From the Bookshelf of Never Too Old For Y.A. & N.A. Books…

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

Patrick Ness

Start date: November 1, 2015

Finish date: November 30, 2015

Discussion: Book of the Month 2015

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Book of the Month 2015

November BOTM (Your Choice): The Rest Of Us Just Live Here
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What Members Thought

Jan 21, 2018 Colleen Scidmore rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, audio-books, overcoming-obstacles, supernatural, fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, mental-health, lgbtq, books-read-in-2018

I’m going to make this review short, not for a lack of things to write about regarding this book but because I am desperately behind in reading and other reviews.
Interesting novel. It was both entertaining and weird to me. The sub plot where aliens want to take over the world and the Indie kids had to stop it was kind of strange, but again entertaining. Mikey and his group of friends were also strange but entertaining. They each were unique and had something special (not necessarily super powers ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 08, 2015 Dark Faerie Tales rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-by-kaitlin

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This is a novel that, while packing a good amount of satire, still delivers a meaningful message.

Opening Sentence: On the day we’re the last people to see indie kid Finn alive, we’re all sprawled together in the Field, talking about love and stomachs.

The Review:

It’s Mikey’s last year of high school. He can feel time running out; he wants so badly to ask out his friend Henna, but can never work up the courage, and he doesn’t want to leave his fri Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This is a novel that, while packing a good amount of satire, still delivers a meaningful message.

Opening Sentence: On the day we’re the last people to see indie kid Finn alive, we’re all sprawled together in the Field, talking about love and stomachs.

The Review:

It’s Mikey’s last year of high school. He can feel time running out; he wants so badly to ask out his friend Henna, but can never work up the courage, and he doesn’t want to leave his friends and his siblings. Strange things begin happening, though – glowing blue eyes, immortals, chosen ones. Here’s the thing: Mikey isn’t one of the people who is going to stop them. He’s not an indie kid, the name given to those that are the kids that have powers and fight the supernatural.

So Mikey isn’t special, in a world where paranormal events are mostly background events (because, in the end, its the indie kids that take care of them). He cares about his friends, his family, and making it through the school year. As well as this, he’s struggling to fight past a disorder that is trapping him in painful “loops” that are getting bad again. But just because he’s not one of the saviors, that doesn’t mean he’s not special, does it? After all, most of us aren’t indie kids. The rest of us just live here.

I got an advance copy of this at the last ALA annual in San Francisco, so I’ve had a galley for quite a while. I’ve always wanted the chance to pick it up, because it seemed like a lot of fun. When I was asked to review it, I got the perfect opportunity to fit it into my hectic schedule, so I read it. It ended up being a satire of the YA cliches we all know and love, in the best way.

For example, before each chapter from Mikey’s perspective, you got a glimpse of what was going on with the indie kids. It was just a short paragraph about what they had been doing while Mikey had been narrating. The love triangles, the death, the paranormal – summarized like that, with all the typical YA aspects, it all seemed ridiculous. And the funny thing is, I definitely would have loved something like that had it been expanded.

I liked this novel. It had the perfect balance of satire and meaning. I loved the message that everyone is significant to the world, and that our “normal” lives are incredible. The characters were layered and complex, and I enjoyed our very relatable protagonist Mikey. Their was a lot of diversity in this book, as well, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The writing style was simple but easy to follow. I think this is a cute story, and it seemed to live up to all of my expectations. I’ve been in bad place with books I’ve read recently – none of them are really doing it for me – so hopefully a novel like this, that was fun to read, will pull me out of it. Others will enjoy how it breaches unprecedented territory!

Notable Scene:

Chapter the thirteenth, in which the prince is tricked into turning Satchel and second indie kid Finn over to the Empress of the Immortals; he tries to save them, but is forced to sacrifice Finn to do so; Satchel refuses to accept this and, through only her own cunning and bravery, thwarts the empress; she saves Finn and as they flee, she steals a glimpse of the Immortal Crux, the source of the Immortals’ power, through the gateway; it is full of charms and jewels, with an empty space in exactly the shape of her amulet.

FTC Advisory: Harper Teen provided me with a copy of The Rest of Us Just Live Here. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review