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purplepenning
4.5 stars for this diverse, contemporary, extraordinary YA superhero fantasy that manages to be both hilarious and poignant.
Nick (announcing grandly): “I need my own origin story. I’m going to become an Extraordinary.”
Seth: “Nicky, no.”
Nick: “Nicky, yes!”
With ADHD, an obsessive crush on Shadow Star (his city's "Extraordinary" super hero), and a stream-of-consciousness brain and mouth that just can't stop, Nick Bell is "a bit much" for some people. That's fine. Nicky and his dad have come through a lot together and he always has his friends — his beyond precious, sweater-vest-wearing, best friend Seth Gray; Gibby the baby butch and her always surprising, head cheerleader girlfriend Jazz; and Owen, a hot jerky ex that won't stop messing with them. But where exactly are his dad and friends when the super hero skirmishes escalate and Nick undertakes a poorly planned quest to become an Extraordinary himself? Answer: They may be closer than he thinks.
A few extraordinary things about this book:
• diversity handled so well
• sexuality discussed frankly and normalized
• grief portrayed accurately but with great care
• a queer, teenage friend group with a smart, sarcastic, gently ribald sense of humor that seems tone perfect
• a father-son relationship that is #goals
• a community of caring that gives all the best #FoundFamily vibes
• the painfully pure, excruciatingly fumbling friends-to-more situation
• a spot-on capture of fanfiction culture and a unique perspective on a super hero world
• nerdtastically unbridled enthusiasm
• dialogue and narrative that runs from snappy hilarious to heartrendingly perceptive
Content: in addition to loss of a parent/grief issues, there's some cop humor that seems a little out of touch and cringey right now and a pretty sympathetic portrayal of an incidence of police violence that is more than just cringey [Edited to update: The author has addressed these concerns here: http://www.tjklunebooks.com/new-blog/2020/7/29/a-message-about-the-extraordinaries]
Thanks to #NetGalley and #TorTeen for the digital ARC!
Nick (announcing grandly): “I need my own origin story. I’m going to become an Extraordinary.”
Seth: “Nicky, no.”
Nick: “Nicky, yes!”
With ADHD, an obsessive crush on Shadow Star (his city's "Extraordinary" super hero), and a stream-of-consciousness brain and mouth that just can't stop, Nick Bell is "a bit much" for some people. That's fine. Nicky and his dad have come through a lot together and he always has his friends — his beyond precious, sweater-vest-wearing, best friend Seth Gray; Gibby the baby butch and her always surprising, head cheerleader girlfriend Jazz; and Owen, a hot jerky ex that won't stop messing with them. But where exactly are his dad and friends when the super hero skirmishes escalate and Nick undertakes a poorly planned quest to become an Extraordinary himself? Answer: They may be closer than he thinks.
A few extraordinary things about this book:
• diversity handled so well
• sexuality discussed frankly and normalized
• grief portrayed accurately but with great care
• a queer, teenage friend group with a smart, sarcastic, gently ribald sense of humor that seems tone perfect
• a father-son relationship that is #goals
• a community of caring that gives all the best #FoundFamily vibes
• the painfully pure, excruciatingly fumbling friends-to-more situation
• a spot-on capture of fanfiction culture and a unique perspective on a super hero world
• nerdtastically unbridled enthusiasm
• dialogue and narrative that runs from snappy hilarious to heartrendingly perceptive
Content: in addition to loss of a parent/grief issues, there's some cop humor that seems a little out of touch and cringey right now and a pretty sympathetic portrayal of an incidence of police violence that is more than just cringey [Edited to update: The author has addressed these concerns here: http://www.tjklunebooks.com/new-blog/2020/7/29/a-message-about-the-extraordinaries]
Thanks to #NetGalley and #TorTeen for the digital ARC!
"Josie let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. And since people only did that in books, this was another irrefutable piece of evidence that she was, in fact, in a book."
That's right, our main character, stage name Josie Pie, has found a way to literally escape her peaked-too-early, careening-downhill life by jumping into books. Who among us could say we blame her? Life is hard. Life for a failed thespian is really hard. Life for a failed thespian high school dropout who blew her big break but still can't really believe it and is now buried in debt and licking her emotional wounds in nearly complete isolation as a nanny in Montana ... is really, really hard. So escapism it is! This is fine! Everything's fine! Until you try to escape from the escapism...
This is a fun, lively, super campy YA book that was just a bit too much for me — just one or two layers too deep in indulgent authorial cheekiness and one or two book jumps too long in Josie's journey to self-awareness. I think I would've loved it if it were pared back a little (and perhaps packaged as a novella, but I know that's a far less marketable product). Musical theater kids in particular and people with a higher tolerance for brash, campy humor in general might very well love this. The representation of the different genres in the book jumps are done really well (including historical romance, dystopia, and a graphic novel set right in the middle of the book!). The narrator's voice is hilarious, even if it goes just a little overboard for me, and there are a number of genuinely surprising and funny scenes and developments. (I laughed in delight when Anne and some cows from Green Gables made a gallant appearance.)
Content notes: some body-shaming references to large-chested "trophy wives" (but body-positive comments about a transgender friend), anxiety in a five-year-old, divorce and latch-key kid in the background, brief flashback to assualt of a transgender character
My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a digital #ARC.
That's right, our main character, stage name Josie Pie, has found a way to literally escape her peaked-too-early, careening-downhill life by jumping into books. Who among us could say we blame her? Life is hard. Life for a failed thespian is really hard. Life for a failed thespian high school dropout who blew her big break but still can't really believe it and is now buried in debt and licking her emotional wounds in nearly complete isolation as a nanny in Montana ... is really, really hard. So escapism it is! This is fine! Everything's fine! Until you try to escape from the escapism...
This is a fun, lively, super campy YA book that was just a bit too much for me — just one or two layers too deep in indulgent authorial cheekiness and one or two book jumps too long in Josie's journey to self-awareness. I think I would've loved it if it were pared back a little (and perhaps packaged as a novella, but I know that's a far less marketable product). Musical theater kids in particular and people with a higher tolerance for brash, campy humor in general might very well love this. The representation of the different genres in the book jumps are done really well (including historical romance, dystopia, and a graphic novel set right in the middle of the book!). The narrator's voice is hilarious, even if it goes just a little overboard for me, and there are a number of genuinely surprising and funny scenes and developments. (I laughed in delight when Anne and some cows from Green Gables made a gallant appearance.)
Content notes: some body-shaming references to large-chested "trophy wives" (but body-positive comments about a transgender friend), anxiety in a five-year-old, divorce and latch-key kid in the background, brief flashback to assualt of a transgender character
My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a digital #ARC.
I hadn't read anything by Alexis Hall and didn't really know what to expect, but I don't think snort-laughing and texting clips to friends because they were too funny to keep to myself was on my list of expectations. This was, finally, a contemporary rom-com that delivered on both the rom (so good) and the com (laugh-out-loud funny)! [I know this is being compared to Red, White & Royal Blue, so yes — if you liked that one there's a good chance you'll like this one, BUT I liked Boyfriend Material better by a pretty large margin.]
I'm not sure I knew that hot-mess at rock-bottom trying to turn his life around (Luc) meets buttoned-up ethical vegetarian barrister trying to ignore some key blindspots (Oliver) was my jam, but it definitely is! (I should've known — David and Patrick from Schitt's Creek, Nick and Seth from The Extraordinaries, etc.) The dialogue, the friends groups, the co-workers, the text threads, the mutual support, the wacky parental, the token straight girl, the self-discovery, the brutal wipeouts and do-overs, the emotional courage... It's all just really good.
Content notes: strong language and frank discussion of sex and sex toys (but no graphic sex scenes — our boys are gentlemen), allusions to self-destructive behavior triggered by betrayal and childhood abandonment by a parent, papparazzi harassment, homophobic slurs and attitudes dressed as jokes (not portrayed as acceptable)
I'm not sure I knew that hot-mess at rock-bottom trying to turn his life around (Luc) meets buttoned-up ethical vegetarian barrister trying to ignore some key blindspots (Oliver) was my jam, but it definitely is! (I should've known — David and Patrick from Schitt's Creek, Nick and Seth from The Extraordinaries, etc.) The dialogue, the friends groups, the co-workers, the text threads, the mutual support, the wacky parental, the token straight girl, the self-discovery, the brutal wipeouts and do-overs, the emotional courage... It's all just really good.
Content notes: strong language and frank discussion of sex and sex toys (but no graphic sex scenes — our boys are gentlemen), allusions to self-destructive behavior triggered by betrayal and childhood abandonment by a parent, papparazzi harassment, homophobic slurs and attitudes dressed as jokes (not portrayed as acceptable)
Just okay for me, but your mileage may vary if you're keen on not-quite-but-nearly-forbidden office romance and instant, undeniable attraction (with a few undeniably steamy scenes ... including a first kiss that will steam up the screen of your e-reader). I liked the girlfriends thread, with three strong, intelligent women being brought into each other's lives by catching and confronting a lying, cheating dirtbag. And each of the main characters was fine. But I was bored through the first half, annoyed by the endless "but I really shouldn't" narrative, and felt let down by the conclusion. Still — it's a well-writen office romance with successful, powerful Black leads in modern tech culture so definitely pick it up if it sounds like something you'd like!
