Patrick Ness

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

Not everyone has to be the chosen one. 
The one who's supposed to fight the zombies or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever this new things is, with the blue lights and the death. 
What if you were Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. 
And what is there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world and you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life? 
Even if your best friend might be the God of mountain lions...

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here

Signe

"We sit and eat and watch our high school burn to the ground."

"I think it's going to be okay. Even you."

"I think everthing's going to be okay. All of it. All of us."

"I kept thinking, in another life, if I made different choices, it could be you and me instead."

"Her body against my body and mine against hers. It felt like my heart was breaking-and it was breaking, over jared, over graduation, over everything-but it was okay because Henna Henna Henna . . ."

"A feeling may or may not be true, but you still feel it."

". . . I hate myself. I feel like an idiot saying it because, blah, blah, teen angst, boo hoo, but I do. I hate myself. Almost all the time. I try not to tell anyone because I don't want to burden them, but i feel like I'm falling farther and farther away from them. Like the well's getting deeper and I'm running out of energy to climb it and any minute now, and second, it's going to stop being worth even trying."

". . . I feel like I'm at the bottom of a well. I feel like I'm way down this deep, deep hole and that I'm looking up and all there is is this little dot of light and I have to shout at the top of my lungs for anyone to hear me and even when I do, I say the wrong thing or they don't really listen or they're just humoring me."

"You can be happy. You can have fun. But it's always there. Always."

"We could keep being too afraid to say we don't know stuff and then the future will come and eat us anyway and we'll regret not doing all that stuff we wished we did."

"I hope you get to choose your family and I hope it means as much as mine does to me."

"I'm choosing my own story. Because if you can't do that, you might as well just give up."

"And we're the stories we're living now. Aren't we?"

"We're just as screwed up and brave and false and loyal and wrong and right as anyone else."

"That could happen tomorrow. It could happen five thousend years from now. Life, eh?"

"My sister always does this. She thinks she's stupid. She's so, so not."

Selina 

 to die,” Jared says. “You just weren’t supposed to die right now.”

i relate to some quotes, but i think the execution isn't really that well done. the more i read, the more i get confused. everything is not explained clearly. i wanted to read this book in the first place because it relates to what it's like to be an ordinary person living an ordinary life, but... the satire didn't really get to me. the blue light stuff, the indie kids... i just got confused. but still i love that there were lots of sentences that are so inspirational, and it feels like those words hugged me warmly.

love, kinanti

A nice reread. I liked the idea of the book when I first read it, and that remains true now. I think a lot of the bits about relationships and mental health were sketched out well, and felt very real and grounded. I would recommend if you’re going through it, but in a mild way versus like in the thick of it. 

Elizabeth

What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Filipa Carvalho

I loved The Rest of Us just Live Here so much.
It’s been a while since I was able to read a book in a couple of days, even a while longer for a YA book, but I devoured this one.I loved the writing style! The clever chapter headings, with the “typical” YA fantasy storyline, were such an interesting and fun parallel with Mike’s story. Even the way the actual story was written, don’t think I ever read anything quite like it.I loved the friendship group, it was so fucking fantastic. The messiness of it. The way they cared for each other, the way they helped each other, the way they hurt each other but were able to work through it. Feels so real, it captures teenage friendship in all its love, all its drama, all its complexity.The mental illness description might be the first time I’ve read something that actually makes me understand what mental health problems feel / are like. The scene where Mike speaks with his therapist was groundbreaking to me. Absolutely amazing.Don’t know if I’m able to put into words the way parent’s and the relationship with their kids represented in this book made me feel. It’s real. It’s heartbreaking. Parent’s trying their best but failing to actually listen to their kids. It’s hopeful, without ever rediming anyone. It feels so true to life, it actually hurts.This book was an unbelievable surprise, and I’m beyond grateful for whoever put it in my hands, through an Instagram swap.

Six starred reviews! A bold and irreverent YA novel that powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable, The Rest of Just Live Here is from novelist Patrick Ness, author of the Carnegie Medal- and Kate Greenaway Medal-winning A Monster Calls and the critically acclaimed Chaos Walking trilogy. What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions. ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults * Cooperative Children’s Book Center CCBC Choice * Michael Printz Award shortlist * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * VOYA Perfect Ten * NYPL Top Ten Best Books of the Year for Teens * Chicago Public Library Best Teen Books of the Year * Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books * ABC Best Books for Children * Bank Street Best Books List

Hannah Yang

I really, really loved the idea of The Rest of Us Just Live Here. A book where the character isn't the 'Chosen One' who finds their superpowers and saves the world once a month - a book about those unnamed, unknown characters who are part of the blurry background in movies.

I didn't have any problems with the pacing. The book starts off with a bang. For the first few pages I was honestly just flailing around trying to remember everybody's names. Once you read the first few chapters, things start to fall into place. It's not exactly an action-packed book (it is about the average background character, after all), but I didn't find it unbearably slow or boring. The writing somehow feels a lot more casual than other YA books, which goes with that whole 'background character' vibe. I thought it was pretty neat how each chapter started with a brief summary of what was going on with the 'indie kids' (who would, in any other novel, be the protagonists) at the time. 

My main problem was that I wasn't interested in the characters, especially Mikey. As our narrator, we are viewing the story and characters from his mind, and we are constantly hearing his feelings. Mikey was no doubt a complex character, and he did feel like a real person, but I couldn't connect to him at all. The only section where I really found myself liking him as a character was his conversation with Dr. Luther. The other characters were equally complex and well-developed, and the relationships between characters were also nicely explored. I think this is one of those "it's not you, it's me" cases. The Rest of Us Just Live Here just wasn't for me.

I feel like upon reading this novel, I don't know what I've gained from it. The story is about the characters that no one would care about in a typical story. Even as the main characters in this novel, I still don't particularly care about them (then again, I didn't care for the indie kids either, so I guess that's just how I feel about the whole novel). Although lots of stuff happens in the book, I feel like a lot of it was just filler. Because when you're not the Chosen One, you have an actual life outside of fighting monsters and decoding secret messages from faeries - a life that is not that interesting or thought-provoking.

Then again, when I write all of this, I think What was I expecting?

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is exactly what it promises. I'm sure many people will delight in the story and the concept. The writing might throw some people off, but it is not bad at all. Maybe if I read this again in the future, I will completely adore it. For now, all I will say is that this novel disappointed me, but I can see why others would like it. If you are considering reading it, I would recommend not going in with super high expectations.

A new YA novel from novelist Patrick Ness, author of the Carnegie Medal- and Kate Greenaway Medal-winning A Monster Calls and the critically acclaimed Chaos Walking trilogy, The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a bold and irreverent novel that powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable. What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Nessa Luna

alexandra

this was my first patrick ness novel and it certainly did not disappoint. although there were parts that were a bit slow, i still consider myself interested the entire time. i love the diversity and characters and themes and writing and EVERYTHING. i especially liked how the friendships/family relationships were focused much more than romantic ones. lots of FEELINGS regardless. i cannot wait to reread it over and over and over again.

(also, the UK hardcover edition is BEAUTIFUL. if you're even considering buying this, definitely get a hard copy instead of an ebook. *drools* i preordered the US hardcover as well bc apparently it's GLOW IN THE DARK OH MY GOD)

FULL REVIEW TO COME!

I looked at some of the reviews of this book and I was worried I wouldn’t like it. 

Fortunately, I actually found this a really interesting and well-written read.

Written simply, (but well), this book was easy to get into and enjoyable.

All about the lives of those who aren’t the main characters (or “Indie” kids as they’re called in the book).

I would definitely like to read more by Patrick Ness.

I looked at some of the reviews of this book and I was worried I wouldn’t like it. 

Fortunately, I actually found this a really interesting and well-written read.

Written simply, (but well), this book was easy to get into and enjoyable.

All about the lives of those who aren’t the main characters (or “Indie” kids as they’re called in the book).

I would definitely like to read more by Patrick Ness.

Katherine Yang

Loved the premise, but the story dragged on a bit for me.

Rachel Kanyid

Enjoyed how this made real life seem a little bit extraordinary! Just a little bit of magic and adventure and wondering what the heck is going on, and that made it absolutely lovely!

Jeannette Ordas

Took a while to get into but enjoyed it well enough. S'okay.

Nicole

Rachel Evans

(3.75/5) I adore the concept of this book. In typical YA fantasy, you never stop to think about all the people that the book is NOT about. This subverts that, and focuses on ordinary teenagers trying to live ordinary lives, in a world that is slightly more fantastical than our own. I like the focus on mental health, and the discussions of recovery. I also liked the representation of parental relationships, where there are a lot of problems between parent and child, without it being the typical, 'awful' relationship that is seen very often - there isn't anything wrong with this, but it was a refreshing change to see a different perspective. Overall, I really liked this.

Janice Hopper

What was Sunnydale like for the kids who weren't part of Buffy's Scooby Gang? That's what this book is about. Turns out mostly everyone was just normal, with normal high school kid things going on. :)

The action of the book centers on a group of kids about to graduate from high school. They've got the usual worries and angst, issues with parents, concerns about the future. In the background, though, weird things happen. And it's not the first time they've seen weird things happen in their town.

I'm far enough away in time from my high school years that teen angst isn't that interesting to me anymore. But I enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting, even though their problems weren't Save The World-type problems. We only see a tiny bit of the Big Events going on in the background. There's an optimistic, hopeful tone to the book that I liked, too. Heck, I just like Patrick Ness and his writing.

juno

this book just didn't do it for me. Personally, I found the characters somewhat flat, the plot somewhat uninteresting and the writing not all that fantastic. It wasn't a bad book, and the concept was interesting, I just wasn't drawn to any aspect of it particularly. Definitely not my favourite Patrick Ness book.

jess

I liked this so much! I love that it reads like a contemporary but the peripheral view into the world of the fantastical (both by some of Mike's friends and the chapter headings) was really fascinating as well. The characters are all very endearing and likeable.

Mike also has OCD, and Mel is anorexic, but like Mike notes, that's not the story he's telling. It isn't too often you see a book with a mentally ill character that is a) taken seriously and b) not the focus.

Allison Garrett

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness is a novel I’ve had on my TBR for a long time. It’s the story of a group of friends who live in a town where “things” happen. These things are the other kind of crazy things that happen in other YA books like a vampire invasion or getting the high school blown up. But what if you aren’t the main character? Mikey and his friends just live with these events. 
Pros: 
•	Short- This book was concise and a pretty quick read which is just what I needed coming off of a huge series. 
•	Funny- There were several parts that made me laugh out loud, especially when we were clued into what “supernatural” events were going on at the begging of each chapter. 
•	Mikey’s struggle- Without giving much away, Mike struggled with mental illness and general feelings of high school ending which I thought were very well written by Ness 
Cons: 
•	Conceptual- As much as I liked this concept, it just fell a little short for me. The characters interacted a little too much with the supernatural that was going on for them to be totally separated from it which I thought was the point.
•	Supporting characters- Most of the friend characters besides Mel, Mikey’s sister, fell flat and were more than a little annoying to me. 

Overall I’m giving this book 3/5 stars because I did read it quickly and found myself wanting to get back to it, but I’m not sure it’s anything to write home about.

Yulande Lindsay

Caroline Mao

I probably set my expectations a little too high, because I was hoping for something both different and better, but it was a pretty good book nonetheless! It was witty and humorous and heartbreaking, and the premise is beautifully original and interesting. The representation needs some work in terms of race (just Henna and Tony aren't enough when that many of the main characters are white), but it's still decent representation for a fairly small cast of characters. I'd definitely recommend it as a read.

NOTE: the lead has anxiety. I don't think I talk about disability or mental illness representation much - mainly because that will lead to a discussion about my own mental illness(es) when it gets too personal for me, and I'd really rather not - but the way Ness wrote it was well-done and realistic and it hurt a lot. I'm writing this note in because frankly, I had to put the book down a few times. My brain kept going "haha, you do that too, how about you do it RIGHT ABOUT NOW," or "everything this character tells himself about his terrible self-esteem is absolutely true and you are the same," and yeah, I'm not sure how equipped I was to handle that because wow, that hits really close to home.

Further TWs: mentions of anorexia (and the stuff that comes with it), an - ah, unpleasant - family, therapy, and a few slightly creepy things. It's not a horror novel by any means, though.

Also, have I ever mentioned how much I love the cover? My edition is a different one from the Goodreads one that I'm reviewing, but both are gorgeous.

Alexa Auerbach 

It was an interesting read, but wasn't my cup of tea. awesome concepts though! 3.5 stars.

Libby G

This book was a really interesting and entertaining read. The format of the book was really entertaining. The main character isn't the "chosen one". Just a regular high schooler who just wants to graduate while the "chosen ones" save the world from the apocalypse. I really enjoyed it and would definitely read it again.

Mackenzie Bruce

"'Hey, I say. They say 'Hey' back. It's kind of like a verbal tag isn't it? Hey, here I am, are you here with me, Yes, we are here with you, and everyone feels good because 'Hey.'" - The Rest of Us Just Live Here by @patricknessbooks 
I loved this book for a lot of reasons, but mainly because the writing was so funny and relatable. This was my first book by Patrick Ness, so now I really want to read ALL of the others 😆 Mikey and his friends' adventures of navigating ordinary high school life show an amazing and hilarious balance of the fantastical and the very real - crushes and mental illnesses, gods and evil soul-eating monsters.

Eleanor Luhar

This is the second book I've read by Patrick Ness, the first being More Than This which I adored. So I was really looking forward to The Rest of Us Just Live Here, and I was not disappointed!

The theme of this novel was basically what if you're not the Chosen One? As in, what if you aren't the one who slays the vampires, or exorcises all the demons? What if you don't fall in love with a Goddess or an angel? What if you're just a regular kid, like Mike?

At the start of each chapter, there's a short summary of what's happening in the "main story" - the indie kids fighting the Immortals, saving the world and that kinda thing. But that's all we get of their story; the rest is dedicated to Mike and his friends and family, struggling to lead happy, normal lives.

Each character is so unique and realistic. This is the important bit. There are characters with OCD, alcoholic parents, eating disorders. All of them are so well developed and relatable (expect perhaps Jared, who happens to be 1/4 God of Cats). I just love how their lives are normal lives, and how that doesn't mean they don't get a book written about them. Okay, Henna and Mikey nearly die, Jared can heal people and they encounter blue-eyed creatures a few times, but for the most part they aren't the heroes. They are just people.

I loved how you could compare the normal lives of the gang to what's happening with the indie kids. You can see how certain things affect each group of people differently, and how everything changes what they do. Such as the ending with Finn #2, which decides Jared's fate and alters the indie kids' story completely.

The writing is sometimes a little simplistic, like the kind of thing you read when you're a pre-teen or something. But it's easy to read, and really does draw you in. I have a few other Ness books I'd like to read, and I really am loving his work so far.

As you may or may not know, I'm a sucker for books featuring mental health problems. Anxiety, OCD, anorexia... They need to be addressed! It's great seeing how Mike and his sister get on with their lives despite the problems they're facing, and how they get involved without being judged based on their issues. Like I said, this is a really honest book, which we really need! I'd say 4 stars for this; I love it, but it's not quite in my favourites.

Kayla

This book is just so adorable! The characters are dynamic and diverse, and I can relate to them on so many levels (except for the fact that I am not related to any gods and my high school is, sadly, still standing.) Despite the magical stuff and the supernatural events, these kids live perfectly normal lives -something that we rarely see in YA Fiction these days. I am in LOVE with The Rest of Us Just Live Here! I highly recommend it!

Erin Russell

4 stars. Wow this definitely wasn't what I expected it to be. That's meant in a good way. I enjoyed the dual stories going in the chapter titles and the actual chapters. And don't get me started on it's poking fun at overused tropes in the YA genre, actually had me laughing out loud at how silly they seem when viewed by "normal" people from the outside. These characters were so believable, not likable all the time (but who really is?), but understandable. It would have been a perfect 5 if not for the ending, which wasn't bad just seemed out of place for me. For a story that focused so much on the imperfect and how that's okay, it had a ending that almost fit together to well. Though I appreciated the open endedness to other parts. That's very vague, I know, but giving away anything would ruin the originality of this story. I plan on reading more of Patrick Ness's work in the future, I hope they're just as good as The Rest of Us Just Live Here.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

Reviews

Highlights