It may come as no surprise that T.J. Klune is one of my favorite authors. After discovering his How to Be series, I dived into many of his other worlds, and wrote a review of his newest release from Tor, The House in the Cerulean Sea, for my favorite book of January post after winning it in a Goodreads giveaway. When I heard he was coming out with a new YA release from Tor Teen titled The Extraordinaries, and it was about superheroes (or “superqueeros, as T.J. has phrased it) I was intrigued. I decided to press my luck and request to read an early copy of it on NetGalley, and wasn’t really holding out much hope, because I was pretty new to the platform and am still coming into my own book review style. Imagine my surprise when on March 17th, I get an email saying I’ve been approved. So I’d just like to first extend my thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. The original release date for The Extraordinaries was set to be May 5th (the day this review should be posted, if all goes well), but due to the current state of things in the publishing world (and, well, the rest of the world in general), it is now set to be released on July 14th, 2020.
Nick Bell is the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom. As a high school teen living in Nova City, his daily routine includes taking his pill to help manage his ADHD in the morning, swoon at the television as newsanchor Rebecca Firestone recounts the latest heroic deed of local Extraordinary, Shadow Star, try to survive his junior year alongside his eclectic group of friends, and steadily come to terms with life After, as opposed to life Before, alongside his dad. When Nick has a real-life encounter with Shadow Star, he launches a three-phase plan to become an Extraordinary himself, to one day work alongside his greatest hero, and protect the city from his arch nemesis, Pyro Storm. The only problem is, his best friend, Seth, has been elusive all summer, and isn’t too keen on Nick joining the life of fighting crime. Will Nick be able to convince him to help?
I thought this was incredibly well done – I can’t wait for the remaining two books in this series to be released, and I’m upset that T.J. is making us wait all the way until 2022 for the conclusion. Nick is such a fascinating character. He may or may not be extraordinary, but he’s been able to overcome so much in his life, and he deals with an attention deficit disorder that oftentimes makes sitting down to think straight absolutely impossible. He’s also absolutely oblivious to anything and everything around him, and I can’t help but love him more for it – starting with his best friend’s obvious feelings for him and ending with, well, things I can’t say because of spoilers, but you as the reader will definitely be able to figure them all out before Nick does. Classic T.J. wit and charm is riddled throughout this book, and no doubt you’ll fall in love with at least one of the side characters. From Gibby and Jazz (a baby butch and her cheerleader girlfriend), to Officer Rookie (whose real name is Chris, but Nick can’t shake the nickname), and even Bob and Martha Gray (Seth’s aunt and uncle who have cared for him since he was little), the banter and personalization of each character will have you begging for more of their presence. I’m not the biggest fan of superhero stories, but falling in love with the characters made me interested in piecing together how they all fit alongside each other in this story of heroes, villains, things not being quite as they seem, and wanting to protect the ones you love at any and all cost. I am very intrigued as to how this story will progress.
I do want to highlight a specific relationship in this book: Nick’s relationship with his father, Aaron Bell. Aaron Bell is extremely protective of his son, for two main reasons. First, he is a police officer. As a former detective, Aaron has seen the worst the town of Nova City has to offer. On top of typical crime, there’s also the addition of Extraordinaries, of superheroes that, in his mind, pose as much of a threat as they do relieve it. Second, they have both experienced tragedy when Jen Bell, his wife and Nick’s mother, was killed in a bank robbery gone wrong prior to the start of the book. He’s already lost so much of his family, he’s trying to hold onto Nick tight and protect him as much as he is capable of. Sometimes he makes mistakes. He’s not perfect. Neither of them are. They both say things they don’t mean and accidentally hurt each other in the process. But they’re trying. Each and every day they’re trying to adjust to this new After. I believe it’s also the reason Aaron chooses to make certain decisions towards the end of the book. And Nick shares the same protective instinct as his father – one of the main reasons he even wants to become an Extraordinary in the first place (besides working along side his major crush, Shadow Star) is to make his dad’s job easier, to make sure he never falls within the line of fire. It was really fascinating to see their relationship develop throughout the book, and I’m excited to learn more in upcoming novels.
**edit July 2020 – With the book releasing soon, there has been much discussion among readers about the glorification of law enforcement officers in the novel. With everything going on in the world, specifically regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, the focus on police in the book might not sit well with many. I completely understand and respect that, as well as take into account my privelege as a white reader. While reading the novel, I was looking through Nick’s lens – his dad is a cop, he’s been one his entire life, the force has become such a family to him over the years, especially after his mom died, and he looks up to his dad, so it makes sense for him to want to follow in his footsteps. The problem arises when I use that lens to excuse what might be problematic representation in the book, and not take into account how that might make other readers feel, especially when it was mentioned how Aaron Bell assaulted a detainee when provoked after his wife’s death. I still stand by this review, I still like this book and what it offers and can recommend it, but it’s important to be critical, so we are not simply blinded by the things we love and become unable to see their flaws. I hope this can be handled better in further installments of the series**
According to a recent tweet, TJ said that he wanted to give a voice to people like him [people with ADHD] so they can point to a character and say “Hey, finally someone like me.” As someone who has felt incredibly seen by another one of his books, I hope that neurodivergent queer kids and teens (and adults who may stumble upon this book) are able to see a little bit of themselves in Nick. As Aaron Bell tells his son, you don’t have to be an Extraordinary to be extraordinary. And, as the tagline says, some people are extraordinary, some are just extra. I can’t wait for The Extraordinaries to be out into the world on July 14, 2020, so everyone can pick up and enjoy T.J. Klune’s YA debut.
Places you can find The Extraordinaries
Extended preview
Amazon
Goodreads
Macmillan
T.J. Klune’s website
Thoughts About Things 