Books to fall for

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (Book Review)

Kat Impossible28 Comments

troujlh2What 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.

Publisher:
Harper Teen
Page Count: 336

I read this book alongside Marie @Drizzle and Hurricane books. Make sure to head over to her blog sometime in the near future and check out her review of the book! She’s amazing and her site is always worth taking a look at!!!

The Rest of Us Just Live Here was my first book by Patrick Ness and even though it wasn’t perfect, it made me curious about his other books! The story was split between short snippets of the life of the indie kids and our real MCs, a group of regular teens. Indie kids, you should know, are the kind of people who are the Chosen Ones having to face the danger (and occasionally dying because of that). Those bits were filled with humour and irony, including every single YA fiction clichée possible and that alone cracked me up every single time.

Then, on the other side, you have Mikey and his friends and they are incredibly real. I loved Jared the most, but they all had their unique quirks, problems and insecurities that made them relatable. There was a little bit of romance (definitely jealousy) but it was much more about friendship and family and the fact that we all don’t know what’s ahead of us. I have to admit that I didn’t expect it to be about anxiety, eating disorders, sexuality and finding your general purpose this much. As I’ve mentioned above, it all felt really real and in a way like I have went through so many stages as the characters as well. Then, as the story progresses, the lines between the indies and the others blur and it just proves that we all have to deal with difficult things in our lives and maybe even that there isn’t just one Chosen One.

I couldn’t give the book a higher rating, because despite me really enjoying it, it was lacking something. It often felt like a series of somewhat-connected events with an amazing message, but not the necessary glue to make it all stick together. So, I would definitely recommend it as a fun read if you are up for something to tear through quickly!

Fazit: 3.4/5 stars! A fast and enjoyable read that lacks the certain something to make it really special!

3stars

First book down from my TBR! Have you read The Rest of Us Just Live Here? What is your take on the story? Which was your favourite Ness book so far?

28 thoughts on “The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (Book Review)”

  3. I loved your review, Kat! And thank you for a little advertising at the beginning of your post, haha, you’re too sweet! I really loved buddy reading this with you, I can’t wait ’til we do that again 😀
    I think we felt the same way about that book, something was kind of missing. But I LOVED the indie kids and the, well, rest of us, colliding, that was really good! 🙂
    NOW YOU HAVE TO READ MORE THAN THIS. It’s the other Patrick Ness book I read, and I fell in love with it! 😀

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  4. That is pretty much exactly what I thought. I cracked up every time Satchel was mentioned, but thought something was missing to give it a higher rating. I also think Patrick Ness is a victim of his own success. Nothing he’s written has quite matched how wonderful A Monster Calls is. Not yet anyway! 🙂

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    • I am glad you agree! It really wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the book, it just wasn’t all it could be either though.
      Okay, I just got so many recommendations, everyone seems to have a different favourite Ness book, which I love.

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  7. I definitely understand where you’re coming from with this review. It’s the reason why I don’t recommend this book as a Ness starter because the mundanity and plotlessness of it all might turn off people by the Ness hype that seems exist (from people like me LOL). You should give A Monster Calls or More Than This a go if you aren’t looking for a series binge.

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    • I really enjoyed TROUJLH and it made me want to read more Ness books, so I definitely don’t see it as a failure. Thanks for the recommendations though, those titles have popped up a lot in the comments now, so I will definitely give them a try!

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  8. Great review, plus excellent use of that Vince Noir gif ❤ This is the only Patrick Ness book I've ever read, and I felt the same way really – I enjoyed the book, and loved the writing, but I felt like there was something missing. I think it's because, as it was supposed to be all about real life being just as amazing as a crazy magical adventure, I think I was expecting those real life parts to be more earth-shattering! Still loved the book though, and the characterisation was great 🙂

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