Elspeth reviewed The Extraordinaries by T. J. Klune
Review of 'The Extraordinaries' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Ughhhhhh. After the disaster that was [b:A Good Neighborhood|44084930|A Good Neighborhood|Therese Anne Fowler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555810442l/44084930.SY75.jpg|68554753] I wanted to read something light and happy that I would be guaranteed to like. Given how much I've liked other TJ Klune books, particularly [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea|45047384|The House in the Cerulean Sea|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384.SY75.jpg|62945242], I thought The Extraordinaries would be a no-brainer. Superheroes! Fanfic! Surely this would be a fun, gay romp about smashing the system, right? Wrong. How could someone who wrote something as anti-capitalist as Cerulean Sea turn around and write such a pro-cop book? In the same year??
I'm so disappointed. This book would have been a lot of fun if it didn't so egregiously glorify the police and make jokes about police brutality and overreach. Like seriously, there are several literal jokes about cops roughing up a kid while arresting him or putting him in jail …
Ughhhhhh. After the disaster that was [b:A Good Neighborhood|44084930|A Good Neighborhood|Therese Anne Fowler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555810442l/44084930.SY75.jpg|68554753] I wanted to read something light and happy that I would be guaranteed to like. Given how much I've liked other TJ Klune books, particularly [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea|45047384|The House in the Cerulean Sea|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384.SY75.jpg|62945242], I thought The Extraordinaries would be a no-brainer. Superheroes! Fanfic! Surely this would be a fun, gay romp about smashing the system, right? Wrong. How could someone who wrote something as anti-capitalist as Cerulean Sea turn around and write such a pro-cop book? In the same year??
I'm so disappointed. This book would have been a lot of fun if it didn't so egregiously glorify the police and make jokes about police brutality and overreach. Like seriously, there are several literal jokes about cops roughing up a kid while arresting him or putting him in jail for not doing his homework. The main character's dad is a cop who is demoted for punching a witness in the face and he is still presented as moral and good and is all buddy buddies with the police captain who implies that he will re-promote him as soon as he's served his penitence or whatever. And there is just so much talk about how noble and honourable the cops are and they should be paid more for "bleeding blue". This isn't me reading too much into the subtext, this is text all over the book. How did this get past so many people to be published in The Year Of Our Lord Twenty-Twenty? How??
I saw TJ Klune's apology for this (www.tjklunebooks.com/new-blog/2020/7/29/a-message-about-the-extraordinaries) in the reviews after reading the book and it does seem very sincere. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because of everything else of his I've read but I can't give this book a pass.
