The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

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This was an amazing book and I am so glad I finally got to read it. I read this book as part of a Book Club I’m in on Instagram (#WickandJaneBookClub) – it was our December read and it was absolutely amazing! This is a modern super hero story about a group of high school kids that live in a place and time where some cities around the world have super heroes that everyone knows about, even if their identities are secret.

Our main character, Nick Bell, has a bit of an obsession with the Extraordinary in his city, Shadow Star. He writes fan fiction about him and always has to know what’s going on in the news with them as well. One of my favorite things about Nick is that he has ADHD and following his thought processes and commentary throughout the story are hilarious and openly endearing as well.

He thinks deeply, intricately and is easily distracted by the most simple things. He has a core group of friends that include Seth (his life long bestie), Jazz and Gibby (the lesbian couple) and the occasional Owen (his ex-boyfriend). The best thing about Nick and his friends is that they care about each other, even if they are brutally honest with one another and call each other out on their issues. They are close and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to the others. But Owen is debatable.

The story follows Nick’s obsession with the Extraordinaries – Shadow Star (hero) and Pyro Storm (villain). These two are always at each other and things are starting to escalate. Nick wants to become an Extraordinary himself so that he can be special and not just the mind-fumbling kid with ADHD that always seems to be a problem for people. His father, a cop of Nova City, has seen his fair share of danger and Nick’s mother passed away a few years ago. These are the experiences driving him and motivating him to seek dangerous opportunities to become something he thinks would be better than who he is.

But things take an interesting turn when the secret identities are revealed and framework is laid for the next installment in this series.

I’ll be reading the next book without question because now I need to know what happens after this one. I really learned to love Nick’s character because his inner monologues reminds me so much of my middle child. Thoughts all over the place and this bottled up energy that seems to be bursting at the seems. His story reminded me that I must continue to be a conscious parent and be there to support my children. With all their unique qualities that I embrace and love deeply.

The future for Nick Bell is going to be an interesting and Extraordinary one that’s for sure!

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