I went into this not really sure what I was getting into and came out wanting to hug each and every character: Nick, Seth, Jazz, Gibby, and Nick's dad especially! I rarely see such positive parent/child relationships in YA but this one, Nicks dad wins DAD OF THE YEAR award!
This is a little ridiculous, but in the best way possible, so buckle in.
Nick writes fanfiction about the Extraordinaries, Shadow Star in particular, who saves Nova City from danger on a regular basis! Nick ships himself with Shadow Star, of course. And its cringy and amazing all at the same time. We see short snippets of Nick's fic and I love that fanfic is incorporated into this story.
Nick has ADHD and while I can't speak personally, I felt this was portrayed accurately. He's shown taking his medicine to help with ADHD daily, and his dad gives it to him to make sure he's keeping up with it. Nicky, as he's affectionately called through the story, has a rough time with school - and he explains its not that he's trying to cause problems, his brain just can't help it. He talks a mile a minute and he can't help it. I felt the snippets of his fanfiction also shows the way his mind works.
Nick's group of friends are all queer and proud about it. This isn't a coming out story. They're all already out. There is no bullying, no hating, just queer kids hanging out at the lunch table and I love this. Jazz is a cheerleader and perfect, and queer. Her girlfriend Gibby is referred to by Nick as a "baby butch" who changed her name to Gibby and will punch anyone who says otherwise. Seth is Nick's childhood friend and their friendship is just the softest. And Owen is the ex-boyfriend who is still cool with their group. They all tease each other but at the end of the day they're true friends and I love that.
It was hilarious to me how Nick was blind to what was right in front of his face, the signs were all there but he just couldn't see what he didn't want to see. (Although everyone else sees it.)
In this universe, there is Marvel & DC, those superheroes exist and a few are mentioned by name, so this was a weird blending of reality and Extraordinaires - how these people came to be, very little is known. It was fun seeing these superheroes (and villains) and how the world perceives them - we only really see two in Nova City, but there are more in the world.)
I have to touch again on how fantastic Nick's dad is. It's said early on Nick lost his mom recently and Nick and his dad are trying to cope with life "after" the accident. The father/son relationship is so real and genuine. Nick's dad talks to him about being safe when having sex, much to Nick's horror, and does other typical dad stuff and embarrasses his son. Nick's father is very prominent in this story and their relationship is one I will always go back to when looking for good parent/child relationships in stories.
At the end of the day, what I liked most about this isn't the superheroes or fanfic, its the relationship between these characters.
I had so much fun with this story. This wasn't originally on my radar but I'm SO so glad I did pick it up, especially for Pride Month! This is an ownvoices queer story, which is even better in my opinion. I would recommend this if you liked Renegades by Marissa Meyer, this had similar vibes, but queer. (And even if you didn't like Renegades, give this a try! I honestly didn't love it, but I did love this!)
This is a little ridiculous, but in the best way possible, so buckle in.
Nick writes fanfiction about the Extraordinaries, Shadow Star in particular, who saves Nova City from danger on a regular basis! Nick ships himself with Shadow Star, of course. And its cringy and amazing all at the same time. We see short snippets of Nick's fic and I love that fanfic is incorporated into this story.
Nick has ADHD and while I can't speak personally, I felt this was portrayed accurately. He's shown taking his medicine to help with ADHD daily, and his dad gives it to him to make sure he's keeping up with it. Nicky, as he's affectionately called through the story, has a rough time with school - and he explains its not that he's trying to cause problems, his brain just can't help it. He talks a mile a minute and he can't help it. I felt the snippets of his fanfiction also shows the way his mind works.
Nick's group of friends are all queer and proud about it. This isn't a coming out story. They're all already out. There is no bullying, no hating, just queer kids hanging out at the lunch table and I love this. Jazz is a cheerleader and perfect, and queer. Her girlfriend Gibby is referred to by Nick as a "baby butch" who changed her name to Gibby and will punch anyone who says otherwise. Seth is Nick's childhood friend and their friendship is just the softest. And Owen is the ex-boyfriend who is still cool with their group. They all tease each other but at the end of the day they're true friends and I love that.
It was hilarious to me how Nick was blind to what was right in front of his face, the signs were all there but he just couldn't see what he didn't want to see. (Although everyone else sees it.)
In this universe, there is Marvel & DC, those superheroes exist and a few are mentioned by name, so this was a weird blending of reality and Extraordinaires - how these people came to be, very little is known. It was fun seeing these superheroes (and villains) and how the world perceives them - we only really see two in Nova City, but there are more in the world.)
I have to touch again on how fantastic Nick's dad is. It's said early on Nick lost his mom recently and Nick and his dad are trying to cope with life "after" the accident. The father/son relationship is so real and genuine. Nick's dad talks to him about being safe when having sex, much to Nick's horror, and does other typical dad stuff and embarrasses his son. Nick's father is very prominent in this story and their relationship is one I will always go back to when looking for good parent/child relationships in stories.
At the end of the day, what I liked most about this isn't the superheroes or fanfic, its the relationship between these characters.
I had so much fun with this story. This wasn't originally on my radar but I'm SO so glad I did pick it up, especially for Pride Month! This is an ownvoices queer story, which is even better in my opinion. I would recommend this if you liked Renegades by Marissa Meyer, this had similar vibes, but queer. (And even if you didn't like Renegades, give this a try! I honestly didn't love it, but I did love this!)