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.

3.5 stars for the throughly entertaining time I had reading this.

I read this book all in one sitting and come away from it very entertained and with a smile on my face. In my opinion, it's not one of those books that will wow you and that offer a completely new perspective on superheroes, but it does offer a sense of security and feel good factor.

Superheros? Super powers? LGBTQ+ characters? Coming of age? ADHD representation? Fan fiction? All there and all wonderful!

Nick Bell is a popular fan fiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom and he so happens to have a crush on Nova City's Extraordinary hero Shadow Star. Shadow Star and Pyro Storm fight over the city and Nick sets out to make himself Extraordinary as well so he can help people in his beloved city.

The premise for this is interesting enough and it does live up to it, but there's quite a lot more twists and turns than you would expect. It is a fun and fast paced story, but also quite predictable.

I am sure Nick Bell is probably the most clueless character I've ever read - he misses every single hint and sign that's thrown at him and he is completely oblivious to the things happening around him. However, Klune writes this in such a way that makes it charming and amusing rather than frustrating.

Overall, this was a very entertaining story with some really funny moments, good representation and cute relationships/friendships.

The first hundred pages of this book would have been Five Stars read and it got lost into mediocre that I feel conflicted about.

his book has a trope I love in fanfiction. I read a lot of Superbat so I was very called out in the beginning of this book. It is a bit weird to be blatantly referencing Batman and Superman while establishing they known to the characters in this world. It's not the worst way I've ever seen someone do this. It's not like claiming they were two global book series that shaped a generation in the same generation. </p>

love playing with secret identities. The fanfiction trope has an NSFW name and there doesn't seem to be a name for in the non-fanfict world for. It also sort of spoilerly so I'll leave to guess what one I'm talking about. This book does feature fanfictions story updates that I would only read as a fifteen-year-old. </p>

The main character has ADHD and so does the author. I do not have ADHD, but I'm Dyslexic and Autistic. All three of these disorders have overlapping traits. Executive Dysfunction is a bitch. It doesn't really get into ADHD in detail but it is plot relevant. There's some Ableism and it is established that Nick is outsider from a young age. While I can't speak fully. I would say that this is decent neurodivergent rep for adventure book.

There is a gang of Queer characters which I love and what I look for in the Queer books I read. Gibby is my favourite character.

The one thing can't get over is the Copaganday in this book. Cops and Superheros tend to go together because Batman and his bae Commissioner Gordon, but they also go together because the corrupt police force that Gotham/America is famous for. There are jokes about police brutality in this book and this line ""and to lose him would mean losing someone who bled blue." He's a cop, not a smurf. He punched a witness. He's not even a good cop in this world. This was arc, it could have changed by the time it went to print but I needed to include this line to explain how my feelings went from a "five star fav" to "3 star I'm kinda glad I didn't buy it". I could probably got past it as ignorant white privilege if not for that line. A whole star definitely gone from that line alone. I hate the whole scene. Its add absolutely nothing to the story. Frankly, it's disgusting to big up cops while joking about them abusing their power which they have done for decades, including towards Queer and disabled people, that includes people with ADHD. If giving the benefit of the doubt, this is a series so it could setting up for him being a grey character. Spoilers say we can't get into it.

Beside the cop stuff, I also have an issue with the characters all sounding the same. This a third-person point of view book that closely follows Nick, but a lot of the dialogue starts to be really samey. Nick's dad talks to him the same way his friends do which is mostly mocking him for being so oblivious.

There were parts of this book I was literally laughing out loud for. I felt bad for laughing then. It is also hilariously relatable at the same time if that makes sense. What point does it just become making fun of Nick though. I'm not laughing with him, I'm relating to his friends who are laughing at him.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for Police Corruption. There were parts of this book I did love and really enjoyed, but there was also a lot I really didn't. I want Superhero books to be a thing so badly. I want it to be common in prose. I wanted this book to be the Queer, neurodivergent rep but there's too much to overlook. I guess there's always fanfiction.

This was my first book by T.J. Klune but it definitely won't be my last thanks to how much I loved it. In Nova City, there are superheroes called Extraordinaries and sixteen-year-old Nick is obsessed with Shadow Star. He writes thirsty, wish-fulfilment fan-fiction centred around Shadow Star falling in love with a character that's plainly him. Nick is such an endearing character despite being completely oblivious and reckless. The book basically revolves around everyone saying "Nicky, no" and Nicky deciding "Nicky, yes". He's also neurodivergent with ADHD and it was amazing how this was present on every page. I don't think I've ever properly understood ADHD until reading this book and experiencing what Nick experiences.

The plot revolves around Nick's decision to become Extraordinary in an attempt to protect his dad and capture the attention of Shadow Star. No one knows exactly how someone becomes Extraordinary so I loved Nick's origin story attempts - a radioactive cricket, a meteor, a nuclear power plant etc. They are exactly as ridiculous and hilarious as they sound. The author continues to play with superhero tropes throughout the story, questioning what makes heroes and villains. Any fans of superhero comics and films will appreciate what the author attempts with Nick's story and won't be surprised by the mid-credits scene at the end of the book.

The foundation of this book was the friendship group of Nick, Seth, Gibby and Jazz. This queer squad (Nick is gay, Seth is bi, and Gibby and Jazz are lesbians) is absolutely perfect and I loved the stories describing how they each met. Despite being obsessed with Shadow Star, Nick also has to deal with his growing feelings for best friend and cinnamon-roll Seth. I adored how their relationship developed and will protect them with my life. Nick's sweet and supportive relationship with his dad was also lovely, especially the bond that formed out of their shared grief after the death of Nick's mum. The reason I knocked half a star off my rating was because Nick's dad is a police officer and the story is very pro-police. In this current climate, it felt a bit wrong but I appreciate the publication date was unfortunate.

The humour in this book is some of the best I've ever read and had me laughing out loud so many times; it's snarky, witty, and full of love. At its core, the story is about friendship, family, and love but it's not afraid to dream big and I loved the epic showdown between two Extraordinaries near the end of the book. I can't gush about this book enough and urge you to beg, borrow, or buy a copy as soon as you can. The Extraordinaries is the super-soft, super queer, superhero tale you've never known you needed.

This is one of those book I’d rate 10/5 stars because I fell in love with the characters since the first pages and couldn’t put it down.
It’s the second book I read by T J Klune and I think he’s a master storyteller and his style of writing, which mixes emotions and humour, is great.
This book is the perfect read for anyone even if it’s marketed as Young Adult. You cannot help laughing at Nick’s antics and you cannot help being moved by his relationship with his father and his BFF Seth.
The plot is gripping and flows without any hiccup, the characters are fleshed out and complex.
It’s a book about accepting oneself and the others, friendship and family. It’s sweet and full of food for thought at the same time.
I read this should be part of a series and I hope to meet Nick, Seth and the characters soon and read about their adventure.
Can’t wait to read the next book by T J Klune, strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

That feeling when something you've been beyond excited for just.. fizzles out and turns into disappointment? Yeah. That's me right now.

So this is not.. inherently a bad book. I had some fun reading it. The concept is really, really good and the execution was decent, so all in all, if you're looking for a fun superhero-romp, this is a good bet.

But there's some, uh.. vaguely problematic pro-cop stuff (keep in mind here that I read an ARC so it might have been taken out of the final release) that just made me.. ugh. It's never challenged, quite the opposite, and it doesn't sit well with me. At all. We're not into that.
The MC's father has some slightly abusive tendencies, too, which are also not challenged, and which also made me.. very ugh. Not into that at all, either.
Speaking of the MC, Nick is.. well. He's extremely one-track minded, naive and occasionally bordering on stupid, and refused to see things that were right in front of him for basically the duration of the story. It was "cute" for the first 25% of the book, but then it was just exhausting.

Big pro, though? Jazz and Gibby. I would read entire books about them. Their everlasting patience gave me life.

Do I recommend this? .. yes? I guess? Give it a try, at least. Probably. If you're into the concept.
Will I read the next book in the series? Yes, because I am nothing if not hopeful.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the early copy in exchange for review.

This year has been the year of starting T J Klune’s books and wow how happy I am that i have started my binge of The authors books this year because they are actually the best!!!
The extraordinaries didn’t disappoint one bit, this was such a funny Quirky and filled my superhero loving heart all in one go intertwined with some serious moments.

What to say about this book is that... Read it 😂 it’s such a fun read that will have you smiling most/all the way through following Nick bell a gay teenager with ADHD (which doesn’t define him at all) a superhero fanfic lover and writer and his group of friends who are actually just the best... Jazz is my spirit animal for sure and I love how she will stick up for the whole group if anyone says anything to any of them (especially one scene in the school lunch hall 😉)

This book has some great reoresentation as with any of Klune’s novels and always love to see plus I liked seeing ADHD being Represented in this book too because I feel that isn’t written about as much.

One final bonus is that there will be a second novel and I’m so excited to get back to this band of characters 🥰🥰.

Just to be clear, I absolutely did not just sob my way through a YA queer romance novel with superheroes. Not even a little bit.

Nick Bell is starting the new school year, trying to be better. He’s taking his tablets for ADHD and staying out of trouble, as agreed with his dad. But he is writing fanfic about the superhero Extraordinaries currently active around the city. Particularly ShadowStar 😍. Also his best friend Seth has been MIA all summer - does he have a secret boyfriend/girlfriend?

I’d been wanting to read TJ Klune for ages, but hadn’t realised this was his first YA novel. I was very unsure to begin with - it’s cute and funny and painfully awkward, and his Nick’s friendship group is adorable, as is his relationship with his dad (don’t tell any of them). But it did read as very young YA, and romance and superheroes really aren’t my thing. By a third of the way through, I was absolutely can’t-put-it-down, gripped. The story was fun, funny and sweet, but above all, I fell for the characters and just how much they cared.

Fangirl meets The Incredibles.

I really enjoyed this book with its sassy, quick-witted, angst-ridden teen narrative. There were many moments at which I laughed out loud, quite unattractively! Whilst it was a cheesy and predictable story, there were frequent hilarious moments and I really liked many of the characters. It's difficult to come up with fresh ways to tell a classic superhero story but I feel this novel has done as much, weaving LGBT themes throughout very organically, just as it should be. I also think Nick's ADHD was portrayed very well; it was easy to imagine what a real-life Nick would be like. This character, above all others, truly came to life.

Towards the end, I felt as if the story was dragging a little and I was eager to get to the conclusion. It has been left wide open for a follow up, and I will definitely look forward to more from Nick's universe.

Have to admit this book took me a while to get into. I love the idea of living in a world of superheroes, I loved how it included fandom spaces with fanfic and mentions of tumblr and other social media. But for some reason it took me close to 30% in the book to finally love the characters. But by the middle of the book I was invested in all the cast and the mystery of Shadow Star and Pyro Storm’s identity. And that little snippet at the end has me just vibrating hoping for more soon.

DNF at 50%

Since the beginning of the year, this book has been hyped up and I’ve seen a lot of bloggers and reviewers rate this book quite highly. I was very excited to start reading it but ultimately the book disappointed me and I could’t finish reading it.

I think one of the biggest problems I had with this book is the fact that it’s written in the third person. We see everything happening to Nick but we don’t get an intimate look at his experience from his point of view. It made me struggle to empathise with him as a character and it made it difficult for me to always grasp the extent of his ADHD.

I am not a believer in fan culture and I think this book portrays this type of toxic and obsessive fan culture that has become worse due to social media in the last 10 years. I felt very uncomfortable with the fact that Nick had such an obsession with a real life figure. I think it would have made me less uncomfortable if the hero he was idolising and fantasising about was fictional in his world. I also do not appreciate the fact that the fan culture also seeped into Nick’s friendships to such an extent that his friends could not express their own opinions which troubled me.

On the topic of his friends, I felt like Jazz, Gibby, Owen and to an extent Seth as well, were very one dimensional characters even though the book is written in the third person. There was a lot of opportunity for the author to flesh out these characters more but he solely relied on these characters to further Nick’s plan. The only character that had any sort of depth was Seth but because Nick is very involved with his own ideas, Seth’s personality is, most of the time, not given enough space to shine through because of Nick.

The plot is very predictable and I could see the big reveal quite early on in the book. I was hoping for more of a focus on the romance but I felt like that was pushed to the side to accommodate Nick’s plan to become an Extraordinary.

What ultimately made me decide to DNF this book was the scene where Nick is arrested for swimming in the river. Comments such as the ones below did not sit right with me:

“Are you holding me responsible for my own disability?”

“Yeah…That was low, even for me. There are people out there with worse disabilities, and also people who actually can’t read. I feel bad now. You know what? I’ve learned my lesson and humbly ask that we forget all about it. How about you let me out of these cuffs and I’ll promise to never do anything like this again?”

“Record this…Record this so I can use this in a lawsuit I’m going to file against my dad and the city for police brutality!”

These comments come off as joke-y and completely callous. If the author wanted to address visual impairments, other disabilities and police brutality, he could have addressed them in a more sensitive and appropriate way. These comments come off as insensitive and could have easily been left out of the dialogue. It is offensive and unnecessary.

The one positive aspect that really stood out to me is the way that Nick’s father and Seth support Nick with his ADHD. I absolutely loved how caring and attentive the father was towards his son’s neurodiversity and it was very heartwarming. I just wish that the author had not included the trope where the main character stops drinking their medication.

Overall, I just don’t see how this book could have ever lived up to the hype and I am very sorry that I had to DNF this book. I try to finish reading all my ARCs to give the book a fair chance but there were just too many aspects that did not sit right with me.

Funny, lovable, unexpected, unique, magical .... just, INCREDIBLE. I'm left giddy after finishing as TJ brings yet another classic to life. There's nothing he can't write and his first turn at YA is a shining light.... but THAT ending! I just can't handle it, a stroke of genius and I can't stop myself from smiling from thinking about EVERYTHING in this book. I can't recommended it enough.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly July New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached).

I have started this book and only got a short way in. This book is not for me and I will not be continuing to review this book.

I have literally just finished this and it was incredible. It was everything I love. Superheroes, swoon-worthy gay superheroes. Secrets, conspiracies, and the most delicious love story mixed in with just the right amount of crude humour. Such a fabulous book. And the way it ended, made me think there would definitely be a sequel. If not, I will have to have some serious words with the author. This book was amazing.

Although I've seen many amazing reviews for this book I just couldn't get fully into it unfortunately, and DNFd it at about 25%. I did enjoy the writing well enough, and it did make me laugh a couple of times, but I just wasn't at all invested in any of the characters or the plot so have put it down for now.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and author of this book for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Where Extraordinary people fight to save Nova city from crime, Nick Bell is anything but extraordinary in the way he only dreams to be, however, he's determined to change that with the help of his friends.

'The Extraordinaries' begins by following Nick, a young boy with ADHD, oblivious to the world around him in which everyone seems to know of everything that he doesn't apart from one thing. He is madly in love with Shadow Star.

Slightly obsessed with the Extraordinary hero, Nick writes fanfiction and defends the Extraordinaries against his father's, who is a cop, complaints and belief that these 'heroes' are doing anything but good. Nick wants to help Shadow Star defend the city, and hopefully get him to fall in love with him and the only way to do so, in Nick's mind, is to become an Extraordinary himself.

But life is strange and funny as Nick battles with everything that goes on, from feeling at loss and despair with his best friend Seth disappearing when he needs him most to think he needs to change himself in the hopes of doing better to help his father.

This book made me laugh out loud and cry tears of laughter, shock and worry more times than I thought it would, I was so invested in Nick's story, and was so amused by the obvious oblivion that he faced with everything that surrounded him.

This book is fast paced and at some times a chaotic mess which I believed worked well in regard to the main character. The representation of ADHD was very well done and hearing and reading about what Nick had to go through and how it affected him made my heart clench as I read on, only wanting to hug him and tell him everything would be okay.

I absolutely loved the relationship Nick had with his friends. They were all well-rounded characters that played important roles in Nicks life and through this story, I cannot wait to see what more Klune writes with these characters and whether we get to see much more of their friendship in future books!

Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. 



Shadow Star protects the people of Nova City. Pyro Storm is determined to destroy it. Then, there's Nick.


I love Nick Bell, oblivious, gay, ADHD having, fanfiction writing Nick Bell, so much.

Determined that the only way he can get Shadow Star to like him back and protect his cop dad is to become an Extraordinary himself, Nick sets up phases of a plan.


Unfortunately for Nick, the plan looks more like this:


Phase one: Find out how to become Extraordinary

Phase two: ???

Phase three: Profit. (Kiss Shadow Star)


This book is so much fun to read, there are moments early on that made me actually laugh out loud. Nick stumbling through high school life, oblivious to the fact that he's in love with his best friend, is just what I needed to read about right now. (Who am I kidding, I always need to read this). Nick's friends through these misadventures are his best friend Seth, outspoken lesbian Gibby and her cheerleader girlfriend Jazz, because queer people really do travel in packs! You love to see it.


Nick's dad gets his own paragraph because he's great. He's a hard-working police officer whose wife recently died and he's trying to work out the best way to raise Nick by himself. He makes dad jokes, he uses branded cereal as an apology and he just wants what's best for Nick. Also, shoutout to the complete lack of homophobia from Nick's dad or anyone else! So refreshing.


The Extraordinaries is the super (ha) queer superhero book of dreams. Klune uses superhero and fic tropes in such a fond way, I love it when am author's really "in on the joke" and gets it right. It's funny! It's clever! It's really very gay! I can't recommend this book enough.

This could of easily been a 5 star rating, however it did take me a little while to get into it, when I did get into it though it was such an good read! It set me through ALL of the emotions. Would HIGHLY recommend!

trigger warnings, death of a parent, mental health, hospitals

it’s easier to stand together than it is to struggle apart

Okay so this book was so freaking good. Honestly I was lost for a while during the first fifty percent but ended up absolutely loving this book.

You do have to suspend your disbelief a bit reading but it is so much fun but honestly also so stressful. I was stressed through about 60% of this book but that’s what makes a good book because it shows you care.

I did like Nick as a main character, he did really frustrate me at times but overall, I enjoyed his character a lot. Seth on the other hand, my absolute CHILD. I adored Seth so fucking much, he was honestly so sweet and so pure and he cared so much about his friends and ugh what a sunshine. ALSO GIBBY AND JAZZ I WOULD DIE FOR THESE TWO WOMEN BY FAR MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS IN THE ENTIRE BOOK.

Overall, I loved this book. I must admit, I did predict the thing but that’s fine because I still loved the twist and this book has my heart and I can’t wait to read more of the authors work!!!