Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The Extraordinaries

I love TJ Klune's writing and dialogue style, and this book is no exception to that love.

This book is a great palate cleanser without being meaningless fluff; there was still a solid story with character development of primary and secondary characters alike, realistic behaviors in unrealistic situations, and worthwhile conflicts.

I will say that Nick's stupidity is both endearing and absolutely obnoxious. Especially when it causes certain plot points to carry on too long for my liking. Though, it's done in a way that makes sense for the character, so it doesn't feel unnecessary.

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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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

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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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notalightbulb's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

I went into the book blind, only reading it because TJ Klune’s name was on the cover. It did not disappoint. It’s the right amount of awkward you expect from any boy simply existing and exactly the right dosage of Klune’s romance for this super hero novel. The “oh, yeah Im in love with this boy” moment had me giddy. The relationships (Nick and his dad, abs Ginny and Jazz being my favorites) in this book felt real and genuine. The way almost every character feels so much like they could be their own person has me wanting to write self insert fanfic about me just being their friend in try Nick Bell fashion. It’s a hilarious, heartwarming story with some tension about an oblivious boy obsessed with super heroes and his friends who love him to the ends of the earth, it’s very worth the read.

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nothingrhymeswithrachel's review against another edition

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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.

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