Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

6 reviews

louberry360's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was a super cute book. I had to see it aside at first because I had trouble getting into it, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it. That said, there wasn’t anything special enough to get this to four stars. The other odd good books I’ve read were much better, but I think this was his debut YA book, and it was a solid very good, and there were several moments I nearly spit up my drink while laughing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

there's something about men in the TJ Kluniverse (yes, i am proud of myself for that, thank you) that's a lot better than irl (in my experience of course), especially dads… consider it part of the apologetic parents canon: https://www.vox.com/culture/23025832/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-parental-apology-fantasy-turning-red. however, this romanticizing of characters also extends to cops, making for some strong copaganda—especially awkward given the book's release in summer 2020. one of its major themes is the myth of good vs. evil and of black & white thinking, yet this only applies to our fictional superheroes and not the institution of policing we actually live with—no no, the police are always unquestionably "the good guys" 🙃. there's even a moment where we're made to sympathize with a cop in a literal act of police brutality, punching a witness (a witness, not even a suspected perpetrator) for not cooperating. we see how much he was going through at the time; maybe we should extend that understanding to other cops who abuse their power? or, maybe a different superhero story got it right: "with great power comes great responsibility," and as such it's reasonable to expect protection from those whose job it is (supposedly) to "protect and serve". another of Klune's books, The House in the Cerulean Sea, used fantastical metaphor to make a political statement; i can't help but see as a glaring omission how The Extraordinaries falls short in that regard.
big thought out of the way, here are some scattered ones:

• there was a lot of build up and the climax seemed to drag on, but insufficient payoff. (though, at least there was any payoff at all, unlike Fence: Striking Distance. that's not relevant here, i just hold a grudge.)
• for the amount of times the narration described what teenage boys are like, i started to think maybe it was the author trying to convince us that he knew, like "how do you do fellow kids"
• it was genuinely funny
• audiobook reader was top tier 👌
• "I'm young and queer and in a fragile place right now." me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Stalking, Car accident, Alcohol, and Classism

cluckieduck's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Look. I love me some TJ. The Green Creek series is perhaps one of the most beautiful series I’ve ever read so I was really looking forward to starting this newest series. I’m afraid to say, however, that this foray into YA was a bit of a miss.

TJ’s typical humorous, effervescent narration comes to us through the eyes of our lead, Nick, a teen with ADHD who’s life has been divided into the Before & After of his mother’s death. Nick’s had a tough go of things and wishes to be an Extraordinary, this universe’s version of a superhero. There was a lot of borrowing from other universes - a little bit Marvel, a little bit Kick-Ass, and some others sprinkled here & there, but in the end it was a very predictable story. That is unless you’re Nick, who has got to be one of the most clueless leads in existence, to his detriment, because he got rather annoying by the end. 

I appreciate the voice that TJ gives to queer and neurodivergent characters, but there is a fine line between representation and stereotyping. Here they’re borderline played for jokes (ex. the angry, Black baby-dyke who’ll kick everyone’s ass if they look at her wrongly & our lead’s ADHD is maxed-out to the point of him being dumb) and it’s a bit cringy. I’m apprehensive about how Nick’s ADHD will be handled

alongside his telekinesis. I hope his symptoms don’t get brushed aside as his latent powers because that would be a major disservice to including his diagnosis in the first place

. 

All in all, it was an ok read and I’ll continue the series, but probably my least favourite of TJ’s. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Death, Vomit, and Death of parent

sssssoup's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

ridesthesun's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was such a fun silly genuine time 😍

Definitely YA, but some really vulnerable, beautiful themes throughout. Under the layers of banter and silliness and comically goofy superhero content, runs a really beautiful story about this boy and his relationships with his family and friends. 

Just lost a star from me because while I know the second hand embarrassment is purposeful, I just can't handle it, I'm too weak 😂😂

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Death of parent