Nick Bell is a completely ordinary teenage boy who writes fan fiction about his superhero crush, Shadow Star and his nemesis Pyro Storm. The Extraordinaries exist in Nick’s real life, and he would do anything to be one of them. With the help of his best friends and his maybe-ex-boyfriend, he sets off to figure out how to make himself an Extraordinary.

Although this book is a superhero story, there is so much more to it. It’s the story of friendship, of finding and accepting yourself, and of love. Love from friends and family alike. I enjoyed that the main characters are all queer, and really loved the friendship between these teens. There’s also the relationship between Nick and his father which I found to be so realistic and caring. The author did an amazing job of blurring the lines between hero and villain and although I thought I knew who Shadow Star and Pyro Storm were, I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator, Michael Lesley did an amazing job of bringing these characters to life. He was able to address Nick’s struggle with ADHD in a realistic way, and he gave each character their own voice. I think I have a new favorite narrator.

This is an own voices story from author T.J. Klune. I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea and now this one. I look forward to reading his upcoming releases - Flash Fire (the sequel to The Extraordinaries) and Under the Whispering Door.