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A review by santreads
The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune
5.0
I had many expectations while getting into this book and I’m glad I was not disappointed.
The concept itself is cute and amazing. The story is set in Nova City where they have their own superheroes - Shadow Star and Pyro Storm. Shadow Star is the hero and Pyro Storm is the villain. The book is told through the perspective of Nick Bell - a 16 year boy who is extremely self involved, dramatic, lovable and a fanfiction writer. He has an amazing friend group of Gibby, Jazz, his best friend Seth Gray (who is in love with but doesn’t know it) and his ex boyfriend (of sorts), Owen Burke. One day he chances on Shadow Star and what follows is his journey to try to make himself extraordinary.
Now Nick Bell is an amazing character - he can be infuriating but you also empathize with him. Were there times I wanted to hit him on the head for being so naive and did I feel that TJ Klune was perpetuating the stereotypes of ‘superhero universes’ by making the main character/love interest a smart, lovable and clumsy person? Mmmm, maybe. But the friendships and the dynamics between the characters were so well done that I found myself letting this slide.
Was it a little longer than I thought it had to be? Yes. But am I suuuuper invested in these characters and am dying for the second book so I could consume more of it? Also yes.
Definitely give this book a solid 4.5 stars for keeping me entertained, making me cackle with laughter (literally) at many many points and keep my heart fresh and full of joy.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.
The concept itself is cute and amazing. The story is set in Nova City where they have their own superheroes - Shadow Star and Pyro Storm. Shadow Star is the hero and Pyro Storm is the villain. The book is told through the perspective of Nick Bell - a 16 year boy who is extremely self involved, dramatic, lovable and a fanfiction writer. He has an amazing friend group of Gibby, Jazz, his best friend Seth Gray (who is in love with but doesn’t know it) and his ex boyfriend (of sorts), Owen Burke. One day he chances on Shadow Star and what follows is his journey to try to make himself extraordinary.
Now Nick Bell is an amazing character - he can be infuriating but you also empathize with him. Were there times I wanted to hit him on the head for being so naive and did I feel that TJ Klune was perpetuating the stereotypes of ‘superhero universes’ by making the main character/love interest a smart, lovable and clumsy person? Mmmm, maybe. But the friendships and the dynamics between the characters were so well done that I found myself letting this slide.
Was it a little longer than I thought it had to be? Yes. But am I suuuuper invested in these characters and am dying for the second book so I could consume more of it? Also yes.
Definitely give this book a solid 4.5 stars for keeping me entertained, making me cackle with laughter (literally) at many many points and keep my heart fresh and full of joy.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.