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The Extraordinaries

T.J. Klune

Start date: May 1, 2021

Finish date: May 31, 2021

Discussion: Moderator's BOTM Discussions

Discussion leader: Sylvs (NOVELty Reads)

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What Members Thought

Jun 30, 2020 Ashley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: incl-some-of-my-favorite-characters, love-as-a-major-or-main-theme, magical-realism, poc-rep, magic-humans-mortal, superheroes, awesome-friendships, book-buyers-anonymous-bought, fantasy-and-magic, releases-2020

Star Rating: —> 5 [extraordinary ] STARS!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Buddy read with the amazing Darce ❤️

OhmyGod. THIS WAS PHENOMENAL. Downright, utterly, BRILLIANT! Truly, I am SO THANKFUL THIS IS GOING TO BE A TRILOGY! I need moremoremoremoremore!

I LOVED THIS SO FREAKIN MUCH!

TJ Klune is just the absolute best; everything he writes is uh-may-zinggggg. I had really high expectations for this and it went above and beyond them !

Also— holy extraordinary queerness!
REPRESENT ! 😉
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
Wonderful, positive queer re ...more

42 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2020 Sylvs (NOVELty Reads) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, arcs

RE-READ:

OH MY GOD! THAT ENDING HOW ON EARTH DID I NOT PICK UP ON IT IN MY ARC READ?!?!? THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING AND I'M SO SO SO GLAD THERE'S GOING TO BE A SEQUEL... AND A THIRD BOOK! I AM SO HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH THIS SERIES IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY ANYMORE. ALL THE STARS IN THE WORLD FOR THE EXTRAORDINARIES <3

ACTUAL RATING: ∞ (what did you expect??)

_________

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I simply DEVOURED this book!

I don't think I have ever ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

May 22, 2021 Zitong Ren rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, 2021, action, adventure, contains-romance, lgbtqi, diverse, fantasy

Read with the Between the Pages bookclub for our Moderator’s BOTM for May.

So, this was fun. It’s a pretty amusing novel, with superheroes and completely ridiculous antics. See, this had the vibe of a YA contemporary novel, but with everything heavily exaggerated alongside the addition of superheros. It did feel overly dramatic and wild in nature, which was fine, as it suited the overall tone of this novel well. I must also not discount the fact that there were in truth some noteworthy moments wh Read with the Between the Pages bookclub for our Moderator’s BOTM for May.

So, this was fun. It’s a pretty amusing novel, with superheroes and completely ridiculous antics. See, this had the vibe of a YA contemporary novel, but with everything heavily exaggerated alongside the addition of superheros. It did feel overly dramatic and wild in nature, which was fine, as it suited the overall tone of this novel well. I must also not discount the fact that there were in truth some noteworthy moments when the novel did become much more serious and less playful, which I appreciated as it revealed a range of writing abilities from the author. And yes, this was my first novel by TJ Klune that I have read.

The main character in here is queer and has ADHD, two things of which I am not, so I can’t comment on how accurate the rep is, especially the way ADHD was displayed, but it was interesting for me being in Nick’s head and experiencing what he did. In a sense, it was almost frustrating to be in his head as his thought processes are just so wildly different to mine, but I do think it is useful that if the representation is accurate, what someone with ADHD may go through in their day-to-day basis. I felt that this was probably why it was meant to be quite obvious to the reader at what one of the big reveals was meant to be with so much foreshadowing before the twist to the point where it was impossible to miss being the reader, but it was difficult to work out as Nick.

There wasn’t really a coherent plot, it was a mesh of a lot of wacky things. I didn’t mind that much that there wasn’t a straightforward plot - although I would have liked things to have moved along quicker, especially during the first half where I felt that not a lot of was occurring for the number of pages. It did pick up and things gradually grew more interesting(and more ridiculous) the further I got into the novel. I probably would have preferred a bit more structure if I am being frank, however.

The romance worked fine in this - it wasn’t like my favourite thing or anything, but there were enough stakes for me to be invested. I wasn’t as invested as I would have liked, I think due to the occasional lack of tension. There were also just a lot of weird moments that I don’t know if it exactly suited my tastes. I kind of almost do prefer books that aren’t so goofy in nature - I’m find with books being funny or amusing, but I think that since this was just a bit much, I wasn’t as invested in key areas, like the romance, as I would have liked.

The side characters were all good fun. I actually really liked the dynamic between Gibby and Jaz and thought they were entertaining characters to read about. They failed to be very in depth and deep characters, but I thought they blended really well for the purposes of this story. I found both Seth and Owen to be fine, even though both of their respective plot lines were quite predictable and they ended up almost being caricatures of what was expected of their characters.

Anyways, I enjoyed this, not quite a new favourite, but it was a fun ride! 7/10 ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2020 anna ✩ rated it liked it

3.5 stars for the throughly entertaining time I had reading this.

I read this book all in one sitting and come away from it very entertained and with a smile on my face. In my opinion, it's not one of those books that will wow you and that offer a completely new perspective on superheroes, but it does offer a sense of security and feel good factor.

Superheros? Super powers? LGBTQ+ characters? Coming of age? ADHD representation? Fan fiction? All there and all wonderful!

Nick Bell is a popular fan ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 13, 2021 Audrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtq, a-x-reading-challenge, ultimate-flowers-reading-challenge, july-2021

This book made my whole week. Superhero stories are one of my biggest weaknesses! Not only is this story filled with supernatural activity. It also demonstrates a cute budding romance and multiples humourous interactions between characters. I found the second-hand embarrassment in this story extremely charming and relatable. I was smiling and laughing during the whole thing. This is the book to read for those bad days that need a little sunshine. I do have to say that the story is predictable bu ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 25, 2020 Stephanie Clabby rated it it was amazing

How is this my first TJ Klune book and why is the next book in this series already out?!

This book was everything I needed. So fun and funny and surprisingly deep. I listened to the audiobook and it was so well narrated.

Honestly is there anything better than a ya fantasy, friends to lovers, superhero story that talks about fanfic? Because I think not.

Following Nicky, (a gay teenager who is still dealing with the death of his mother, ADHD, his confusing feelings for his best friends, an ex that ju ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2021 jabulisile (chaotic.pagesofjae) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021-reads

5 stars

I think I've found myself a book I can reread whenever I need some lighthearted humor.

...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2020 Kate rated it it was amazing

Nicky, Yes!

Ugh! I adore this book so much, that I forgive it for making me laugh and cry in public. Nick is such a refreshing MC, and the ensemble cast is magic, each having their own place and purpose within the narrative. The writing is sharp and perfectly toned to keep pace with Nick's extraordinary ADHD mind, but it balances the hilarious moments with deep and meaningful moments that will melt your heart.

We definitely need more superqueero stories. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 15, 2021 Eileen rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen-young-adult, lgbtq, romance, fantasy, 2021, 2021-ng-group-challenge

This was a slow start for me because I needed to adjust myself to the teen angst and self-absorption that you often find in YA novels. But once I made this adjustment, I have to admit I had a hard time putting it down. There were times when I found Nick to be annoying, but his friends were there to call him on it, lol, even as they showed him that they loved and supported him. I really loved the "talks" that he had with his dad and found myself laughing quite a bit. This story has all the major ...more

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