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calamityin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Not to mention the way Jared treated Mike. Like, sorry that you feel like you have to keep every single thing in your life a secret from your best friend, but that means that it's not his fault if his problems take up more time than yours in conversation. You refuse to divulge personal information and then get pissed at him when he does? Like, you're supposed to be his friend, and if you felt like you were more of a therapist, you should have fucking said something, not let it fester. And then telling everyone else about his relationship but not Mike, when he knew Mike was spiraling because of Henna and Nathan, is just cruel. He said it's because he didn't want to make Mike jealous, but like, he was already ruining his relationships with his other friends out of a different kind of jealousy and you had the ability to help him and you didn't just because you didn't want to hurt him. That makes no sense and you aren't a good friend.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, here's some general reviews. The characters were interesting, although a bit flat. I didn't feel like any of them really grew or changed much over the course of the book.
I really enjoyed the way the book is formatted so that you get to know a lot about the setting, but it is also clear that it isn't the most important thing to the story. You understand what other people are doing, but it never gets in the way of what the main characters are doing.
All in all, I enjoyed the first chunk, but found the latter half and the ending more frustrating than anything and wish it had a bit more of a message to it. I feel like readers should learn something about toxic friendship or how to be better people to those around them, but it just kinda shows toxic friendships that magically resolve in the end because Mike realizes something everyone else already knew. It was a lazy ending without any real resolution to the problems it brought up. Not the mention the way a 19-year-old high schooler is casually dating a 25-year-old doctor and nobody sees this as weird.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Car accident, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Self harm, Body horror, Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Police brutality
Minor: Blood, Infidelity, Death, Fatphobia, and Medical content
nannahnannah's review against another edition
5.0
The Rest of Us Just Live Here takes place in the middle of nowhere, in a place a lot like most small towns, with one restaurant, a high school, lots of trees, etc. But the "indie kids" there (or hipsters as I know them in my own little middle of nowhere) tend to be part of something bigger: what you'd think would be the plotline of the next big-trending fantasy. The main character, Mikey, is definitely not an indie kid, and that big ol' plotline is not for him. Instead, he and his friends are simply inhabitants of the same town those "main characters" live in. And, well, this is their story.
The result is some mixed realistic/coming-of-age and fantasy genre that ends up blending really well, surprisingly.
Patrick Ness really knows how to nail characterization - and show character in a few words. It took to about page 17 for me to fall head over heals for all the main 4 protagonists, and they're all so real it's terrifying. (I mean, maybe it's partly because they're diverse and actually have mental illnesses/struggles with body issues/etc. but I don't need to go into that further.)
The writing is even stronger when it comes to family dynamics. Even the supposedly "bad" parents are more layered and complicated than I thought at first. Right when I make up my mind about someone I'm finding my belief challenged.
I'm a little disappointed at the fatphobia (even if it was just a 1-sentence line - maybe my standards are set a little high for Patrick Ness). It could be the character, not the author, of course! But it's hard to know when that line (in the character's thoughts) aren't challenged at all.
Okay, so I lied when I said I was done talking about the importance of writing diverse characters. Because Mikey's personal story has helped me come to some realizations about myself.
Mikey has OCD and anxiety, and when the anxiety gets worse, so does the OCD. Okay, so there's some novels that have MC's with OCD, but the way Mikey's thoughts and patterns are written is all too relatable. I don't have OCD, but a bfrb (body-focused repetitive behavior), specifically dermatillomania (skin picking disorder). There are passages that I need to stop reading because I'm literally sobbing. The way Mikey can't stop doing something, even when it's causing him pain. It's all written in a way that it's hard not to relate to and feel validated if you struggle with something similar. Mikey eventually
I was going to talk about something else, too, but that's a bit spoilery for the book and a bit personal for me. So nah, not today.
In the end, the book reached out and pretty much grabbed my heart. It would be difficult for me to give it anything but five stars. (I've also forced it onto friends, so . . . )
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder
Minor: Fatphobia
urlocalhethey's review against another edition
Graphic: Fatphobia
saintyeehaw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Chronic illness, Dementia, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Biphobia, Gaslighting, Police brutality, War, and Alcohol
booksthatburn's review
Graphic: Mental illness and Self harm
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Ableism, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Dementia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Vomit, and Excrement