I received an e-ARC of this book from TJ Klune and Tom Doherty Associates – Macmillan Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book! It made me laugh and it made me cry. I love Nick Bell, he is hilarious; his fanfic is laced with sexual innuendo, his ADHD keeps his mind and his mouth going a mile a minute, and he is so angsty.
Even though you know the secret identities of the Extraordinaries quite early in the book it does not stop you from wanting to read the rest of the book. I cannot wait to find out what happens in book #2 as this book was left with a lovely little cliff hanger.

This was so much fun! It was exactly what I would look for in a summer read - light, funny, sweet, exciting. A bit formulaic and predictable, but if you're not reading too closely you could easily get so caught up in the story you don't see what's coming.
The characters are richly crafted and it was so easy to get invested in Nick and his high school drama, delightfully enhanced by a world where Extraordinaries (superheroes) are real. Good vs. evil, romantic drama, neurodiverse, action hero escapades...sincerely great fun and super queer. I can't wait for the next in this series!

This book is laugh out loud hilarious and awkward, and I love it! Who can’t love a book with superheroes, fanfic writers, queer characters, and a fantastic friend group (Seth, Ginny, and Jazz are wonderful).

Nick, our main character, has ADHD (own voices) and a tendency to speak before he thinks about what he’s going to say, which leads to some hilarious dialogue. He writes fanfic about real super beings, the extraordinaries, that protect and attack Nova City where he lives. Nick has a huge crush on Shadow Star it’s so bad that when Shadow Star saves Nick and Gibby from being mugged Nick tries to kiss Shadow Star and tells him about the pillow with the hero’s face on it. After the encounter with Shadow Star things start to get real interesting (no spoilers!)

The standouts of this story are the father-son relationship, the ADHD rep, and the humor. It’s great having a present parent figure that is accepting of their child, open in their support and gets in some great awkward dad comments along the way. The ADHD rep is great and I appreciate that it is normalized and just another thing that makes Nick, Nick. The humor may be polarizing for some as it is awkward but it is very authentically teenager and I honestly loved it.

I would recommend this to anyone! It was so much fun to read even when we touched on some deeper issues. The character growth and relationships are great and this book is definitely worth a read. I can’t wait to read the next book because I have theories that I need answered!

5 SUPER EXTRAORDINARY STARS ☆☆☆☆☆

I have never read a TJ Klune book that has not amazed me and this story was incredible to say the least.
Nick Bell is a gay teen that is a major fanboy of Shadow Star. This super hero is the protector of Nova City and boy does Nick have a major crush on the man his dad calls a douchebag wearing cheap tights. Battling high school, a well meaning but overprotective father and ADHD leaves Nick with a full plate. Add Nick's latest goal which is to make himself an Extraordinary and this book just soars!
Nick tries so hard but between his utter fascination of Shadow Star and his medical condition it can become a lot to handle. His dad really loves him and is super protective but his reasons are just. My favorite in this book is Seth, the best friend and young man you wish Nick would see more clearly.
T J creates new worlds that feel so real. Nova City could be Main Street USA. The residents both young and old are representative of a bustling community. There is one giant difference. This city hosts two Exraodinares that possess super human strength. Shadow Star the synthesis of good battles his arch enemy who is hell bent on destruction the evil Pyro Storm.
Nick is drawn to Shadow Star and up until recently his whole world was based around him. Along with his BFF Seth and his favorite besties Gibby and Jazz, he tries to get them on board for his over the top plan. He wants to devise a way to develop his own superhuman powers. His goal is adorably and ironically to protect his police officer father. I don't want to give away any spoilers but this dad and son duo are the best. They really care for each other even when they are butting heads.
Nick's reasons are sincere. Betrayal, confusion and ultimately everthing he believes in will be greatly tested. But hey, what would a stellar Klune novel be without these core elements?
The twists are perfect in this book. Even when you believe you know the truth you find out there is so much more to this story. There is a heart pounding finale with a promise for more to come. I can't recommend this phenomenal story filled with shocking moments and plenty of laughter. It may be a Y A story but for someone decades out of that range group I enjoyed every second of it. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this copy for my reading pleasure.

What a delightful book. Dare I say… Extraordinary? (<-- See what I did there?)

From the first chapter, I was hooked. TJ, yet again, does not disappoint in this story about Nick Bell, a super-hero obsessed boy with ADHD who writes self-insert fanfiction, has a major crush on an Extraordinary, and also may or may not be in love with his best friend.

To say I was impressed with this book would be an understatement. It’s funny. I was constantly laughing out loud throughout the whole story. TJ’s sense of humor is *chefs kiss*. This book is fun and does not take itself too seriously. The fact that it’s #ownvoices queer AND neurodiverse was such a big win for me. It’s not often where you get good ADHD rep in a book, let alone a main character who has ADHD and is also queer. It’s not something that’s just brought up here and there, but it is everywhere throughout the whole book and was such a joy to read.

A big highlight of the book for me was the relationship between Nick and his friends; Jazz, Gibby, and Seth. Nick has no filter, he never shuts up, his thoughts are always all over the place. Once he sets his mind to something he is going to do it and no one is going to stop him. The ideas he gets are quite crazy, but his friends, although they tease him, love him, and support him no matter what. When it comes down to it they are with him through thick and thin. The relationship between Nick and Seth especially was very touching. Complicated, but oh so beautiful. Seth would do anything for Nick and although Seth’s feelings for him are quite clear to everyone else, Nick is oblivious to it all. Without saying too much, they are truly a delightful pair and I loved watching their journey unfold. The payoff is wonderful.

I also loved the dynamic between Nick and his father. The love between them is very strong. Despite their issues, they love each other fiercely. Their relationship is so sweet and heartwarming, and truly one of the best aspects of the book.

What I really liked about this story is that no matter how funny and lighthearted it was, TJ still touched on more serious topics such as dealing with ADHD and the loss of a loved one. The balance between lighthearted and serious was perfect. I think some of the best books out there maintain that balance and TJ has succeeded in that.

There are twists, ones that I saw coming, but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. The epilogue sets up the rest of the trilogy in a big way, and I’m really looking forward to the second installment.

Overall, this book delivered in every way possible. From the plot to the humor and romance to the main and side characters. If you’re into cliches and tropes I highly recommend this. Even if you’re not, I urge you to give it a shot. I’m not usually into books like these, but this book totally changed the game for me. Whether you’re a fan TJ’s books or haven’t picked up one of his books in your life, I highly recommend this. You will not be disappointed.

This novel is exactly why I love TJ Klune. I think I read every book writing by TJ Klune and this one is so good. TJ Klune does take you away in this world where being a young queer guy can be quite difficult at coming of age. So let's discover our main character Nick who is a big writer in the fanfiction community, he wrotes about extraordinary people when he thinks is not. This novel, you will love it if you read and loved Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, this is the same kind of vibes but almost better.

Stars: 4.5/5 (I really struggled between 4 and 5 this time so I went with 4.5 but will be generous w rating)

Thank you for the publishers for offering me a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Holy wow. This book surprised me. I expected to enjoy it and boy, did I. The first few chapters were 'oh yeah this is pretty good' then after ch 4 it was 'wow this is really good' then around the 30% mark it was 'shit I can't stop reading'.

I want to get the little niggles out the way because that's what they are - little. The MC, Nick is incredibly Naive. I have not ever seen a 16yo so naive and sorta childish with their ideas. This is the most unrealistic part of the story BUT I have to add it never makes him unlikeable. I hope this does not influence anyone's decision to read this book because IT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

Not only is there an epic romance, you think you know what's happening the whole story THEN YOU DON'T and that was so refreshing and surprising. I loved it.

I like the representation of ADHD in the story - I can't say if it's realistic because I personally don't know anyone with ADHD (surprisingly) but it seemed genuinely realistic and that Klune did their research. I like how it was also shown in the writing style, which, might I add, was pretty entertaining and sets this story aside from most YA.

Back to the lgbt+ romance because, let's be honest, along with the superheroes, that is why we're all reading this book. IT IS AMAZING. It's a slow burn, it's stunning and it made my heart pound in my chest. Just saying. You will enjoy it. You will fall in love. Just read it. Seriously.

The plot - occasionally confusing but in the way like you don't have your thoughts in order. Which makes sense considering the MC has ADHD. But there was never a dull point, never a time where I was thinking we should move on from this scene because it's taking too long. I just had to keep reading because I had to KNOW. (one other little niggle was that people kept trying to tell the MC what was going on because he's so oblivious but then they were interrupted like it was a freaking bad tv show or something but I can look past this).

The characters were also pretty great - I thoroughly enjoyed laughing (out loud) to Nick's personal thoughts. They're hilarious (and not too different from my own so I may be biased). The rest of the characters are hilarious and witty and I loved the banter between them and there were moments I had to hold in the tears because it was so heartwarming and I can only hope my butt could have more friends like that in my life.

It's such a heart warming, cute lil gay story and I'm in love with it. I'm ready for book two so Klune, when you're ready, I would love a copy (whether in exchange for another review or if i'm buying it). Also the superheroes and super-villains are wicked cool.

WARNINGS: past trauma, losing parents, disability discrimination (minor, i don't imagine it would trigger anyone but who am I to judge), suggestion and innuendos of mature content and for that reason I recommend for 14+ yo.

There is no homophobic comments (at all) in this story. It was refreshing.

This book mixes fanfic and superheros in a queer blender. And honestly, I was mostly here for it. I am a hard sell on fanfic story-lines and this one relies heavily on it, but it hasn't turned me off from reading TJ Klune in the future. Additionally, I really appreciated the ADHD representation in this.

Perfect for fans of "Ship It," "The Extraordinaries" takes its place within a growing genre of fandom-inspired bildungsromans where identity is inextricably interwoven with digital fan communities. Unlike Rainbow Rowell's masterpiece "Fangirl," I found the fanfiction passages included in the novel to be cringe-worthy and unashamedly poorly written in contrast to the rest of the story. While 95% of fanfiction is weak, I was a little put-off by its representation here-- though I did laugh at loud a number of times at the tropes in the opening passage-- perhaps because it felt a little like a discredit to the many outstanding fandom writers out there. All in all though, it is an enjoyable read and a welcome step away from heteronormative teen romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book follows the main character Nick in his pursuit to become an Extraordinary (basically a Superhero). Nick faces many challenges in this quest - coping with ADHD, building a relationship with his Dad, finding romance and trusting the strength of his friendships.
What I Liked:
Writing Style. This books strongest element is definitely the colloquial and fun writing style. TJ Klune creates a strong voice, not only for the character of Nick, but the supporting cast as well. It's also an accurate representation of the language and behaviours of teenagers today which gives gives the book authenticity and believability.
Characters. The characters were so easy to connect with as they felt like real people. It was a very dialogue heavy story, but the banter and heartfelt discussions between characters really makes the reader invested in what happens to each of them. I really enjoyed the focus on the friendships, romance and familial relationships which were all explored throughly.
What I Didn't Like:
Plot. While I appreciate a character driven novel, I do think there needs to be a strong structure to the plot. This book was too meandering and repetitive which made it feel hard to get through at points. I enjoyed the plot but I feel it could have been refined in editing to make it a 5* read.
Overall this was a funny and heartfelt novel that lost it's way at times. I fell in love with the characters and I am excited for any future books TJ Klune writes.

The Extraordinaries was one of those books that does not come along very often at all. It follows Nick, a young boy who desperately wants to belong in a very complicated world. He seeks the attention (and has one hell of a crush) on one of Nova City’s ‘Extraordinaries’ - a set of Avenger-esque superheroes.

Klune’s writing is a welcome departure at this hour, with a merry cast of diverse characters with well thought out arcs for all of them.

I definitely wholeheartedly recommend this book and anyone looking for some escapism in these crazy times. I would double recommend this book to anyone with a young teen, as this book would definitely cater to their age group.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

While "kids with powers" has been my jam since I was six years old (and there are certain elements in my environment who insist my literary tastes haven't advanced much since then, to which I reply, Yes, and?), I really hesitated when I saw the marketing stuff trumpeting that the protag has ADHD.

It's not that I want to avoid these issues, it's just that I've rarely seen this particular one handled in a way that didn't poke me out of the story. I'm not a fan of the "I'm broken, I have to be fixed" Issue Story approach, but neither am I on board with "I'm so special, and oh yes, smarter than everyone around me in my specialness" approach. There are readers who like both, I'm just not one.

But Klune's handling brought me in and kept me there. Nick, the protag, is hilarious at times, even when getting himself into trouble with the way his mind shoots off in various directions. Those of us who have a milder version in our mental makeup can resonate with just how fast one's brain can get from there to a there that leaves everyone else puzzled. Or exasperated. Or furious.

Not everything Nick does is cute, or smart, even though he has a good heart. Nick gets into trouble, but there are reasons that can't always be put on mental issues. He screwed up badly at school, after something happened, and is consequently on a short leash. He's trying to reform . . . but his real passion is writing fanfic about the latest Extraordinary on the scene, Shadow Star, a buff guy whose real ID is not known in Nova City where Nick and his friends life. Shadow Storm fights the other Extraordinary on the scene, Pyro Storm, who is evil evil evil.

Nick is crushing badly on Shadow Star, and so is busy writing Gary Stu fanfic that he gets a great idea--he wants to become an Extraordinary, so he and Shadow Star can fight crime and be a couple--he's even thinking of their ship name!

Aaaaand things happen.

I loved Nick and his friends, even prickly, jerky Owen, with whom Nick had a sort-of fling over summer that ended very badly. Nick is trying to be friend anyway, because he's the sort of person who tries to take everyone in. He lives with his dad, a cop, who has no problem with his son being gay, but every problem with kissing and making out getting too far as Nick is just sixteen.

Nick's bestie is Seth, who wears bow ties and even ascots with little figures on them. But Seth stayed away all summer while Nick was dazzled by Owen, so that friendship needs some repairing.

And to round out Nick's circle, there is Gibby, who recently hooked up with cheerleader Jazz. That was another thing I loved beside the humor, the fact that in Nova City there isn't any drama about coming out, or gender choices. Gay, not gay, bi, are all part of the typical teen dating scene, both to parents and adult figures as well as the kids.

So, with maximum humor, and Nick being Nick as he tries his totally gonzo ideas for becoming an Extraordinary, it becomes clear that some of the friendship circle have secrets. And more secrets.

Leading to a cinematic action sequence that kept me glued to my iPad all the way to the end.

The book hasn't come out yet, so I won't say much beyond how delighted I was in the way the story went toward the end . . . and how deliciously it is set up for a series. Oh I hope there will be a series. Very much.

Looking for a mix of superheroes and teenage drama? If yes, this is the book for you! This story follows Nick, an openly gay, 16-year-old, junior in high school. Nick is an Extraordinaries super fan, who writes fan-fiction about Shadow Starr and his arch nemesis, Pyro Storm - real life superhero and villain in Nova City, where Nick lives. His world gets turned upside down as Nick tries to become an Extraordinary, with the help of his friends, Gibby and Jazz, his ex-boyfriend, Owen, and his best friend and possible love of his life, Seth.

This novel was a quick and engaging read. I loved that this story depicted an openly-LGBTQ friend group. There are a lot of stories where an LGBTQ characters will be the side-kick or there is one gay character among a group of straight friends. This was refreshing and I am glad that books like this exist for young people today. Nick and Seth's relationship was so cute and I found myself rooting for them from the very beginning. I also really enjoyed Gibby and Jazz. They were interesting and super supportive of Nick and Seth.

Given current events, I was a little turned off by how police-heavy this story was. Nick's dad is a police officer in Nova City and Nick is an aspiring detective. I get that this was a novel about superheroes but the police narrative seemed unrealistic and seemed to glorify police officers. The police officers in the book make jokes here and there about abuses of power that made me cringe. This was probably my least favorite part of the book.

Nick has ADHD and because of this, he talks a lot and jumps from topic to topic. It makes the story a little difficult to follow at times but also adds to his character. Nick also seems to be completely oblivious to very obvious things, which at first seemed kind of cute, but became a little obnoxious as the story went on. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was unique and fun! Looking forward to the second book in the series.

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 publishing for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and author of this book for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Where Extraordinary people fight to save Nova city from crime, Nick Bell is anything but extraordinary in the way he only dreams to be, however, he's determined to change that with the help of his friends.

'The Extraordinaries' begins by following Nick, a young boy with ADHD, oblivious to the world around him in which everyone seems to know of everything that he doesn't apart from one thing. He is madly in love with Shadow Star.

Slightly obsessed with the Extraordinary hero, Nick writes fanfiction and defends the Extraordinaries against his father's, who is a cop, complaints and belief that these 'heroes' are doing anything but good. Nick wants to help Shadow Star defend the city, and hopefully get him to fall in love with him and the only way to do so, in Nick's mind, is to become an Extraordinary himself.

But life is strange and funny as Nick battles with everything that goes on, from feeling at loss and despair with his best friend Seth disappearing when he needs him most to think he needs to change himself in the hopes of doing better to help his father.

This book made me laugh out loud and cry tears of laughter, shock and worry more times than I thought it would, I was so invested in Nick's story, and was so amused by the obvious oblivion that he faced with everything that surrounded him.

This book is fast paced and at some times a chaotic mess which I believed worked well in regard to the main character. The representation of ADHD was very well done and hearing and reading about what Nick had to go through and how it affected him made my heart clench as I read on, only wanting to hug him and tell him everything would be okay.

I absolutely loved the relationship Nick had with his friends. They were all well-rounded characters that played important roles in Nicks life and through this story, I cannot wait to see what more Klune writes with these characters and whether we get to see much more of their friendship in future books!

Big Klune fan and I think this is a very solid, funny, and cute YA debut. Thoughts:

You have the trademark Klune humour- laugh out loud funny, with an adorable lead (though oblivious to the point that it strains believability). He's surrounded by a great group of secondary characters, most notably his father. Their relationship is one of the highlights of the story and I am game for a sequel that explores that relationship further.

It did feature one of my least favourite tropes, which is, "if-the-characters-had-a-30-second-honest-conversation-all-the-conflict-would-be-resolved" trope. It is purposely made very clear to the audience what is happening with a major plot point, though not to the main character (again, completely oblivious), and it effects the pacing and becomes frustrating. I've said it before and I'll say it again, these books need a stronger edit. This could have been 50 pages shorter.

A picky note-There is also a sequence where one of the secondary characters so clearly functions as an attempt to get the audience on the side of the main love interest, despite a massive mistake that should not have been so readily overlooked. It felt clunky and out of place.

That being said, Klune writes incredibly funny and sweet books, and I always love his lead characters. I laughed out loud several times. I think the main draw here is the humour, and would recommend for those looking for funny light fare. Will read the sequel and recommend!

If you loved "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell or really any Rainbow Rowell book, you will love this. While this book was not 100% for me, I enjoyed reading it and really loved every character in their own way. It is a super fast and light read so I encourage anyone who likes YA,. Fantasy, and LGBTQ+ Romance to read this one!

This was phenomenal.

Living in a world with real life super heroes called the Extraordinaries, Nicholas “Nick/Nicky” Bell has what he thinks is a totally normal (totally NOT obsessive) obsession with Nova City’s very own hero, Shadow Star. His fan fiction, in which he is the love interest to said hero is pretty popular, actually.

Living with ADHD, Nick is a fast talking, slightly self absorbed teenage boy with an incredible friend group and an overprotective cop father. But he longs to become an Extraordinary. He is determined, in fact, to find a way to release his inner Extraordinary and join his true love Shadow Star in Nova City glory. Little does he know, the real love of his life could be closer than he thinks.

Nick is adorably oblivious to pretty much everything around him. He is incredibly endearing, if not exasperating at times. You want him to open his eyes and see what’s right there, but he is who he is and you accept it (at least I did) happily because he is just so lovable! He will forever be a character I cannot forget. I could just live in this book forever because of Nicholas Bell.

The representation of ADHD was done so well, having come from an author with actual knowledge. That gave Nick’s personality and demeanor total believability. He lives with ADHD but tries so hard not to let it control him. Does that mean he doesn’t let those negative thoughts get into his head once in a while... but what would a teenage kid be without having self doubt every now and then?

The friend group in this story was amazing! I wish I had these kids in my life when I was 16 years old. Seth, Nick’s best friend, is the real deal! He would do anything for Nick, and all Nick needs to do is open his eyes and see it.

This was a laugh out loud funny book with some major grab the tissues kind of hard hitting moments. It runs the whole gamut of emotions and I felt fully immersed while reading it. Ultimately, this is a story of self discovery... what YA story isn’t? But this is more than that. This is about accepting who you are and loving that person. It’s about living the good and bad parts of life. It’s about rebuilding relationships after rattled by incredible loss. It’s about finding out that there can be more to the story than what is on the surface.

3.5 stars.

It is hard to write a review for this without spoiling anything.... I swear I've read fanfictions just like this book. Incredible.

As a huge superhero lover, I adored the use of heroes and villains in this! The Extraordinaries was very solid for TJ Klune's first YA book.

The main character, Nick Bell, is a gay high school student with ADHD and an immense love for the real-life superhero that protects his city. Nick exemplifies a great part of this book, which is the representation. I do not have ADHD, so I cannot comment on how good the rep is, but I will say that I have never read a book in which the protagonist had ADHD and so I am grateful to this book for including it in its narrative. Furthermore, all of Nick's best friends are part of the LGBT community; one refers to herself as a 'Black Butch' and I love her so much.

Nick is a very funny character. In fact, there were many instances where this book had me laughing aloud, which does not happen often when I read. However, a lot of jokes did not land for me and came off as extremely cringey. An example of this is when Nick rants about his fanfiction or his obsession with superheroes. It's supposed to be seen as charming, funny, and relatable, but really Nick reads as a 12 year old Tumblr fanatic. He comes off as kind of annoying.

I also do not appreciate many of the jokes Nick makes regarding the police force. To explain, Nick's dad is a cop. While I love how this book focuses on Nick's relationship with his father just as much as any romance, I do not like how his father is a cop, as it makes for a romanticization of the police force as a whole. The narrative of the police being heroes and 'the good guys' is repeatedly shoved down the reader's throats which is not at all needed, especially in times like these. Nick, being an officer's son, makes many tasteless jokes about being a victim of 'police brutality' whenever his father does something that he does not approve of, and so on. Countless jokes like these are made; we even see the police captain joking about locking Nick up illegally. It's not funny at all and really showcases both Nick and the author's privilege.

As for romance, Klune writes it pretty well. I actually began shipping Nick and his best friend Seth early on because their interactions were adorable. I'm a sucker for best friends to lovers and everything else about their relationship. My one gripe is that NICK WAS SO INCREDIBLY DAFT. I understand being oblivious- hell, I've been there. But this thick? It got sort of hard to believe after a certain point.

This book has its twists. While I cannot speak about them at length because I would hate to spoil everything, I will say this: While I absolutely love the twists and what they mean for this book and future ones, I did see all of them coming from a mile away. At this point, I'm not sure if the reader is supposed to predict everything and truly see how daft Nick is through these easy predictions, or if Klune needs to be more sneaky. Whatever it is, I'll admit that knowing the twists did not take away from any of the fun. In fact, it made reading this book more fun, albeit frustrating because oh my god Nick is so oblivious.

And that's just it; this book is fun. I had so much fun reading this that I struggled to put it down.

One last gripe, though. Thank you so much for referencing Harry Osborn, the love of my life, but his name is not 'Osborne'. It's 'Osborn'.
Sincerely,
A huge Spider-Man fan.
P.S. You missed a great moment to reference Gwen Stacy near the end of this book. You know the scene.

If you love superheroes, fun reads, cute lgbt romance, fanfiction-y tropes that know they're tropes, or all of the above, please pick this book up in July!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic arc of this book.

If you've ever wanted a book that could be described as a soft superhero queer disaster, then this one is for you. It's like a combination of all those tumblr posts you see about inverting superhero tropes mixed with genuine odes to fanfiction and with a good bit of absolute dork mixed in. You don't want to go in thinking too deeply. Be here for a good time, not an academic time. But it's basically your traditional superhero story but told by the comedic love interest who just is a DISASTER on spindly spaghetti legs and extremely self aware of the fact he is, in fact, the comedic love interest and not the hero and he's a bit put out about it.

You know what I really loved about it? The fact it's #ownvoices queer and neurodiverse. I've read only a handful of books with good adhd rep. And the adhd isn't just something that pops on the page when it fits. It's everywhere. And I freaking love this. Nick talks all the time, he's ridiculous, he has zero impulse control, he is absolutely wholesome as well as clueless and blushing and fun. His brown bounces from one thing to the next so hard and fast. The books actually follows his tangents though, so I was torn...like I felt everything was a good view into an adhd mind as well as sometimes chaffing at the slow pacing. It did feel very slow. Enjoyable, but ambling. I did read an ARC so I'm hoping it got edited more for the final copy.

It read mostly like a contemporary too. Like in the background, we have superheroes going off. But the book focuses on Nick's chaotic life. He has a crush he won't admit to on his best friend, a sleazy ex to ignore, he's got a really loving dad and their relationship is both hilarious and so so sweet (if you think YA doesn't do good parents anymore, HERE is one). He's failing but trying hard in school. And he wishes he was an Extraordinary so he could save his dad...like he couldn't save his mum.

It also has really epic friendships. His best friends are Seth, Gibby, and Jazz (Gibby and Jazz are badass lesbians who are so soft for each other and just like to stand and eat popcorn and watch Nick descend into chaos). There's banter and quips! I also liked that his friends never mocked him derisively. If Nick when on a spiral tangent, they'd tease him, but when it came down to it, they absolutely loved him for being himself. I will be emotional over this.

The superhero part was pretty typical. I just wish there had been backstory? I don't really know how they came to be, if most people had powers etc etc.

Overall this was is just like shoving a fun, wholesome chaotic box of confetti into your mouth. It's soft and the relationships will melt you. It is ridiculous. If you're not into cliches and tropes, I wouldn't recommend it? But if you love fanfic and think the comedic sidekick deserves his own story...this is it. Nick Bell is here to be extra.