Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
August 27th, 2015 · Walker Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 352

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.

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable. 

Patrick Ness. What is there to say, apart from the fact that he is one very beloved, popular YA author among readers? Practically everyone loves him and I've only ever heard incredible things about his books, yet this was my first time reading him. It took me a while, huh? First things first: I can see why he causes such a hype. I LOVED The Rest of Us Just Live Here.

I first became intrigued about TROUJLH after my friend Jess read it and was telling me about it at a blogger meet-up. It sounded great, but I officially knew I needed this in my life after I jumped onto Goodreads a few days later and got a major Buffy vibe from the reviews. (As you most probably know by now, BtVS is my favourite.) Because then that got me thinking - what would have high school been like for those teens not off saving the world? Patrick Ness shows us in his latest. But it also delivers SO much more and blew my expectations out of the water.

In case you didn’t know, this book is incredibly diverse and it is WONDERFUL. It was so great to read and see so many diverse characters on the page. Plus, they were written with care and sensitivity, which is just as important as writing them in the first place. Big thumbs up.

And the charterers? Fabulous! I loved Mikey and from page one, his voice jumped off the page. The secondary characters - Mel, Jared and Henna - were just as great and I loved how fleshed out they were. Ness makes his characters easy to love and that is no small feat. The last time I cared about characters this much was when I read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which I read earlier in the year. It's not every day you come to care so much about a bunch of characters, but when you do, it's such a special thing. I closed the book with a heavy heart, knowing I'd miss them. If that’s not well written characters, I don’t know what is.

Another thing I I loved about this book was how supportive Mikey’s friends and sisters were. They all cared about each other so much and it was a delight to read about such strong, positive relationships and people who will be there for others no matter what. This is what we need to see more of in YA. It was seriously so endearing and lovely and heartfelt and wonderful and special that it made me tear up multiple times. (That is a lot of ands and adjectives, but it was an original sentence I wrote when I was taking notes and I still stand by it so! *takes deep breathe*)

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is an incredible, original story and one that is beautifully diverse. If you want true-to-life characters, writing that stands out and a book that’ll steal your heart, this is for you! I hope you love it as much as I did.

Have you read this or do you plan to? What's your favourite Patrick Ness book? Now that I've read him, I can't wait to read more! Last but certainly not least: Have you ever watched Buffy and if you have, are you a super fan like I am?