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lilly_anne's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Kidnapping
sn0wman's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The first half was a bit of a struggle at times, but after pushing through that, it became a lot better. A lot of the fanfiction included as part of the story is weirdly accurate for how a 16 year old would write self insert fanfiction The side characters were often scene stealers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Gaslighting
b3ck's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual content
Minor: Police brutality
nothingrhymeswithrachel's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Oh my god this book was so frustrating. First, the pro-police stance is gross. Nick’s dad should have been fired, not just demoted and then PROMOTED AT THE END OF THE BOOK. Beyond the constant police dick-sucking going on, the relationships sucked. Every. single. one. Between Nick and his dad? Toxic. Nick and Seth? Seth deserved better. Owen and Nick? What the fuck even was that? Gibby and Jazz? They’re fine I guess but we didn’t see them much. Jazz was my favorite character in this whole book because she minded her own freaking business. Also, can we talk about how actually STUPID Nick is? Dumb. A dumb man. Just because you’re aware that you’re a dumb teenage boy doesn’t make it okay. It is so infuriating to read. Oh my god. Jazz is the only reason this got any stars from me. I am mainly mad at myself because I know I’m going to read the whole trilogy even though they are probably all going to suck like this. Oh well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
tiredcath's review against another edition
If “2012 I’m SO random” humor was a book.
DNF’ed at 33%, the catalyst being:
DNF’ed at 33%, the catalyst being:
“That seemed to be the only explanation as to why Nick would have let Owen touch his nipple that one time.”
As much as I tried to force myself to enjoy this book, by chapter two I too painful aware this was NOT for me.
It’s so very obvious T.J. Klune does not know how to write teenagers. At least from this piece of work. The writing and humor reads so juvenile.
“Let’s blow this Popsicle stand, daddio.”
And like a couple of cool cats, they did exactly that.
This was written 2020? WHAT
So, okay the writing isn’t for me. But what about the characters? Nope. I didn’t like any of them. Especially Nick. And I’m really disliking this trend of (particularly male) authors writing an obnoxious “bad ass” female friend who punches out of love. (Give me a break). This trope really infuriated me. The character could work, you can write an obnoxious bad ass female friend who tells it like it is, but the authors make that their entire personality. If you don’t know how to write women— just say that.
It’s predictable, so GLARINGLY predictable. I’m surprised if anyone didn’t get the “twist” two minutes into this book. The writing so in your face you need sunglasses to enjoy it. Please, I was cringing every time things were “hinted” at. It was as if Klune was behind the characters with a giant white board with “get it?” written in huge letters. Yes. I got it. Unfortunately.
I won’t even touch the pro cop agenda on top of everything. A lot of reviewers can word what I feel much better.
As to not be too harsh: if I was fourteen and just came off wattpad I probably would’ve enjoyed this. But I’m not fourteen and I did not enjoy this. Which sucks, because I really liked the idea and the cover it’s stunning. So maybe for someone who is young and this is their first time venturing into reading YA, this could be good for them.
Now, would I recommend this book to my fourteen year old niece? No.
Is this book the worst book I’ve ever read? No. Not by a long shot. But I’ll probably second guess myself if I want to touch a Klune book again
Content Warnings
Minor: Police brutality
library_dreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is not for everyone, but it was for me. It's funny. The main character, Nick, is a clueless but loveable ball of energy. He would be the main thing that makes this not for everyone, though. He has ADHD, which can make him insufferable at times. But there is a lot of overlap with my own brand of ADHD, so I really appreciated the rep and laugh out loud moments. How he is giving his friend some profound advice at one point and then jumping in a polluted river to try and get superpowers at another point.
I loved all of his friends and the relationship he had with his dad. There are some problematic elements concerning his dad and the police department he works for, made worse by the fact that the book was released the day after a very high profile case of police brutality in the U.S., but based on an interview with the author, I am going to withhold judgment on this until I read the sequel this summer.
I would like to know why Klune loves the color cerulean so much, though.
I loved all of his friends and the relationship he had with his dad. There are some problematic elements concerning his dad and the police department he works for, made worse by the fact that the book was released the day after a very high profile case of police brutality in the U.S., but based on an interview with the author, I am going to withhold judgment on this until I read the sequel this summer.
I would like to know why Klune loves the color cerulean so much, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Addiction
alibader's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really, really wanted to enjoy this especially after reading The House in the Cerulean Sea. This book infuriated me almost all the way through.
What I enjoyed: (a short list)
1. Nick's cluelessness (until about the halfway point)
2. The romance (so cute!)
3. The overall premise (I wish I could say the same for the execution)
4. The ending.
What I did not enjoy:
1. The insensitivity towards police brutality and the character of Aaron Bell.
2. The camp - it took away from the story that could've been told and made it look like a bad parody.
3. The dialogue (teenagers do not talk like that)
4. The constant lying. It didn't make much sense when it was finally revealed and it took too long for Nick to find out the obvious that it really hindered my enjoyment. Also when he found out that Seth, Gibby and practically everyone he knows lied to him it's just.... his fault? And it's all okay?
5. The reveals (I'd like to think that these were intentionally obvious but that didn't make it any more fun - also it was super anti-climatic). The ending wrapped up way too quickly too.
6. The "comedy". One of my biggest gripes with this book was that serious moments didn't make that much of an effect and instead served as "comedic relief" - it wasn't funny.
This is my longest review yet but I truly did want to enjoy this queer superhero series but I was so disappointed. I may give the sequel a try in the future.
What I enjoyed: (a short list)
1. Nick's cluelessness (until about the halfway point)
2. The romance (so cute!)
3. The overall premise (I wish I could say the same for the execution)
4. The ending.
What I did not enjoy:
1. The insensitivity towards police brutality and the character of Aaron Bell.
2. The camp - it took away from the story that could've been told and made it look like a bad parody.
3. The dialogue (teenagers do not talk like that)
4.
5. The reveals (I'd like to think that these were intentionally obvious but that didn't make it any more fun - also it was super anti-climatic). The ending wrapped up way too quickly too.
6. The "comedy". One of my biggest gripes with this book was that serious moments didn't make that much of an effect and instead served as "comedic relief" - it wasn't funny.
This is my longest review yet but I truly did want to enjoy this queer superhero series but I was so disappointed. I may give the sequel a try in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence and Medical content
Minor: Homophobia
celinbean's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
i feel like you either love or hate tj klune‘s books. This book was absolutely ridiculous in terms of plot but it worked for me. Mostly bc i feel like superhero books who take themselves too seriously are just not going to work. That’s why Renegades didn’t work for me.
I will say that the romanticization of the police was a bit much for me. Nick‘s father is a police officer and after he lost his wife he punched a witness and got demoted for it. This is obviously unjust police force used against a civilian and it was... not properly addressed in the book. Police in general were very romanticized since this book was from nick‘s perspective. And i get why it would work in this universe. But seeing it from our perspective, especially considering the focus that was put on BLM again in 2020, this came off as a little... insensitive.
However, i have read the authors statement about this issue. He has apologized and stated that the issue of police brutality will be taken into account in book 2. I‘m willing to give this series a second chance to fix that part of the story.
Here‘s the blog post about the issue if you’re interested in reading it as well:
http://www.tjklunebooks.com/new-blog/2020/7/29/a-message-about-the-extraordinaries
I will say that the romanticization of the police was a bit much for me. Nick‘s father is a police officer and after he lost his wife he punched a witness and got demoted for it. This is obviously unjust police force used against a civilian and it was... not properly addressed in the book. Police in general were very romanticized since this book was from nick‘s perspective. And i get why it would work in this universe. But seeing it from our perspective, especially considering the focus that was put on BLM again in 2020, this came off as a little... insensitive.
However, i have read the authors statement about this issue. He has apologized and stated that the issue of police brutality will be taken into account in book 2. I‘m willing to give this series a second chance to fix that part of the story.
Here‘s the blog post about the issue if you’re interested in reading it as well:
http://www.tjklunebooks.com/new-blog/2020/7/29/a-message-about-the-extraordinaries
Content Warnings
Minor: Police brutality
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh I loved this! Just when you think you have everything figured out, it all twists around. Nick is fantastic and I want to protect him and Seth forever. A great cast of characters, filled with extraordinary powers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Police brutality, and Violence
paperbookmarks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I feel a little on the fence on how to rate this - on the one hand, it made me chuckle, I really enjoyed the last 200 pages, and on the other, it took me a long while to get into it and I felt a little on the fence about some of the cop stuff. Overall though, I think this was a funny, wonderfully queer, superhero story and I'd be interested to see where things go!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality
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