It’s well known that regardless of what else they are, teenage boys are inherently stupid.
I’ll be honest, I was not expecting to love this book the way I did. I was excited for an ARC ebook galley (Thanks Netgalley and MacMillan/Tor for this copy!!) but this wasn’t my favorite one I had requested. I am PLEASED to announce that this book surpassed ALL my expectations and was one of the most hilarious, enjoyable reads I’ve picked up lately.
This story centers around Nicholas Bell, fanboy with ADHD and a heart of gold, as he attempts to become and Extraordinary (a superhero) so he can hook up with his crush, Shadow Star. Also, he’s definitely in love with his best friend Seth, but he’s the only one who doesn’t know it. And he writes absolutely terrible Shadow Star fanfiction. So, you know, the standard teen superhero fanboy.
I was wary of this story mainly because I feel like fandom is so hard to get right. For every Fangirl, there’s a Ship It (sorry if you liked this one). The Extraordinaries got it right. The fanfiction wasn’t spectacular, because that’s not what fanfiction is for. Any time fanfiction was present it showed more about Nick’s mental state than anything else, which I absolutely adored.
I’ve seen some reviews saying they thought that everyone acted too childishly, which was part of the appeal for me. These kids felt like teenagers. They made stupid decisions and fell in love with the wrong people and got obsessed with all sorts of stupid things and were way more clever than anyone gave the credit for. Nick was a kid with ADHD, one I felt I could’ve met and been friends with back in my own superhero fanfiction writing days.
If you need a silly, sweet, and downright-good-time of a novel, I’d suggest picking this one up on July 14. I hope it gets all the hype and love it deserves, and I can’t wait to see what T.J. Klune does in the next book.
the void 