Publisher: Walker Books
Release date: August 27, 2015
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 1406331163
Pages: 343
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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 thing 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 if 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…
MY THOUGHTS
The Rest of Us Just Live Here was my very first Patrick Ness book and I really enjoyed it. It didn’t blow my mind (like I was promised), but I’ve been told that this book is very different from his other books so I’m still looking forward to reading more Patrick Ness.
This novel is about the other kids that appear in YA novels – the ones who aren’t special or have superpowers. They’re the ones who are in the background while the chosen ones or the “indie kids” go and save the world. And they’re the ones with the ordinary names. I really liked the concept of this book and being able to see the ordinary things that go on while the indie kids are battling whatever force is threatening the world. This book reads like a contemporary but has some fantasy/paranormal elements running through it, like zombie deers and the God of cats.
Each chapter opens with a paragraph summary of what is happening to the indie kids, or what the novel would be like if it was written from the perspective of an indie kid. I liked these summaries a lot because we got to compare and contrast what was happening to them to the normality of the rest of the world. We get to see the consequences of what happens in the “indie world” and how it affects all the normal folks. I loved the satire and how the book makes fun of things like the adults being unaware of the strange happenings even though they were teenage, non-indie kids once too. I enjoyed picking out YA tropes and seeing how ridiculous Patrick Ness would make them seem.
This is very much a character-driven book because there isn’t really much of a plot. Our main character, Mikey, just wants to get through the last 4 weeks of school and graduate with his friends. I really liked and connected with Mikey’s character. I thought he was endearing and I liked how ordinary he was. But even though he’s an ordinary guy, he still has his own problems, like the OCD he suffers from. I thought the OCD aspects in this book were handled really well and it felt very realistic. He was a great friend and a great brother – I loved reading about his relationships with the other characters. His relationships with his sisters were my favourite aspect of the whole book.
We share our craziness, our neuroses, our little bit of screwed-up-ness that comes from our family. We share it. And it feels like love.
I loved most of the other characters. Jared was probably my favourite, after Mikey, because he was such an intriguing and unexpected character. Like, come on, he’s the God of cats! He was a really great friend to Mikey, helping him out of his compulsions. There were a couple of things towards the end that I didn’t like about Jared but I still ended up loving his character. I also loved both of Mikey’s sisters. The character that I had reservations about was Henna, the friend Mikey has been in love with since forever. I didn’t really see what was so special about her and what he saw in her. And since a lot of the book is about Mikey and him dealing with his feelings for her, I felt a little bit blah about it.
I think I might have liked the book a little bit more if it had more of a plot. While it was never boring, I didn’t think it stood out in any way (and maybe that was the point, because it’s a book about the ordinary and not chosen). I really enjoyed what I read (enough to give it 4 stars) but I just didn’t think it was particularly exciting.
CAN YOU NOT THO.
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HAD TO, SOZ MATE
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How much Mikey and Mel took care of each other made my heart hurt in a good way. I thought their relationship was the best.
And Jared. Omg I want him to be my best friend, secretiveness and all. The cats don’t know how good their deal is, having that guy as their god.
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Omg yes. I was thinking that too. If Jared was my god, I’d be following him around everywhere too just to get a pat on the head 😀
And that scene when Mikey fed Mel… *tears*
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I know! Patrick Ness knows how to make us have all of the feelings!
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I’ve heard so much about Patrick Ness but I have yet to read anything by him. I will eventually change this, soon, I hope. 😀
Great review!
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The Rest Of Us Just Live Here was my first Patrick Ness experience and I think it was a pretty good one to start with. But how much you like the book depends on how much you like the characters since it’s so character-driven. It’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea. I heard that his Chaos Walking trilogy is amazing though so maybe start with that? 🙂
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I can’t WAIT to get my hands on a copy of my own. Shame it hasn’t been released in the US yet, but oh well! I’m glad you enjoyed it, even though it didn’t blow your mind. Even though you said you’ll still look into his other works, I can’t help but urge you on! His Chaos Walking trilogy is absolutely phenomenal. It’s not only completely different from the other stuff he’s written, it’s completely different from anything else out there! x
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I think Chaos Walking will be the next Patrick Ness books I read. I already own The Knife of Never Letting Go but I haven’t been able to find Book 2 in stores anywhere! I heard that Book 1 ends on a cliffhanger so I want to have the whole trilogy before I start.
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Yes, I feel like that’s best. It’s the perfect series to binge-read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. ❤
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I just finished this book and I loved it so much *clutches close to heart* It actually made me tear up a little, the relationship between Mike and his sisters were so frickin beautiful. The book was both sad and humorous and totally messed with my feels. As a firm lover of indie kids, this was such a refreshing take on the regular ones, such a special and needed story and I am so happy you enjoyed it!
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I just want a whole book about Mikey and his sisters. I need another contemporary with great family elements!
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Wonderful review I am very happy to hear you liked the book! I’m highly anticipating it! And I love myself a good character driven novel that focuses around the ordinary people in life!! WOO!
But yes wonderful review and I hope I like it just as much or more than you did ❤
Josephine @ Josie’s Book Corner
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It was so interesting to see the other side of the story! And I loved that we got to see the ‘indie’ story and how much craziness was going on in ‘their world’, while our characters were just chilling at a cafe or going to a concert. It was so much fun! I hope you love it too.
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WAIT WHO IS THIS GOD OF CATS?
This is such a great review, Jenna 🙂 still have’t read a Patrck Ness book but now I cannot wait!
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The God of cats was the most unexpected thing ever (even though it was mentioned in the blurb, I kinda forgot about it…). It was also adorable seeing all these cats pretty much melt from being in his presence! You HAVE to read this!
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Lovely review! I agree with everyone above = a god of cats makes a book, a must read!
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is a heartbreaking favourite of mine. I also enjoyed his Chaos Walking series (so intense)but I really need to check out his recent books!
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I’ve been recommended A Monster Calls so many times and people have told me to start with that book. But I’ve heard that it’s incredibly sad and I still don’t think my heart is ready for it yet *sighs*. I’m pretty sure Chaos Walking will be my next Patrick Ness reads.
The Rest Of Us Just Live Here is really great. And it has some really surprising and heartwarming moments ❤ You should definitely check it out!
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“It didn’t blow my mind (like I was promised)” made me laugh so hard for some reason. I feel like your expectations were heightened by Ness fanboys/fangirls like Joey and Aentee! XD
Nevertheless, I’m still glad you enjoyed this journey, Jenna! I still need to read me some Ness!
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P.S. Your follower counter was at a very pretty number. 333 to be exact. I feel bad for kind of ruining that, but now that I’m not as active I need to go on a following spree of my favorite blogs. Have a nice weekend, Jenna!
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Haha yes, I was referring to those two 😀 Hopefully Chaos Walking blows my mind because I was definitely promised that.
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