2021 Week 1
Another year, another blog post.
As I explained in my other post, I’m changing things up a little to take some pressure off of myself, while still maintaining the blog and keeping up with reading/reviewing.
So without further ado, this week’s books!
#1: THE EXTRAORDINARIES by T.J. Klune
I had a lot of fun with this one.
“The Extraordinaries” follows Nick, a fan of superheroes in a world where superheroes actually exist. He writes fan fiction about his favourite, Shadow Star, upon whom he has a crush. After a real-life run-in with Shadow Star, he decides he wants to become a superhero - an Extraordinary - himself. Also, his best friend keeps sneaking off mysteriously, what’s up with that?
I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a book that took a narrative style quite like this one - certainly, if I have, it didn’t stick in my mind in the same way. Our point of view character is Nick, who is very earnest and passionate and also extremely unobservant and slow on the uptake.
Part of the fun of the book is watching things happen around Nick, watching the obvious clues line up that he is completely oblivious to. In the hands of another writer, this might have started to grate, but Klune manages to pull this off, keeping the trick entertaining while still keeping Nick a sympathetic, enjoyable protagonist.
It helps that the overarching story is fun, as well. The side characters, including his very queer friend group, are great additions, and the relationship Nick has with his dad is touching and heartrending in turn. The background superhero drama and mystery just adds to things.
I’m also a bit of a sucker for a fanboy/fangirl main character who’s very clearly lovingly wrought from personal experience. I was really sold on this book from the moment it began, where we’re reading Nick’s self-insert fanfic. Also, I appreciated the acknowledgement that it’s not just girls participating in fandom in such a way.
Heartily recommend, and I’m really looking forward to the sequel out this year.
#2: THE SCAPEGRACERS by Hannah Abigail Clarke
Oooooh this is kind of a tough one for me!
I liked it, generally, though I will admit there were some definite ups and downs, and I’m not sure what got in the way of me connecting with this as much as I on-paper should have.
The book follows Sideways, a lesbian witch who’s the outcast of her school. After doing a magic trick at a party, she falls in with a group of popular girls, with whom she forms a coven. When they are threatened by an anti-magic/anti-witch organization, they must join together and keep each other safe.
There’s a lot of things I liked. First of all, I thought the way the magic worked was really interesting: Sideways and her friends pull from themselves and, rather than a specific incantation or ritual, it’s about saying and doing what feels right. I really liked that, it felt authentic and appealed to my understanding of somatics.
I also liked most of the characters. I love the idea of these misunderstood vicious girls, and most of them delivered on that promise. The story felt very wish-fulfillment-y, in a way that I found interesting even if slightly disconnected from at times: outcast falling in with friends, popular girls even, with whom she ultimately belongs.
I think where the story didn’t entirely work for me was in the external plot and the structure. Clarke sets up a good villain in the Chantry boys, but the characters seem to disregard the reality of the situation and as a result the stakes never really materialize. The characters kind of meander through the story until it comes to what feels like a very abrupt halt three hundred pages later.
I’m interested enough to see where this goes, if the story eventually lives up to the promise of the premise, and I’m always in favour of more lesbian protagonists and vicious girls.