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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
The Rest of Us Just Live Here is an excellent depiction of a found family more extraordinary than the world that tells them they’re not. Ness gives his novel a uniquely meta setting, where the adventure takes place in a brief blurb at the start of each chapter, and all the NPCs have rich, flawed lives that likely wouldn’t have been explored. Each of the main cast could be the main character of this, or even their own, novels, speaking to Ness’ goal of finding the ordinary in extraordinary. One of the main characters is literally a god, but it seems like just another teenage thing, like learning to drive or deciding where to go for college.
Mikey, our POV character, is kind of an asshole, and I love that for him. He’s whiny and jealous and stubborn, but has relatable insecurities and you can’t help but root for him. Also he’s an absolute savage. “This is worse than when they were all dying beautifully of cancer.” in response to several kids turning up dead is CRAZY. As someone without OCD, I think Mikey’s depiction is very refreshing against myriad contamination or perfectionist characters.
With a character-focused story in a plot-focused world, I wish Ness had pushed all the "action" further off-page. The recaps were effective, but piecing together the background plot could have been another fun layer to the theme. The biggest “complaint” I have is really that it could have been more. The story was resolved, but there was a lot of potential to continue developing the characters’ bonds a little more in between. There’s a romance that happens mostly off-screen, partly due to Mikey’s obliviousness, but still feels underdeveloped.
There are a handful of other nitpicks I have regarding side characters, but they’re not important to mention. The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a clever contemporary novel that pokes fun at the tropes of 2010s fiction, and regardless of whether your a fan of those or not, you should pick this up.
An enjoyable read with an original premise, or more precisely: an original point of view on a premise that is not original at all. It's fun to see how the 'non-special' characters go on with their lives while others are being heroic, risking their lives and saving the day.
However, there are a lot of intense emotional issues in this book (I might say: too much) and I felt like these were sometimes too easily glossed over and not really explored (Mel's eating disorder, their dad's alcoholism, their parents' failed marriage, etc.). That's a shame because the author really does know how to deal with strong emotions in writing, as proven by [b:A Monster Calls|25480342|A Monster Calls|Patrick Ness|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1430763000l/25480342._SY75_.jpg|13492114].
All in all, I liked reading this book but it is not a story that will stay with me for very long.
However, there are a lot of intense emotional issues in this book (I might say: too much) and I felt like these were sometimes too easily glossed over and not really explored (Mel's eating disorder, their dad's alcoholism, their parents' failed marriage, etc.). That's a shame because the author really does know how to deal with strong emotions in writing, as proven by [b:A Monster Calls|25480342|A Monster Calls|Patrick Ness|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1430763000l/25480342._SY75_.jpg|13492114].
All in all, I liked reading this book but it is not a story that will stay with me for very long.
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, Suicide
lighthearted
medium-paced
Low Fantasty Fiction: Immortals and Indie Kid fairies? I'm still not entirely sure. But they aren't the focus of the story which confuses me. Perhaps this just isn't a good book for me...but it felt very divided between a realistic Fiction novel with forced fantasty elements.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved this book, I think it was so cool to get an end of the world story from the point of view of society, where they recognize all the other weird end of the world stories that have existed in the same universe. I also really loved the representation of anxiety and eating disorders in multiple people, which shows that mental illnesses are a lot more common than a lot of people think, and also how difficult it can be to overcome them. It was really cool how they weren't the focal point of the story, like mental illnesses don't define a person, they're not all that matters. I also loved the casual mention of Jared's sexuality, because as important as it is to recognize the struggles of queer kids, it's also really important to show us as normal.
The blue light stuff and the "healing" was a bit too weird for me, otherwise a good young adult book.
An awesome blend of sci fi and realistic fiction. I loved the chapter set up and the depth of characters. This was not my typical genre but I thoroughly enjoyed it.