by Theresa

Plot:
This book follows Nick who writes fanfiction about his city’s superheros, called ‘Extraordinaries’. These heroes have recently begun appearing all over the world and each have different powers (think Xmen). Nick has a big ol’ crush on the hero Shadow Star and a chance encounter with him leads Nick on a quest to become an Extraordinary. However, things are more than they seem and Nova City’s two heroes start fighting each other while Nick begins learning more about them. All of this is mixed in with Nick’s family, friends, some romance and lots of queerness.

My thoughts:
This book was a fun, lighthearted read that I really loved. There was so much positivity in this book and it really made it a delight to read, especially in such uncertain and stressful times. I’ve previously read one TJ Klune book, Wolfsong, and since they’ve both been wonderful, I’ll definitely be picking up more of this author’s books.

I really loved the characters in this book, they were all so vivid and real. I especially loved how different relationships were depicted, such as the relationship between Nick and his dad, Gibby and Jazz’s relationship and Nick’s friend group. Nick and his friends had me actually laughing out loud which is rare for me but was a delight to read.

Nick has ADHD which is own voices rep and from what I can tell it was handled well. It’s rare to see a book with a character with something like ADHD and for that to be well-portrayed so this was nice to see. There was also, of course, a lot of queer rep and I loved how effortless and positive it was. There was no homophobia, the word queer was used (I’m not sure I’ve actually seen that?), there were supportive parents and I loved the queer friendship. TJ Klune writes families and grief so well from what I’ve read of his and this book was no different.

This is normally where I’d write about any negatives for the book and I have to admit that I’m struggling here. There was heavy foreshadowing so I guessed the ending, though from the way it’s written I think that’s intentional? So not really a complaint, I’m just struggling to think of anything. Despite this, I was kept on the edge of my seat and still really enjoyed the book.

Overall, I loved this book and can’t wait to read more installments in the series! Also, remember to read the end chapter after the acknowledgements!!! It’s so good and I nearly missed it!!

*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley*

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