YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. TJ Klune's YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves.

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?

After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick's best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl meets Marissa Meyer's Renegades in TJ Klune's YA debut.

20%
(view spoiler)[
I have mixed feelings about this book. I'm not a great fan of the writing style. It's a bit childish.
I like Nick's character. He is kind of obsessed with shadowstar, but really cute.
I like how the author gives snippets about what goes on in Nick's brain, and how he feels. (hide spoiler)]

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Date changed. Restarting April 17th 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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25%

(view spoiler)[
Oof, I was struggling to get into this. I feel like the fanfic inclusion in this is kinda hurting the book, based on the fact that Nick is supposed to be the most popular writer in his fandom, but the fic is... pretty bad? Plus I have a hard time believing a story with such a clear Gary Stu is gonna rise to the top of any fandom. This has not been my experience with any of the fandoms I have ever dipped a toe into. 40 comments? Get real. Who is shipping an OC that hard? Had it been a Shadow Star / Pyro Storm fic, yes, that I would believe.

The Nick voice is also a little tough for me to get behind. Feels like he should be so much younger than 16. The portrayal of his ADHD is not in line with my own experience of it, or the other neurodivergent people I know. I do find it a little grating, but I can accept that it's different for everyone and cut some slack here.

My first real enjoyment came at the kissing of Shadow Star's head. That's just so ridiculous and embarassing that I couldn't help but laugh. So maybe the book is growing on me. We shall see, I am determined to complete it.

I am always happy for queer representation, even if everyone in the friend group feels a bit like a caricature.

So... are we all thinking Seth is Shadow Star? and Owen maybe Pyro?

(hide spoiler)]

I’m 10% and not really feeling it due to the narrator. I’ll be switching to print and hopefully that might change my feelings.

Lindie wrote: "25%


Oof, I was struggling to get into this. I feel like the fanfic inclusion in this is kinda hurting the book, based on the fact that Nick is supposed to be the most popular writer in his fandom..."

Agree agree agree with all you said. I am actually DNFing as it is still too hard to get into it.

Yeah, I think I might follow that route. I just don't look forward to picking it back up. Such a shame, the premise was delightful.

The premise is so promising. Welp. Here’s to more time spent on another book.

Don't know why, but I forced myself to power through and finish it.

(view spoiler)[
Story got marginally more interesting around the 60% mark when it developed a tiny plot outside of Nick's self-involved ramblings. But even then, it was tropey and nothing surpised me, not even the big reveals.

Then came epilogues and not only was there more bad fanfic, but we went right into cheeseville. I was so glad when it was over.
(hide spoiler)]

I'm hoping to get into this one next week, but I'm in a reading slump at the moment, and I see it was a fan favorite with the buddy read. We'll see if I can get to this one! :)