The Extraordinaries is the story of Nick Bell, a 16 year old who is obsessed with the Extraordinaries in Nova City, to the point of writing fanfiction about them. It was a mishmash of fandom, superheroes, adorably awkward romances and plot twist upon plot twist. Honestly, at some points this reminded of Megamind meets Renegades, and I loved it so much.

Nick is very much a 16 year old with ADHD. Can confirm. While I found him at times annoying, in the way we teenagers so often are, the depiction of his ADHD and the way it impacted his life was really accurate so I applaud the author for that. He was mildly (very) chaotic, and I think that without his chaos it would have been a very different story. He grows so much over the course of the story, and takes it all in stride, and by the end I really liked him, even though he was massively oblivious and slightly self-centered. I would also like to announce that I love Seth Gray with all my heart, and I wish the best for him. He wears bow ties! To school! Clearly someone with oodles of class. Gibby and Jazz were also fabulous, and I especially like the way Jazz was presented. TJ Klune clearly understands that queer teenagers gather in packs.

The relationship between Nick and his father was really special too. It felt very real, and it had many layers in terms of how they interacted with each other. Nick's relationships with those around him were also really well done; often books tend to sideline established friendships, but here they remained a part of the story no matter what Nick got up to. The relationship that developed was very much an awkward on, but it was so very realistic, and so very adorable. It was the sweetest progression of friends to romantically involved friends.

Even though I predicted them, I loved the plot twists so much. It felt so satisfying, and they really were excellent plot twists. I've consumed my share of superhero stories, and this was original and interesting, taking classic tropes and turning them on their heads. The conflicts between the characters and their motives were really well done, and though we don't learn a massive amount about the superhero powers themselves, what we do know is really interesting. I can't say much more without spoiling, but it's so good, people, so good. And that end scene absolutely murdered me! I don't know how long I can survive without the next book.

The Extraordinaries only showed up on my radar fairly recently, but I am so glad it did. If you're looking for awkwardly cute relationships, superheroes but really cool, and a hilarious cast, please go read/order this book immediately. You won't regret it.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the advance copy. Review will be posted on my blog on May 12th, and shared on Twitter once posted.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this book. I don't really know what to say about this book other than it was a quick fun read. It is a a YA book that has adorable queer characters. I am here for any diversity in books.
The characters were adorable and I really liked the relationship. The writing was easy to read and I found that I could read it quick. I also enjoyed the plot even though I did guess some of the things that happened. I didn't really enjoy the fanfic element as it's just not my thing but it worked for this.
Overall this book is one that will be loved by many people. I liked it but at the same time it was just okay for me.

I loved this! And loved, loved all the characters. This was Tj Klune all the way through - the banter, the humour, the social awkwardness. And the emotion! It made me cry, several times, so much heart. One minute smiling, the next minute my eyes were leaking everywhere. Nick was absolutely adorable, half the time I wanted to cuddle him, the other half shove my hand over his mouth. A really typical Tj character that you couldn't stop yourself from loving. His dad was pretty adorable too, in his gruff, macho way. Well done. Loved it. Adored it. And hoping that all the hints lead to another book :)

Firstly, and most importantly, I adore Nick's dad. I would read a thousand full books just about Nick's dad.

The Extraordinaries is a book with such heart. Brilliantly funny, it weaves the story of a boy trying to find his place in a world of extraordinary people.

The cast of characters are brilliant - Nick, his three best friends and his ex-boyfriend are fantastically entertaining and their friendships are beautifully developed. The threads of loss and hope weaved through the book are incredibly poignant, and I really hope we get to read more of Nick's story!

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be submitted to Amazon after release.

Actual rating: 4.5

This was exactly what I needed right now, such a delight. It has to be the funniest book I've read in a while.

Granted, this book won't be for everyone. It's not to be taken seriously, and the brand of humour is one that likely won't work for everyone. It worked really well for me though, and I ended up crying laughing a bunch of times. It's such a ridiculous book, but in the best way imagineable.

I shipped Nick and Seth right from the beginning, they are so very precious. And so very dense and so very clueless, especially Nick. It takes him ages to realize he even has a crush, and it's amazing.

Something that made this book extra special was the own voices ADHD rep.

CWs: violence, past death of a parent/grief, homophobia, internalized ableism, use of the d slur, hospital

ALL THE STARS! This was beyond perfect, full of angst, pining, puns, tmi about things, and just everything I imagined and so much more!!

Klune is a master storyteller. He can write fun books and sad books, and then he can write excellent books that are a mix. I laughed so much during a lot of scenes in this book because Nick is a hilarious teen with absolutely no clue about the obvious crush his best friend has towards him. There was so much pining and slow burn that I was willing to enter the book and shove them together into a room until they talked.
There's also mystery. Who are these superheroes? I had theories and all of them were wrong. Well, not all but most of them, and I guessed one mystery when it was practically told us. It doesn't count. I'm no Sherlock.

There were so many heart wrenching scenes as well. I was so sad for Nick, for what he was going through with his ADHD and his dad's wishes he was "a normal son". It was heartbreaking because we knew what was going through his mind. How hard he was trying to make everyone happy while he was miserable. I cared so much for him and wanted him to have everything he wanted, even if what he wanted was risking his life to get superpowers.

All the interactions between Nick and other characters was amazing. Fun, deep, sad. And this book has all the rep I could've wished for. Healthy queer relationships, happy kids being kids. It was perfect. I love Klune and his books.

Everything I want to write is spoilery. And that ending! I need book 2 right now! How can you leave me this way? I need more!

The Extraordinaries is TJ Klune first YA novel but if you, like me, have read some of his books you have already meet and loved some young queer characters. If this is your first book by this author I can garentee you that you will start reading his other books as soon as you finish this gem!
While reading the first page I was smiling, between then and the 15% I had already cried and laughed because that is the Klune effect!
This book is full of feelings, rambling, billowing, evil crackling and some posing. The characters are as always so well written and the univers so impossibly real that everything else fades. Reading this book surely is an extraordinary experice!! (and puns are not the lowest form of humor)