Didn't live up to expectations but still enjoyable

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Written by TJ Klune, The Extraordinaries is a contemporary fantasy novel that follows protagonist Nick Bell in his quest to becoming an Extraordinary and winning over the famed Shadow Star. Taking on a nearly impossible task and struggling with his relationship with his best friend Seth Grey, Nick finds himself in the middle of the fight between hero and villain.
First and foremost I have to applaud Klune’s writing. Having never read any of his works before I was surprised by how funny the book was. He is a hilarious author which made for a pretty likable main character. Nick Bell, a popular fanfiction author with ADHD, is witty and smart. While I overall enjoyed Nick as a character he seemed immature for a sixteen-year-old. This immaturity, while it could be a result of his ADHD, made him annoying at points. He could also be selfish, not seeming to care too much about his friends. Instead, Nick pushed them aside to focus on his goal. Altogether he was not a bad character but he definitely was not a favorite of mine.
The plot of the book felt too slow-paced. Outside of Nick getting himself in trouble, there was not much action until the last quarter of the book. Understandably the climax is meant to be the most intense point in a book but it was the only point the book really kept my attention. It took longer than it should have for me to get through this book, I got distracted far too often. I think the book was just longer than it needed to be. There was too much filler information that was not necessary to the main plot. For example, Nick and his fanfiction were not as prominent of a plot point as the book’s summary made it seem. When his story re-appeared halfway through the book I realized that I had completely forgotten fanfiction was apart of the book.
Negatives aside, I was very involved in trying to determine the identities of the hero Shadow Star and villain Pyro Storm. I went back and forth between characters and what secret identity they might have. This aspect of the book was one of the most engaging parts for me.
The highlight of The Extraordinaries for me was the ending. I was completely shocked. The ending sets up a nice scenario for a potential sequel. Despite not being a favorite book of mine and despite its flaws I do still expect to read any further installments in the universe of Extraordinaries.