The Rest of Us Just Live Here
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4.1 • 106 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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
Not the Chosen One: A hilarious and heartfelt satire where the paranormal apocalypse is just background noise to the real problems: graduating, going to prom, and surviving your own family.Teen Mental Health Representation: Follow Mikey as he navigates the loops of his anxiety and OCD, reminding readers that sometimes the biggest battles are the ones inside your own head.YA Contemporary Fantasy: In a town where indie kids fight soul-eating ghosts and someone blows up the high school (again), finding the extraordinary in the ordinary is the only way to survive.Unforgettable Friend Group: Because when your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions, you need a crew that has your back, no matter what.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We first encountered Patrick Ness through The Knife of Never Letting Go, a brilliant but blisteringly dark dystopian tale. The Rest of Us Just Live Here is lighter fare, but no less affecting. Mikey struggles with serious anxiety—the end-of-high school jitters are just exacerbating his struggles, as are his concerns about his older sister, Mel, and his unrequited love for his close friend, Henna. With a knowing wink, Ness injects his emotionally resonant story with a dose of freaky fantasy. We fell in love with this book’s characters, who look and talk like real teens and set the bar for true friendship.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Having written both exquisite fantasies and heartbreaking contemporary stories, Ness (More Than This) forays into satire, and mostly succeeds, poking fun at the Chosen One trope imagine a novel about Bella and Edward's classmates wrestling with exams, college admission, and unrequited love, with all those vampire/werewolf shenanigans as backdrop. Siblings Mikey and Melinda know something sinister is happening when the "indie kids" start dying in mysterious ways. Zombie deer and eerie blue pillars of light suggest apocalypse (again) in their remote town in Washington State, but they are busy trying to survive familial dysfunction (their father is an alcoholic, their mother a power-hungry politician) that has worsened Mikey's anxiety and given Mel an eating disorder. Their diverse circle of friends includes Henna (Mikey's crush) and Jared who is (secretly) part god. Each chapter opens with an ominous (and hilarious) synopsis about the imminent showdown between the Immortals and the hipster clique, and while the payoff after all the supernatural and emotional buildup is minimal, this is Mikey's story to tell and he's not trying to save the world, just himself. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
👍 great book!!! ❤️❤️❤️
I really like this book (as well as all of Patrick Ness’s other books)!!! It has an amazing setting and the book totally tells me what it is like when you have to go to college...
It also reminds me that not all of us are special and not all of us are gonna change the world. Sooooo, ya! I really like this book!!!👍😀❤️
I feel so good after reading this
You know a book is good if you’re left wanting more or left feeling perfectly satisfied. You know it’s a good book if it was what you needed to read and experience. You know it’s a good book if you laugh and cry. My gosh I loved this book and I love this author who has yet to fail me. Words cannot describe how much better I feel after reading this 10/10 highly recommend it. Read it. Now. Seriously