Nicholas Bell's life has a Before and an After. He's now in the After—a life that's taken some time to reach since the day a tragic incident took his mom away from Nick and his dad. Now, life is filled with his best friends, Seth, Gabby, and Jazz, and even his ex-boyfriend, Owen, and of course the Extraordinaries, Shadow Star, and Pyro Storm. There's fanfiction starring his favorite Extraordinary, Shadow Star, and an original character that totally, absolutely, does not resemblances Nick, like at all.

Life is good...for the most part. Yeah, his best friend has been disappearing a lot lately, especially during the summer when he had volunteering emergencies, but he's still the same adorable guy who loves to wear bow ties and obviously in love with Nick. Except Nick is oblivious to it, much to the dismay of literally everyone. Then there's Nick's ex-boyfriend, Owen, who's been circling around lately and is being extra flirty (though he's always flirty). Oh, and then there's the PLAN. The plan that has like 3 phases because Nick's plans are the WORST.

The plan that begins because he's sure he and Shadow Star will fall in love and go live in a villa, but soon becomes about something more than just a crush on a superhero. The plan to become an Extraordinary.

For a moment I forgot this is TJ Klune's first dabble in the YA world because I can't imagine him not ever writing a teen novel. He takes The Extraordinaries were he takes all of his stories—somewhere magical, full of friendship and love. Full of characters that steal your heart and have you laughing out loud at every page.

Nick is hilarious and endearing, and just full of life. He also has ADHD and there isn't anything he wouldn't tell you, but he'd probably tell you the secrets of the universe and how amazing you are. Then there's Seth, who loves Nick to pieces and wears the best things and is just amazing all around. Gibby and Jazz are badasses, there is no ifs and buts about it, and really think that Nick and Seth need to get their life together and get together.

The characters are all amazing, but they're flawed. Nick though his heart is in the right place, can be selfish and self-centered. I loved that his friends call him out on it though. There was also a seen that almost brought me to tears with Nick and his dad—the words that were exchanged, the frustration, the hurt...remember to have patience and be mindful of what you say.

I love the story and how it progressed, even though I CALLED IT ALL. Literally, everything I wanted, thought would happen, and wish would happen—happened. And, the way it happens (ed) is literally how I wanted—TJ Klune you never disappoint.




I don't want to spoil anything, but, OMG, I literally cannot wait.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did otherwise I wouldn’t have started it during the final week of the semester oh god why do I do this to myself. I threw away two days reading this book. If you’re looking for a fun read, you’ll find it here!

The Extraordinaries is a mixture of a high school romcom and science fiction. Even when I was in high school I never liked reading about contemporary stories set in high school. Also I was never a fan of many of the genre tropes you find in high school dramas but what do you know I actually enjoyed this one.

This book is hilarious. Nick Bell stars as a gay ADHD teen whose mind runs at a mile a minute. My god what his friends put up with. It is honestly very impressive how TJ Klune managed to write this guy’s train of thought because it just doesn’t stop and it goes to the most ridiculous places. Sometimes I’ll be laughing, occasionally it did get a bit annoying, but the character remained consistent right to the end.

The Extraordinaries features something which always guarantees it to be unputdownable for me: when the reader knows something the protagonist doesn’t so you’re waiting for the ball to drop. It makes no secret of what the twist will be so I was quite confident that I knew how everything would play out, but I have to say it surprised me with one last curveball thrown our way. Though I have to say I was a little skeptical of how clueless Nick Bell was. Now I have never been a teenage boy, surprising as that may be, so maybe they are really this dense but Nick seemed just too oblivious at times. It also seemed silly that Nick could only understand things as black and white, good or evil. It could get just too immature.

The biggest difficulty when you’re writing a silly protagonist is making sure that the serious elements of the story hit home, and honestly I don’t think Klune always stuck the landing. There was one scene that I thought was hit the emotions quite well involving Seth's mom, and I thought Nick and his dad had a good dynamic, so I was disappointed when the climatic revelation was a bit underwhelming. The dialogue was so silly and cringey that it just didn’t have enough dramatic weight.

Still TJ Klune is definitely on my radar. I was already interested in his new adult novel The House by the Cerulean Sea but it has now been bumped up my tbr. I look forward to seeing what he does in the future!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
4.5 stars
Short ver: I laughed until tears rolled down my face and also had to slammed the book close so I could breathe and handle the secondhand embarrassment. My heart!!! Also, I'm totally joining Nick in the Protect Seth at all Costs Club.

A little bit more to say after... 6 months *sigh* I'm so bad at writing reviews...
Anyhow, since this book has come out I have recommended it to multiple people-- gotten a few check outs too! I still smile when thinking about this book.
There are some really cute characters here. I love how there are multiple types of love here and the friendship within the group is fantastic. Nick is a great main character. I love seeing ADHD in fiction and I love fandom being represented as well. Nick is a delight. He is silly and ridiculous and way over the top, but wow the boy has heart.

The story is very fun too. Yes, he is trying to get super powers, but there is also something else going on in his city and that story is super interesting as well. I cannot wait to see where it will go in book 2!

TJ Klune does it again!!

I truly loved this book! I mean QUEER SUPER HEROS?!?! Come on, that just screams AMAZING!!

For a YA novel this is fun! It was a really easy read and from start to finish I really enjoyed it! The characters, the world, everything you would expect from TJ Klune but YA. The ride is so funny and cheesy and perfect for everyone!

A really interesting read, Nick is neurodifferent, and sometimes it's tough to be inside his head when his thoughts are ratcheting around like the inside of a pinball machine.

But what really makes the book special is his relationship with his father, who totally supports him being gay as well as his obsession with a group of superheroes called The Extraordinaries. His friends are awesome, too, as they support and work with him.

There's lots of action here along with the emotion. Overall a terrific read.

TJ Klune is a wonderful writer who engages and makes the reader care for his characters. This book is for anyone who wants to fall a bit in love with a teenaged boy who writes fanfic and likes other boys and has a father who loves him a lot. Oh, and superheroes too.

I'm a big fan of TJ Klune and absolutely adored The House in the Cerulean Sea, but it was a bummer to read, The Extraordinaries, such an (unanalyzed) cop-loving book, in the year 2020.

Nick Bell is a fanfiction writing, super hero obsessed, gay teen with ADHD. In a world where Extraordinaries (super heroes) exist, Nick becomes obsessed with getting powers so that he can woo his crush, the extraordinary hero Shadow Star. He fully expects his best friend, Seth, to be on board with this plan, even though all the real “research” Nick is basing the plan on is fiction. But Seth is suddenly too busy for Nick.
The Extraordinaries is a YA romance but talks a lot about living in a world where you are seen as different and about being critical of who you see as being “the hero” when it is people in power telling you who that is… which is ironic since, as I mentioned before, this is a cop-loving book!

Nick’s father is a police officer and they are family friends with the police chief. It is so much worse because we find out that after Nick’s mother’s death, Nick’s father is suspended for hitting a WITNESS. This is not talked about as WOW WHAT AN ABUSE OF POWER but is mostly used to show how torn up Nick’s dad was about his wife’s death. There is also a throw away comment from Nick about how Shadow Star is such a good guy that one of the things he probably does in his free time is go to Black Lives Matter marches… not then following through with any critical thinking about those protests being about police brutality.

So, yeah. The romance is rewarding and I like some of the things done in this book but could not get over these points. I would only recommend someone read this novel if they are approaching it with a critical eye… otherwise, skip it and read The House in the Cerulean Sea by the same author, which is a sweet romance but mostly about found family and questioning profiling people (here, magical children) based on prejudices rather than who they are as individuals.

Or, if you want a YA romance about super powers and mental health that is devoid of cop lovers, check out The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen.

5/5 ⭐️ to The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for early access to the egalley!

I admittedly read this book a while ago when I’m writing, but the majority of my impressions of his lovely book have stayed the same. The atmosphere of this book is amazing, which is important in a superhero book! It also has such a great, diverse cast of characters that I got attached to very quickly (especially our MC, Nick who is queer and neurodiverse). Nick is the biggest fan of his city’s resident superhero, Shadow Star, who inspires Nick to become “Extraordinary” himself. He pulls in his first love and best friend, Seth, into his quest for superpowers and shenanigans definitely ensue. He is also trying to do this under the nose of his police officer father, who is very protective of Nick, especially with things between Shadow Star and a new superhero escalate dangerously. This was such a fun version of a coming-of-age story with a comic book like setting, full of lots of action and also romance! Highly, highly recommend and I’m due for a reread soon, for sure. Not only that, but there was such a good plot twist at the end that was just 👌

Like the official synopsis states, if you are a fan of Renegades by Marissa Meyer, Faith by Julie Murphy, check out this fun, fluffy, adventurous book!

TJ Klune writes fun, hilarious YA stories and The Extraordinaries is a book in this vein. I'm not a huge fan of superhero novels, only because I feel like our media has been saturated with them, but this is an adorable entry featuring Klune's excellent, writing. It's hard not to love it.

Nick Bell is an ordinary teenager with ADHD who lives with his dad. He's the author of popular fanfic about The Extraordinaries based on his favorite superhero, Shadow Star. Nick has a thing for Shadow Star, and when he meets him in real life, I felt it so hard. I would have been the extra idiot in this scenario and Klune pulls it off beautifully.

I love recommending this story to older teen readers because it handles the romance, Nick's exceptionality, his relationship with his father, and his support/friendship group with such grace and humor, I want everyone to be wrapped in that kind of warmth and understanding.

A book that earns its title.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book was like a breath of fresh air. I don't want to drag this review down with the current world situation, so I'll just say my reading routine was severely disrupted and I am so happy I am getting back to normal.

I have been a fan of TJ Klune for years and I knew I could count on him to write the perfect story about queer superhero's. :D This story is, in a word, extraordinary. Teen Nick has a crush/obsession with local Superhero/Extraordinary Shadow Star and writes fanfic about him starring a fictionalized version of himself as the love interest. His beta reader is his BFF Seth, who has a secret. ;) Yep, we know HIS secret, though at first I did get it backwards. Nick follows Shadow Stars exploits and has a few, eh-hem, embarrassing fan items (cough - pillow with Shadow Stars face!), and decides the best thing he can do to be with Shadow Star in RL is to become an Extraordinary himself, through some not well thought out plans, which typical TJ, have very laughable outcomes for our hero. I mean come on! Radioactive cricket!!! :D :D :D Thank you Jazz!

Jazz and Gibby are also Nick's friends, and Seth's. Jazz and Gibby are a couple and going through some drama of their own because Gibby is getting ready to go to college, leaving Jazz behind. I thought it was sweet they acknowledge their relationship may not survive beyond high school, but they didn't and wouldn't regret any of it. These two sort of, kind of, help Nick during his attempts to become an Extraordinary.

Of course with any Superhero tale there has to be a villain. BUT! Who is the villain?????? Nick thought he knew, that it was the dastardly Pyro Storm. Things become rather confusing as tension between Pyro Storm and Shadow Star reach an all time high and actually start to hurt each other and innocent bystanders.

As Nick tries to become an Extraordinary, Nick's ex, Owen, claims HE can help Nick become and Extraordinary. This leads to, dun, dun, dun! Drama! Secrets are revealed and friendships are tested.

I had a suspicion about something and I was right! I love being right. (smug face) Not going to say what it is, so if you want to find out you'll have to read this wonderful story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and sort of glad I waited to read it until I did because I really did need this boost. Book 2 is going to be SOMETHING let me tell you. The way THIS one ended, WHOA! I KNEW what I knew and it was so freakin confirmed!!! How will Nick and his friends handle all the things they learned in book 1? How will Nick and Seth's relationship flourish between book 1 and book 2? And Nick's father, police officer now head detective in charge of a new Extraordinary agency to essentially monitor Extraordinary activity, how will HE handle all that happened in book 1, and the learned truths? And will Rebecca Firestone, on air newswoman covering Shadow Storm, and sort of temporarily but still always liar and opportunist get away with how she treated Nick????? Nick has a looooong memory and she better watch out.

So much fun was had reading this and now I have to WAIT for book 2. WHY????

5 stars all around and now I need the audio!!

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Extraordinaries brought an explosion of quick wit and good humor. Oh, and also Queer Superheroes and relatable fandom vibes. Need I say more?

Set in the fictional landscape of Nova City, superheroes are very real. They're called Extraordinaries and swoop in to save the city just as you would expect them to do. Also, as you would expect, there are people who are obsessed with them and their own unique celebrity. Fangirls and fanboys alike swoon over their power and abilities.

Nick Bell is a regular teen in Nova City, who also happens to be the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom. His biggest crush, Shadow Star, is currently one of the active Extraordinaries in the city. Frequently battling his archnemesis, Pyro Storm, the two sometimes leave destruction in their wakes. Nick is invested in every minute of it.

The story follows Nick and his absolutely phenomenal friend group, as he sets his sights on a relationship with Shadow Star, even if that means he'll need to become Extraordinary.

Y'all, the writing of this story is incredibly strong. It's so rapid fire and intelligent. The dialogue amongst characters will definitely keep you on your toes. The main character, Nick, suffers from fairly severe ADHD, and in a way, the narrative seemed to reflect that. I'm not sure if I am explaining that correctly, but it seemed as if the narrative accurately portrayed how Nick would have been experiencing, or reacting, to what was going on around him.

It felt extremely real, even though a lot of the storyline was actually rooted in unreality. Overall, I was really, really in awe of how this story unfolded. I loved all of the characters, the nod to classic superhero story arcs, the serious real world issues that were addressed; it was all quite impressive.

I definitely intend to carry on with this series, if there are more books planned. The characters were very easy relate to; so much so, you'll want to be part of their friend group.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me a copy of this to read and review. I was so impressed with T.J. Klune. I cannot wait to pick up more of their work!

Here’s what you’re going to get in this book:
+ LGBT+ rep
+ Neurodivergent rep
+ Superhero powers
+ A very teen gay boy protagonist
+ Good friendships— always there for you; always ready to give you sh*t
+ A story that is more than it seems

Have been a massive fan of TJ Klune for years. I'm not such a massive fan of YA books, but if one of your fave authors writes a book, you give it a go.

I'm really glad I gave this one a shot. It took me a little while to get into it; it wasn't the writing, this is TJ Klune's writing to a T and I love his style of storytelling -- I haven't read YA in a awhile, and getting into the space of a teenager took me time to get use to,

I love this story.

A diverse range of characters with depth, intrigue and loads of adorable-ness. The story itself moved along well, the pacing was near perfect.

A must read for its humor, sweetness, fun, action, joy, feels and main character Nicky.

After a friend pointed out a few problematic scenes, I did not go into this book with a positive attitude. The author could have written a few things differently. Overall, I just did not enjoy this book.

4.5 Stars

Embrace the cheese! This YA book had so much cliché teenager content and characteristics but I loved every moment of it! T.J. Klune brought us a novel full of wonder, angst, curiosity and humor. I absolutely loved the main character Nick. He was a total smart-@s$ but also extremely loyal, kind, protective and genuine. He didn't have the easiest life "after", but he was getting by with the support of his father and best friends, oh and his love of Shadow Star.

This book had so many things going on, but flowed well and encompassed so much emotion and drama. You had teenagers trying to navigate a very vulnerable time in their lives. Discovering their sexual orientations and finding acceptance in their choices, dealing with loss, making plans for their future, meeting expectations set by their parents/guardians, surviving high school, and most importantly... trying to save the city.

I really enjoyed the fantasy/superhero elements of this story. It made for a unique plot and unique setting. The major plot twist was pretty predictable, but still had some unexpected twists and turns! The author closed out the story perfectly and I ended this read with a huge smile on my face.

The Extraordinaries is the first book by T.J. Klune that I read and thoroughly enjoyed! A wonderful play of the superhero tropes which made it so fun and zany. The characters are a breath of fresh air and I loved them dearly! That ending promises a whole lot of electrifying fun things for the sequel, Flash Fire and I can't wait!

This was really different from most superhero books I’ve read and I liked that. It almost felt like a contemporary but also not. I enjoyed the characters and the writing style and had a good time with this one!

I really enjoyed this book about a young boy and the super heroes and villains he is in love with. It was a great story and the characters were so realistic. The twist of who was really the bad guy throughout the book, really had me hooked and I couldn't stop reading!

I have rather conflicting feelings when it comes to The Extraordinaries. For the longest time I didn’t know how to rate this book, I kept going back and forth between ratings. There were some aspects of it that I really enjoyed and some that really bothered me.

The first thing that wasn’t my favourite about The Extraordinaries is the point of view. The story is told in first person from Nick’s, the main characters, point of view. I found the POV insufferable at times, it kept bringing me out of the story. Nick was oblivious and very stubborn about so many things, which really annoyed me. It was just frustrating to read from his POV. This might be due to the fact that I’m not the targeted demographic of this book, so take that complaint with a grain of salt.

Nick wasn’t my favourite character, due to the fact that I didn’t connect with his POV, but I still liked him at points in the story. By which I mean that I didn’t hate him, despite the fact that I was frustrated with him from time to time. The side characters were interesting, but I didn’t really connect to any of them either. I really liked seeing Nick interact with his friends, their friendship dynamic was one of my favourite parts of The Extraordinaries.

The story of The Extraordinaries was fun, even though I found it very predictable at points. That might be due to the fact that I have consumed a ton of superhero stories, so I know what to expect of them. Still, I enjoyed seeing where the story was going and if I was right about my predictions. An aspect of the story that I really appreciated is the grief exploration, I thought it was very well done. Something that bothered me about this book were the cops, or rather some of the details surrounding them. Nick’s dad is a cop and at the start of the story we learn that he punched a witness and was demoted because of it. A bigger problem than that not being challenged at all is the fact that all the other cops were standing up for him and defending him. There were some other minor comments made by the cops that I found mildly bothersome. This was just a small part of the story, but I still wanted to mention it.

Another thing that bothered me was the joking about pedophilia. Basically, Nick makes jokes towards a rookie detective saying that the detective is in love with him etc. This was something that I found completely unnecessary and I have no idea why it was added to the story. It just made me uncomfortable. Again, this is a small part of the story but I really felt that it was needed to be mentioned.

Overall I had fun reading The Extraordinaries, despite having problems with it. I’m not sure if I’m going to pick up the sequel when it comes out (as I didn’t love this book), but I must say that the ending has intrigued me to find out what will happen next. I would recommend The Extraordinaries, if this book sounds like something you would enjoy.

As always, TJ Klune manages to combine genuinely laughs with genuine feels in this dynamite YA book. I found THE EXTRAORDINARIES to be a near-perfect read, minus the police apologia. I was delighted to learn that Klune had taken this criticism to heart and promised to better his work going forward.

This book has earned its place on our library's LGBTQ+ Readers Advisory list. I've yet to recommend this to a teen that didn't love it.