Hello! I’m here to talk about one of my most anticipated sequels coming out in 2021. **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
It seems like June has gotten away from me once again. Some personal things have come up preventing me from posting as much as usual, but it has given me some time to reflect on how I want to handle reviewing going forward to ensure that I don’t overwhelm myself or fall out of love with reading. That being said, I’m really excited to talk about Flash Fire. In 2020, author T.J. Klune released his first young adult novel The Extraordinaries with Tor Teen, which is a humorous action-packed superhero novel with a solidly queer cast of characters. The book certainly captivated readers and ended with a reveal that had most people questioning what would be next. I was extremely grateful when my request to read its sequel, Flash Fire, early on NetGalley was granted, and now I get to talk about it here! I do believe this is my first review of a strict sequel (though I have reviewed subsequent companion novels before), so I’ll try to be careful not to give too much away.
The Extraordinaries follows Nicky Bell, a teen with ADHD and just a little crush on the city’s superhero Shadow Star. After an attempted robbery leads Nicky to a chance encounter with his hero, he decides that he’s through with being “normal” (as normal as Nicky can be) and launches several attempts to gain extraordinary powers. After the Battle at McManus Bridge, the city was saved, identities were revealed, and secrets may have begun to come to the surface. Flash Fire picks up in February a few months later, where Nicky, his boyfriend Seth, and their friends, Jazz and Gibby, try to finish off junior year (senior year for Gibby) of high school. But things are building in Nova City. And when new Extraordinaries show themselves, the group must face a dangerous threat on a day that is supposed to be nothing but magical.
When Klune threw in a coda after the acknowledgements of The Extraordinaries readers were hoping there would be answers to the questions running through our heads. There was certainly more to the Bell family than Aaron (Nicky’s father) had been leading on. I love the dynamics between Nicky and his friends, and we even get to see Gibby and Jazz’s parents introduced in this book, which bring about some interesting perspectives and conversations to the mix. Klune really makes you feel things for his characters, whether that is love, admiration, or pure hatred (I feel all three for different characters in this series, and I can’t wait to see what they’re going to go through in the finale). What I really appreciated about this installment is the discussion around how to gain back someone’s trust, especially someone you care for deeply, after they feel you have betrayed them, and if that is even possible. It can be a sore subject, and even if you give an honest apology and vow to due better it is ultimately up to them whether or not to accept it. There’s also discussion about the lengths a parent will go to protect their child and keep them safe, even if that means keeping something from their or working with the enemy. And, when they find out, dealing with the consequences. I’m always amazed at how fast Klune can cause me to go from laughing out loud to bawling my eyes out – I guess that’s his signature along with his humor present throughout. There are moments when the narration hints at something big, and event you know will be coming and will be significant, and the entire time you’re wondering if your favorite characters will be able to make it out alive or unharmed. Well, I guess you’ll just have to pick up the book to find out (and don’t forget to read after the acknowledgements, there’s something you won’t want to miss).
Before I end, I do want to bring up some discussions that arose after the publication of The Extraordinaries in 2020. Many readers found the portrayal of the police force in the novel as less than satisfactory, especially since the release came around the heightened Black Lives Matter movement last June. Klune did acknowledge this in a blog post (which you can read here) and vowed to make his stance, and his characters’, abundantly clear in the sequel. I am not a person who this apology is directed towards, and some people may not pick up the sequel due to their strong negative feelings from the first book. Those people would be entirely within their right to do so. I will say that because the book is written from Nicky’s perspective, the entire outlook on police is a bit clouded. He’s grown up around them, his father being an officer, and has only seen the good, or at least has only wanted to see the good. But now he’s forced to face the fact that this is not reality, that there are people on the force who are responsible for causing harm, especially to minorities. I appreciated how we got to see Nicky grappling with this, but coming to understand these truths and no longer make any excuses for his father or the police as a whole. I’m interested to see the direction this goes, especially with how the epilogue wrapped things up, and hope that readers who pick up this installment enjoy it more than the last.
After the last page has been read and the book has been closed, readers will be wondering how things could have happened the way they did and scramble until next year when we finally get to know how things in Nova City are going to turn out. There have been a few shocks and surprises that have kept me curious as to how this series is going to wrap up. Until then, I’ll be rereading to find any moments of foreshadowing I may have missed the first time around. Flash Fire will be released on July 13th, 2021, which is two weeks from when this post goes live, so be sure to preorder yourself a copy if you’re interested in continuing on with The Extraordinaries series. *Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Tor Teen, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Where to find Flash Fire:
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
T.J. Klune’s site
Macmillan
Thoughts About Things 