The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062403162
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	HL700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Patrick Ness is the author of ten novels, including his New York Times bestselling The Rest of Us Just Live Here, the Chaos Walking trilogy, More Than This, A Monster Calls, which was made into a major motion picture with a screenplay adaptation by Patrick himself, Release, and And The Ocean Was Our Sky. Born in Virginia, Patrick lives in London. www.patrickness.com

Editorial Reviews

While Ness packs his pages with wit (this is one of those novels that seem as if they were a joy to write), there's plenty of emotional heft in his turning of the genre tables. He reminds us that it's not a choice to be a chosen one, but it is in everyone's power to be a hero, by caring about others, by fighting to become your own truest self. In real life, of course, none of us are "chosen." As Jared tells Mikey, "Most people just have to live their lives the best they can, doing the things that are great for them, having great friends, trying to make their lives better, loving people properly. All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyway." That's a far more useful power than being able to defeat soul-eating ghosts, and you don't even have to be a chosen one to wield it.

The New York Times Book Review - Jen Doll

08/03/2015
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. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Clever and laugh-out-loud funny, the supernatural side notes add tension and humor to the story. This is highly recommended for libraries serving young adults.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)

This clever sendup of traditional fantasy fare doesn’t have nearly the body count as Ness’s award-winning Chaos Walking trilogy, but it does have all of the heart, and then some.

Shelf Awareness

The result is a cleverly metafictive, occasionally humorous, occasionally poignant love letter to the kids most likely to get sorted into Hufflepuff or who might occasionally date one of the Scooby gang, but whose real heroism lies in living their daily lives bravely and compassionately.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

Magical, mysterious and breathtakingly suspenseful, The Rest of Us Just Live Here is an absolute marvel of imagination, invention, and heart. I truly couldn’t put it down — proof, once again, that Ness never disappoints.

Michael Cart

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is the antidote to all things formulaic: it’s meta, playful, wise and true—and clever-as-hell.

emily m. danforth

Hilarious! And so, so clever. All the characters are beautifully drawn. This is one smart, warm book, both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Monica Edinger

In this often-hilarious (and just as often poignant) parody of fantasy stories from Harry’s to Buffy’s, not everyone is a Chosen One, but “everyone’s got something”; everybody matters.

Horn Book Magazine

Clever and laugh-out-loud funny, the supernatural side notes add tension and humor to the story. This is highly recommended for libraries serving young adults.” %COMM_CONTRIB%Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)

“Patrick Ness is an insanely beautiful writer.

John Green

Ness’ deadpan sci-fi novel pokes fun at far-fetched futuristic fantasies while emphasizing the important victories of merely living. This memorable, moving, and often hilarious read is sure to be a hit.

Booklist (starred review)

Hilarious! And so, so clever. All the characters are beautifully drawn. This is one smart, warm book, both entertaining and thought-provoking.”—Monica Edinger

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Hilarious! And so, so clever. All the characters are beautifully drawn. This is one smart, warm book, both entertaining and thought-provoking.

--Monica Edinger

Magical, mysterious and breathtakingly suspenseful, The Rest of Us Just Live Here is an absolute marvel of imagination, invention, and heart. I truly couldn’t put it down -- proof, once again, that Ness never disappoints.

--Michael Cart

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is the antidote to all things formulaic: it’s meta, playful, wise and true--and clever-as-hell.

--emily m. danforth

Patrick Ness is an insanely beautiful writer.

--John Green

Hilarious! And so, so clever. All the characters are beautifully drawn. This is one smart, warm book, both entertaining and thought-provoking.

—Monica Edinger

Magical, mysterious and breathtakingly suspenseful, The Rest of Us Just Live Here is an absolute marvel of imagination, invention, and heart. I truly couldn’t put it down — proof, once again, that Ness never disappoints.

—Michael Cart

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is the antidote to all things formulaic: it’s meta, playful, wise and true—and clever-as-hell.

—emily m. danforth

Patrick Ness is an insanely beautiful writer.

—John Green

★ 09/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—In this highly satiric exploration of the "chosen one" genre, an incredibly normal group of friends are approaching the end of high school and their parting of ways. Mikey is just trying to get through the year and hopefully ask his longtime crush to the prom. Similarly, each person in Mikey's close-knit circle of friends is battling a myriad of highly relatable issues: jealousy, various insecurities, and dysfunctional family relationships. The beginning of each chapter also contains an update in the concurrent story line centering on the "indie kids." These are Mikey and his pals' extraordinary peers, those from exceptional families who are exclusively chosen whenever there is a supernatural occurrence. They've fought off zombies and fallen in love with vampires, and now they're being targeted by the Immortals, a mysterious group looking for a permanent Vessel. In the end, Mikey and his friends come to grips with the ways in which they are both ordinary and extraordinary. This is a highly ambitious novel with an original concept, and the five main characters are all dealing with issues that will resonate with teens. Though the two plotlines don't always come together and readers used to more linear narratives might feel bombarded by information, the stream-of-consciousness narrative will please fans of Libba Bray's Going Bovine (Delacorte, 2009). VERDICT Fans of madcap humor and satire and those seeking more thought-provoking alternatives to the usual fare will appreciate this unique and clever take on a familiar trope.—Sunnie Lovelace, Wallingford Public Library, CT

School Library Journal

★ 2015-07-15
It's not easy being normal when the Chosen One goes to your high school. High school senior Mikey Mitchell knows that he's not one of the "indie kids" in his small Washington town. While they "end up being the Chosen One when the vampires come calling or when the Alien Queen needs the Source of All Light or something," Mikey simply wants to graduate, enjoy his friendships, and maybe, just maybe, kiss his longtime crush. All that's easier said than done, however, thanks to his struggles with anxiety, his dreadful parents, and the latest group of indie kids discovering their "capital-D Destinies." By beginning each chapter with an arch summary of the indie kids' adventures before returning to Mikey's wry first-person narration, Ness offers a hilarious—and perceptive—commentary on the chosen-one stories that are currently so popular in teen fiction. The diverse cast of characters is multidimensional and memorable, and the depiction of teen sexuality is refreshingly matter-of-fact. Magical pillars of light and zombie deer may occasionally drive the action here, but ultimately this novel celebrates the everyday heroism of teens doing the hard work of growing up. Fresh, funny, and full of heart: not to be missed. (Fantasy. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

The result is a cleverly metafictive, occasionally humorous, occasionally poignant love letter to the kids most likely to get sorted into Hufflepuff or who might occasionally date one of the Scooby gang, but whose real heroism lies in living their daily lives bravely and compassionately.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)