are funny and the leaps his thoughts make (because of the ADHD?) usually land him in hilarious conversations with unsuspecting side characters (poor Officer Rookie...)

This book leaves you in the perfect spot to spend months yearning for the rest of the story. So it's no surprise that I'll be on the lookout for the sequel that's hopefully coming soon!

There are few things worse than one of your most anticipated reads from a favourite author letting you down. Although the writing was fun and enjoyable, the characters easy to like and the dialogue funny, I find it deeply hard to move past the blatant glorification of the police force throughout the book. Although I know the author has released a statement and apology, I am not in a position to accept these as I am not part of the marginalised groups most often affected by police brutality. I think I’ll have to pass on the second book.

TJ Klune is an auto read for me, but with his recent publishing deal he seems to have stepped his storytelling up another notch. The characters were always funny, referential and Easy yo identify with, but his plots are really tightly worked out now too.

Funny, warm, full of heart and sass, this world is heartwarming and envelops you. A joy for a gay teen to read I wish TJ was around when I was 16.

A star off for the predictable secret identities including the telegraphed plot twist, but such a lovely book!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm really disappointed in myself for taking so long to get to this book because it was AMAZING! It has the perfect recipe for a good book: great characters with brilliant dynamics between them, an exciting storyline, mystery, plot twists, superheroes, and it's all very queer. 

I haven't read a lot of superhero books, but every single time I do I wonder why I haven't read more. I loved the twist on the trope in this book with the superheroes being known as Extraordinaries who are people with powers. I especially liked that I thought I had the plot twist figured out really obviously from the beginning (and I loved it anyway) but it still ending up surprising me. It does a great job of subverting tropes and putting new and unexpected angles on the things that we are used to throughout. I don't want to say too much about the plot and spoil it, but believe me, it was great.

I loved the protagonist, Nick, so much and I think he is a much needed character in young adult books that a lot of people will see themselves in. He writes queer self-insert fanfiction about the Extraordinaries and dreams of being like them himself. He's also still dealing with his mothers death and the anxiety it's caused, coming to terms with his ADHD and the medication he takes, as well as battling with his growing feelings for his best friend, Seth. Representation in books is constantly getting better and I think it's so important for young people to have access to books with characters who have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, etc. as these are still drastically underrepresented. 

The queer representation in this book is also astounding. The main cast of characters are all queer, as is often the case with friendship groups, and their queerness isn't made a big deal out of and is really diverse in itself. There are characters who are gay and bi and characters who don't worry about labels and it's all really refreshing. They are a great friendship group, who are always there for each other, but who also aren't afraid to tell each other when they're being ridiculous.

I'm finding it really hard to put into words just how much I loved this book and just how important I think it is, which I think is a mark for how good it was. It's beyond words. I definitely recommend it and I will definitely be reading more books by T.J. Klune in the future!

REASON TO READ

It’s just your average boy meets superhero love story.

REVIEW

If you love superheroes, if you love queer fiction, if you just love a really good book then The Extraordinaries by T J Klune needs to be on your summer reading list.

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I will say it again but we are living in a golden age of queer fiction where young men and women struggling with their sexuality have great fictional heroes to look up to.

You will fall in love with every character in this book. Nick the central protagonist you will want to both hug, as he’s adorable, but equally shake him to wake up to what’s right in front of him. The book is tender, romantic, it has action and it’s busting full of laugh out loud humour. The book has so much to say about finding yourself and your place without ever becoming preachy. It’s something pretty special.

Superhero action to melt your heart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five

What more could you need from a book than superheroes and villains and a queer mundane who writes queer fanfic about said superheroes and villains?! I'll wait...

I'm utterly obsessed with this book. On occasion, I did find Nick a little self centered, however, I really enjoyed his storyline and where it went. His friendship group and dad are everything I wanted and more! I cannot wait for the next book in the series. I haven't read from T J Klune before but I'm definitely excited to pick more up from him in the future.

Overall, I gave The Extraordinaries 4 stars and highly recommend to those of you who are superhero fans

Such a fun read! A protagonist you want to simultaneously hug and shake, loads of loving nods to fanfiction, and a collection of 'supporting' characters who deserve books of their own!
I love superheroes, and I love romance/fanfiction tropes, so I had high hopes for The Extraordinaries. It didn't disappoint!
There's a great plot, but it's the characters and their relationships that really drive this book on and make you keep reading. Nick's friendship group and the different ways they can all fit together feels very real and beautiful. Nick's dad is such a well written book-parent (characters who are often a bit overlooked in order to give the characters more agency) - I love how he's a source of both stress and strength for Nick! Even the background characters are well realised and add a lot to the overall feel of the book.
Although the story does cover some dark an emotional moments and topics, it is fundamentally a funny feel-good book - every time I picked it up to read i was like snuggling up in a warm blanket with a mug of hot chocolate!
Definitely one I'll be recommending to the fanfiction crowd in our library - it's like an MCU/Fangirl hybrid, with added humour!

An e-ARC was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.

*In which it’s so predictable it’s almost painful*

To be perfectly honest, when I can predict the whole plot of book, it means it doesn’t sound that good. I mean, I’m not the smartest out there, so when I predicted everything which was going to happen in The Extraordinaries, I knew I wouldn’t like it as much as everyone else. And it was so predictable, I started to wonder if it was done on purpose or not. The author plays with the secret identity trope, which is a trope you often see in stories which involve superheroes. In some of those stories, you can easily tell who is the super hero. I mean, have you seen Superman? We all could tell it was Clark Kent but without his glasses but we all acted like it wasn’t him for the sake of the story. And I wondered if it was the same for this story. You can easily tell which characters are the Extraordinaries. Even some of the side characters found out, everybody except the main characters because? I don’t know. Because the author needed someone who doesn’t find out for the sake of the plot. Well, at least he was self-aware enough to actually write that Nick — the main character — was clueless af.

The foreshadow was quite obvious too. The author would drop some hints but it was so huge I wouldn’t say it was actually hints at all. He would drop something in the middle of a paragraph and you’d be like « ??? wait a minute??? » and yeah I guess that’s how I guessed the last « plot twist » which, I believe, will be the main focus of the next book. Thought, the more I think about it the more I wonder if it was done on purpose or not, especially for the last part. So I came up with two hypothesis:

I’m actually smarter than I thought.
It was done on purpose — which is weird because you usually want to keep the last plot twist until the end and then finish the book with a « boom » you know?

Also, this book confirmed a big pet peeve of mine: self-centered characters. I guess I already said it in another review but I really despise those kind of characters. I don’t like how they think everything is about them, to the point they wouldn’t think about what is actually going on around them. And Nick is really that type of character. He thinks everything is about him and I just– anyway. By the way, I’m kinda glad the author actually wrote that his obsession with Shadow Star was unhealthy because it really was. Nick was so obsessed with the Extraordinaries that I was almost crept out. I just couldn’t understand why. I guess I can understand writing fanfiction about something you like — I mean, who didn’t do something like that? — but his obsession was on another level. The i’m-gonna-marry-this-guy-who-doesn’t-even-know-who-i-am-but-we-will-have-children type of obsession.

Besides that, I actually liked the discussion around what can be considered a hero and what can be considered a villain. And it’s pretty much the only thing I actually liked (yikes — and no, I’m lying I actually liked Jazz and Owen but not enough to give this book a better rating I guess).

*In this house we don’t support books which glorify the police (#ACAB)*

(Please not that all the quotes down below are from the eARC. They may have been removed and/or changed in the final copy)

So. Going into the biggest YIKES of this book. I can’t support any book which glorifies the police. I can’t. I really can’t. Some may say that this book was written at least one year ago so the publication date is really unfortunate considering the actual context but you know what? One year ago or not, the police was already shit so it doesn’t excuse how the author portray the police force as good people.

I’m gonna say it: when I saw that the mc’s dad was a policeman a « red flag » popped up in my head and I thought « if the author doesn’t use this opportunity to offer a well-done critic of the police, then it’s not going to be good at all. » And guess what? I was right. It wasn’t good at all. The author portray the police force as « good people » who can only do good. They are shown as people who helps when we know they don’t. And I don’t know, the author keeps writing those lines as if he wants you to know that and it rubbed me the wrong way I guess.

Also, the mc’s dad punched — yeah you read it right — a witness. He used unnecessary force on a person and he wasn’t even fired for that. He used his position as a cop to use force on somebody. He punched someone, okay?

I don’t have a choice here, Aaron, and you were out of line and you punched a witness, for Christ’s sake and you’re lucky you’re not getting fired. It’s a demotion. Beat cop. I went to the mat for you, Aaron. I can’t keep you in Homicide. You’re a good cop. But you went too far here.

Listen. You see how the author went out of his way to write that Aaron — mc’s dad — is a good cop? He didn’t have to write that at all because he is not a good cop. He punched someone. If you were a good person — you wouldn’t be a cop first of all but yeah — you wouldn’t punch someone. Also, it’s really bothering how he was only demoted and not fired, because other cops covered for him by saying it was only a mistake. Later in the story, you learn that several other cops went to see their superiors to say that Aaron doesn’t deserve to be fired for this « mistake » and this is just so wrong.

These were the people who had fought for Aaron Bell when Before had become After, and his dad has lashed out against someone he shouldn’t have. They were the ones that had argues with Internal Affairs and the higher-ups, telling them in no uncertain terms that Detective Bell shouldn’t be dismissed, that he was an unmatched asset to the Nova City Police.

This is why there are still so many cops who have beaten people out there: because they all cover for each other when they shouldn’t. They allow each other to stay in this position. The author literally wrote that one cop « lashed out against someone » but he wasn’t fired for it because other cops said he shouldn’t be dismissed. And I don’t know if I’m the only one who sees how wrong this is — maybe I am since this book is so highly rated on Goodreads.

There are other things which bother me a lot: the fact that the mc says that policemen should be paid more (wtf defund the police) or how he « joked » about getting filmed when he was arrested for jumping in a lake and basically making fun of what happened and what is happening in the world.

‘Record this,’ Nick bellowed at Jazz and Gibby. ‘Record this so I can use this in a lawsuit I’m going to file against my dad and the city for police brutality! I will have–

You know why I hate this single line so much? Because Nick didn’t risk anything. He’s white, he’s the son of a cop. In any circumstances he was going to die. And just throwing that kind of line is just, in my opinion, so wrong because it makes fun of Black people having to film their interactions with the police because they have a chance to die. And this leave such a bad taste in my mouth because this happens in front of Gibby, who is a Black woman.

I could honestly go on and on about how wrong all of this is but this review is already wrong. But yeah I wouldn’t recommend this book because of how the police is portrayed.

The Extraordinaries is the comedic queer superhero novel everyone needs to read! This book is amazing, it’s one of those five star reads that becomes almost impossible to describe or explain. I am honestly lost for words with The Extraordinaries, every part of it was just exceptional. I switched between the eBook and audiobook for this novel and the audiobook narrator was hilarious, he somehow managed to add another level of hilarity to the story so I would most definitely recommend checking out the audiobook. If you’re in need of cheering up, a soft fantasy novel or some humour , then The Extraordinaries will fit the bill perfectly. I haven’t read a novel as funny as T. J. Klune’s YA debut in quite a while.

The story starts with Nick, the main character’s, fanfiction upload, Nick is obsessed with Shadow Star, Nova City’s superhero and so he writes fanfiction detailing Shadow Star and a young guy’s romance. Nick is a quirky, funny and nerdy teenage boy who can be incredibly awkward but also very compassionate. Nick has ADHD and to me, as someone who isn’t all that aware of all that ADHD entails, I found this novel and the portrayal of Nick’s ADHD to be very educational and informing, the own voices representation of ADHD really shines through. Erasing the stigma around neurodiversity is so important and own voices novels like The Extraordinaries are paving the way.

Overall the plot of The Extraordinaries is very fast paced and character driven, for majority of the novel I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if my conspiracy theories regarding the superheroes and Nick were true, I definitely guessed a few plot points early on but the novel continued to make me doubt myself and there was a huge surprise I did not see coming at the end! The Extraordinaries takes your average superhero story, gives it a few twists, an almost entirely queer cast and the most adorably awkward teenage boy as a main character and delivers an amazing novel. I could not recommend this book enough, I loved it so much!

This was my first foray into the world of T. J. Klune but most certainly won’t be my last, not by a long shot! I can’t wait to get my hands on The Extraordinaries 2 (which is already with the publishers!!) but in the meantime I’ll be picking up The House in the Cerulean Sea so keep an eye out for a review of that one soon! If you haven’t purchased a copy of The Extraordinaries yet I recommend that you change that as soon as possible, you won’t regret purchasing a copy of this laugh a minute read.