Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

10 reviews

starsnstitchin's review

adventurous funny mysterious 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Outing, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, and Vomit

keiwald's review

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

5.0

The book is written is such a delightful tone. The author did a great job of narrating in a way that makes you feel inside the main characters head and follow his scattered ADHD  fueled thoughts. 
Also the secondhand embarrassment is real. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

Minor: Death, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

annorabrady's review

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.0

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Outing, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Violence, Medical trauma, Death, Kidnapping, Vomit, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, and Stalking

carolined314's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Fun queer-centric superhero romp, protagonist has ADHD. Some violence.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Violence, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Kidnapping and Death of parent

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical content, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Police brutality, Stalking, Vomit, Car accident, Classism, and Drug use

cheye13's review against another edition

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!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Minor: Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

The main character's father is a policeman and his closest friend is the police chief; something to be aware of if sensitive to

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

An absolute blast! This book is over the top and does it so well. I don’t read a lot of humorous books or superhero works, but this one popped right onto my favorites list. Nick’s gullibility and obliviousness is so extra but Klune pulls it off extremely well. I was constantly laughing and looking forward to the next antics. This book also represents ADHD and grief very well.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

theoldestbennetsister's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Ableism

Minor: Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Addiction, and Child abuse

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

caidyn's review

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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

3.75

This book was out of my wheelhouse. I'm not into superheroes and this is a very cutesy book. Are those bad things? Nope. But it's not entirely my thing. I absolutely adored how Klune wove the story. It felt like a YA book with actual teen characters. And the fanfiction? Amazing. It read in that cringey way that fanfiction can. I can't wait to see what the next book brings!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent