Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Extraordinaries

there's something about men in the TJ Kluniverse (yes, i am proud of myself for that, thank you) that's a lot better than irl (in my experience of course), especially dads… consider it part of the apologetic parents canon: https://www.vox.com/culture/23025832/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-parental-apology-fantasy-turning-red. however, this romanticizing of characters also extends to cops, making for some strong copaganda—especially awkward given the book's release in summer 2020. one of its major themes is the myth of good vs. evil and of black & white thinking, yet this only applies to our fictional superheroes and not the institution of policing we actually live with—no no, the police are always unquestionably "the good guys" 🙃. there's even a moment where we're made to sympathize with a cop in a literal act of police brutality, punching a witness (a witness, not even a suspected perpetrator) for not cooperating. we see how much he was going through at the time; maybe we should extend that understanding to other cops who abuse their power? or, maybe a different superhero story got it right: "with great power comes great responsibility," and as such it's reasonable to expect protection from those whose job it is (supposedly) to "protect and serve". another of Klune's books, The House in the Cerulean Sea, used fantastical metaphor to make a political statement; i can't help but see as a glaring omission how The Extraordinaries falls short in that regard.
big thought out of the way, here are some scattered ones:

there was a lot of build up and the climax seemed to drag on, but insufficient payoff. (though, at least there was any payoff at all, unlike Fence: Striking Distance. that's not relevant here, i just hold a grudge.)
for the amount of times the narration described what teenage boys are like, i started to think maybe it was the author trying to convince us that he knew, like "how do you do fellow kids"
it was genuinely funny
audiobook reader was top tier 👌
"I'm young and queer and in a fragile place right now." me

Content Warnings

cluckieduck's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Look. I love me some TJ. The Green Creek series is perhaps one of the most beautiful series I’ve ever read so I was really looking forward to starting this newest series. I’m afraid to say, however, that this foray into YA was a bit of a miss.

TJ’s typical humorous, effervescent narration comes to us through the eyes of our lead, Nick, a teen with ADHD who’s life has been divided into the Before & After of his mother’s death. Nick’s had a tough go of things and wishes to be an Extraordinary, this universe’s version of a superhero. There was a lot of borrowing from other universes - a little bit Marvel, a little bit Kick-Ass, and some others sprinkled here & there, but in the end it was a very predictable story. That is unless you’re Nick, who has got to be one of the most clueless leads in existence, to his detriment, because he got rather annoying by the end.

I appreciate the voice that TJ gives to queer and neurodivergent characters, but there is a fine line between representation and stereotyping. Here they’re borderline played for jokes (ex. the angry, Black baby-dyke who’ll kick everyone’s ass if they look at her wrongly & our lead’s ADHD is maxed-out to the point of him being dumb) and it’s a bit cringy. I’m apprehensive about how Nick’s ADHD will be handled

alongside his telekinesis. I hope his symptoms don’t get brushed aside as his latent powers because that would be a major disservice to including his diagnosis in the first place

.

All in all, it was an ok read and I’ll continue the series, but probably my least favourite of TJ’s.

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cheye13's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was light and fun with some interesting plot twists. A cool premise, reminiscent of The Incredibles. It did get a little repetitive at a point, and I think it could've been very condensed - the dramatic irony stretched out a little too long for my taste, and the scenes with Nick's father felt a bit melodramatic. I'd've preferred a tighter narrative, but it was a fun time!

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sssssoup's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-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

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trulydevious's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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alibader's review

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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.

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