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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I LOVED THIS. One of my favorites of the year for sure. When Ness nails it, he really nails it. You guys know how I feel about A Monster Calls-which is one of my favorite books of all time, and quite possibly one of the most important books in my life after my father died if I'm being honest. I don't think another Ness book will hit me quite the same way, and this is completely different in tone, but its so good. Its about all the other teenagers who live on the edges of the special YA heroes in action/adventure books (called indie kids) in this town where things keep happening. Each chapter starts off with a paragraph about whats going on the indie kid scene and the snark is AMAZING. Truly fantastic.
"....For a moment it seems like he might kiss her, but she touches the amulet and sees another flash of the handsomest boy she's ever seen; it's so strong, she has to run up to her room to ruminate alone".
There's a throwaway line about how at least this year all the indie kids aren't dying beautifully of cancer and I laughed out loud. I want to talk about all the side stuff but I don't want to ruin it.
This book is about teenagers who live on the outskirts and who feel out of place, and with a main character who struggles with OCD in a real way, and how it affects his life and his sister who struggles with an eating disorder and growing up and going to college and figuring out your feelings and how to be a good friend and how to live your life and what kind of person you want to be and the imperfections of family.
“Not everyone has to be the Chosen One. Not everyone has to be the guy who saves the world. Most people just have to live their lives the best they can, doing things that are great for them, having great friends, trying to make their lives better, loving people properly. All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyway.”
And oh yeah, if you struggle with anxiety:
“Feelings don't try to kill you, even the painful ones. Anxiety is a feeling grown too large. A feeling grown aggressive and dangerous. You're responsible for it's consequences, you're responsible for treating it. But Michael, you're not responsible for causing it. You're not morally at fault for it. No more than you would be for a tumour.”
DAMN.
Also, A+ exploration of feelings in a way that doesn't feel forced, and is just about two teenagers figuring out where they are in relation to the other one. And yeah, I just really really loved this. So good. I want to quote so many other parts, but I also want you to go out and read it and enjoy it yourself.
OH ETA: And if you're tired of YA being anti-medication for mental illness in so many books, GUESS WHAT? This one deals with that too.
"....For a moment it seems like he might kiss her, but she touches the amulet and sees another flash of the handsomest boy she's ever seen; it's so strong, she has to run up to her room to ruminate alone".
There's a throwaway line about how at least this year all the indie kids aren't dying beautifully of cancer and I laughed out loud. I want to talk about all the side stuff but I don't want to ruin it.
This book is about teenagers who live on the outskirts and who feel out of place, and with a main character who struggles with OCD in a real way, and how it affects his life and his sister who struggles with an eating disorder and growing up and going to college and figuring out your feelings and how to be a good friend and how to live your life and what kind of person you want to be and the imperfections of family.
“Not everyone has to be the Chosen One. Not everyone has to be the guy who saves the world. Most people just have to live their lives the best they can, doing things that are great for them, having great friends, trying to make their lives better, loving people properly. All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyway.”
And oh yeah, if you struggle with anxiety:
“Feelings don't try to kill you, even the painful ones. Anxiety is a feeling grown too large. A feeling grown aggressive and dangerous. You're responsible for it's consequences, you're responsible for treating it. But Michael, you're not responsible for causing it. You're not morally at fault for it. No more than you would be for a tumour.”
DAMN.
Also, A+ exploration of feelings in a way that doesn't feel forced, and is just about two teenagers figuring out where they are in relation to the other one. And yeah, I just really really loved this. So good. I want to quote so many other parts, but I also want you to go out and read it and enjoy it yourself.
OH ETA: And if you're tired of YA being anti-medication for mental illness in so many books, GUESS WHAT? This one deals with that too.
Meta-fictional humor making fun of the conceits of young adult literature is definitely my weakness. The Rest of Us Just Live Here includes a brief summary before each chapter that explains the dramatic lives of the "indie kids," who include a lot of people named Finn and seem prone to encounters with vampires and interdimensional beings. They read like bad fanfic summaries, and perfectly set the stage for the more down-to-earth struggles of the not-chosen-for-anything main crew. Great fun, especially for those of us who read too much YA :)
This was great. I loved the idea behind this story, something I think about often when reading fantasy books which is, while all of this other crazy stuff is happening, what's going on with the people in the background? Think about a book like Twilight where you're getting the perspective of the people directly involved with the mayhem and following them as they try to stop some big disaster. Meanwhile the people who aren't involved with it are just going about their lives, dealing with their own difficulties while these weird things occur. That's what's happening in The Rest of Us Just Live Here. At it's core, this is a story about a group of teens on the brink of graduation trying to figure out themselves, their relationships, and their futures. However, each chapter starts out with a blurb about the "indie kids" and their dealings with the Immortals who are planning to take over the world. You get just enough of a glimpse into this to know that it's going on, but it's not really the focal point of the story. We get slightly more involved in the fantastical elements as the story draws to a close but not so much that the real focus of the book is lost. I found it very clever and well done. Highly recommended YA.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
This book would have worked without the premise of the main characters not being the "chosen ones". It was a clever concept, but not really necessary. What really interested me in this story was the characters, not the weird supernatural stuff happening in the background. And the relationship plot twist towards the end didn't feel necessary or all that well done. But I still really liked this book!
What a blast! Ness has created a world where all the various things that other teen fantasy writers make happen are for real. His teenagers talk about the zombie attacks that happened back in [name the year] and the vampire invasion of [name another year, perhaps 10 years or so away from said zombie problem] and the bodysnatchers back in their parents' time, and so on. Of course, the adults choose to block all that out of their minds, or most of the adults do. It's all in a normal day's existence to see a glowing teenager come running out of the woods or to see a light shafting down from the sky. But, happily for our narrator and his friends, they are not part of the group of kids that all those things happen to. Those kids are the 'indie kids' (read the book to see what Ness's narrator means by that). Our narrator and his friends, well they're the rest who just live there.
Great pace, great teen issues (you know, school, love, etc.), and quirky chapter headings that don't belong with the rest of the narrative but instead tell the supernatural side of the story. I loved it.
Great pace, great teen issues (you know, school, love, etc.), and quirky chapter headings that don't belong with the rest of the narrative but instead tell the supernatural side of the story. I loved it.
2.5
So there's this brilliant idea, a story about people who are the regular ones in a world of... Well, in a world of superheroes.
But how is this idea turned into something so incredibly boring?
This is my first time reading a Patrick Ness book, and he might just not be a writer for me. I'd like to try a book of his that's pretty much universally praised. Maybe "The rest of us just live here" wasn't the best place to start.
Anyway. This book would benefit from less angsty talk and more actual action. Also, in my humble opinion, there needed a genuine flow, a faster-paced story. Oh, how I wish this had been written by someone like Brandon Sanderson.
There's also a shit ton of things that sound like PSAs. And while it's sometimes important to deliver messages such as these, they shouldn't be pushed onto you like they are in this book. Felt like I was reading a pop-psychology book about teenage problems at times.
So there's this brilliant idea, a story about people who are the regular ones in a world of... Well, in a world of superheroes.
But how is this idea turned into something so incredibly boring?
This is my first time reading a Patrick Ness book, and he might just not be a writer for me. I'd like to try a book of his that's pretty much universally praised. Maybe "The rest of us just live here" wasn't the best place to start.
Anyway. This book would benefit from less angsty talk and more actual action. Also, in my humble opinion, there needed a genuine flow, a faster-paced story. Oh, how I wish this had been written by someone like Brandon Sanderson.
There's also a shit ton of things that sound like PSAs. And while it's sometimes important to deliver messages such as these, they shouldn't be pushed onto you like they are in this book. Felt like I was reading a pop-psychology book about teenage problems at times.