Flash Fire

"QUOOOOOOOI??!?!?!?!"

Ce que je me suis exclamée à la dernière page du livre, avec les yeux encore un peu humides du discours de Gibby et d'autres moments émouvants.

Mhm, I liked the first one better. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about it. It was a nice listen while I was working and it wasn't terrible - though it wasn't ‘amazing, oh my god, I have to listen to more of it right now'. (In fact, all except the last 45 minutes or so was listened while I was at work and I don't work again til after the end of this month and I wanted to finish it this month.)

Thoughts? Hmm. The narrator was obviously having a lot of fun with the material. I don't like the big reveal (tm) at the end of the book. (Very cheap.) I do like the squad of four teens and that they are aware of stuff. I don't like that sometimes this book reads like an after-school special. I do like that the parents aren't perpetually kept in the dark.

I'm not against finishing this series, but I will not be buying the next book (hinthint library of mine) and I will be looking at it with lots of trepidation, because judging by how this book ends, there are two major plot points of the next book that I will either hate, or dislike. (And, in fact, the main plot of the next book, sounds like a plotline I will hate unless it is handled very, very carefully.) (And, to be fair, I'm not sure I've ever seen it handled in a way I like.) (shrugs)

Soooo good!! This is much better than the first book, now that the story has been set up and we know about Seth, everything really felt like it was getting properly started. I really like Extraordinaries and it's really cool to see more, like Miss Conduct. Of course, being an extraordinary is an obvious allegory for being queer; the whole ‘Save Our Children' initiative as well as stuff people were saying about Seth after he came out as extraordinary reminded me very much of the current situation regarding trans people. (Would be really cool to see a trans Extraordinary!!) It's so cool that there's someone putting queerness into the superhero genre, as it really needs it!

(Oooh also how is Jenny Bell alive!??! wpah and Owen escaped?!?!? I am so excited for the next book!)

The awkward baby gays continue to be awkward and I am delighted, even if I have to close my eyes and cringe every so often. Usually at the fanfic. Klune is very good at making me glad that I am no longer a teenager.

It looks like, from the acknowledgements, there's gonna be one more book in this series, and I need it NOW. So so much happened in this one, and it was fun and good but now I need to know what the heck is going to happen next, because that was a whole lot of plot for one novel.

I bounced around for a solid couple minutes and ran over to the friend also reading this book to squeal “Drag queen superhero!!” in absolute delight when that happened. That may genuinely be my favorite character so far. Precious.

This sequel to “The Extraordinaries” was a book I was greatly looking forward to. While this was a fun book, I don't think it lived up to how successful the first was.

This book starts off after the first book ends, with Nick and his friends just trying to get through high school while also dealing with the Extraordinaries from Nova City. One of the biggest things I loved in the first book was how funny it was. I was laughing constantly, and even when things got serious, I still had fun. This book was much more serious than the first one. At the beginning, I thought it would have the same hilarity, and I found myself laughing aloud multiple times. However, as the book went on, that was kind of lost. There were a few one-liners here and there, but I wasn't rolling. The stakes in the first story felt higher, but it was still able to brign that fun nature. This one got very serious.

While I understand what Klune was trying to do with grappling with Nick's dad being a cop, I don't know if he pulled it off or not. There was a lot of discussion throughout about cops in America and Nick's dad's part in that. While I think in a way this was an important discussion to have, it felt weird seeing it all from Nick's perspective. Not sure how to put it into words, but it just felt a little off.

While this book didn't live up to the first one, I still love the found family in this book. Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz are the cutest group of friends in the world. Their interactions are so genuine, and they are all just there to support each other through whatever they go through. This trope is definitely one of my favorites, and Klune has proven to be a master at it.

All in all, this series is a fun read. It's cute and funny. However, not sure if this one had the same impact as the first.

TW: assault, blood, bullying, fire, hostages, kidnpaping, police brutality, profanity, racism, violence

T.J. Klune has created the most wonderous character in Nick, our hero wannabe, in “The Extraordinaries” series. Nick is a head full of ideas that all need to be implemented now. Never mind a kid whose mind is always in the gutter. I love living in Nick's head and hearing his voice as it can be amazingly funny and dirty.

I like Flash Fire a lot more than the first book and that is hard to say because The Extraordinaries was really good too. Nick is still struggling with his ADHD and lusting after his superhero boyfriend Seth. Klune has added the additional struggles of what it means to be Black in Nova City through the experiences of Gibby, her family, and Nick's father who is a policeman. There are also the real-life teenage struggles of college, life after high school, friendships, and self-esteem.

All of these issues are seamlessly blended into an action superhero story with new villains and new heroes. There are secrets, betrayals, and lots of fun action sequences. I really love the free-speaking moments Nick has, for example when he meets Miss Conduct for the first time. Absolutely hilarious.

There are so many surprises, twists, and of course the bonds of friendship. Klune has included diversity and fire. I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed Flash Fire.

If you haven't read the first book, no worries, Flash Fire can be read as a standalone.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.