The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness

Paperback, 2015

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Collection

Accelerated Reader

Publication

Walker Books Ltd (2015)

Description

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 worshiped by mountain lions.

User reviews

LibraryThing member BeckyJG

I’m a big fan of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You know, “Into every generation there is a chosen one…” In BTVS the Slayer and her Scooby Gang slay vampires and demons and avert apocalypses. They save the world. A lot.

But what about all those kids just trying to make it through

adolescence? The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a funny, clever, amazingly insightful look at, well, the rest of the us. Mikey and his sister (whose mom is a driven, ambitious small-time politician and whose dad is a drunk), and their little gang are in their last semester of high school. Mikey’s got some wicked OCD going on, his sister is a recovering anorexic, and the rest all have their issues. But they’re getting by and growing up, looking forward to moving on to college. Meanwhile–as we learn pretty much only through brief paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter–the “indie kids” are fighting an incursion into this world of the Immortals, who want to take over and stuff. As the publisher’s copy succinctly puts it, “Sometimes you have to find the EXTRAORDINARY in the ordinary,” and Mikey and his friends do just that.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is highly recommended for both young adults (its intended audience, 14 and up) and adults.

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LibraryThing member theWallflower

All the characters here are broken. And thus, interesting. But this is not a fantasy novel. This is a standard YA novel with real-life problems. Non-real elements are minor and don't affect the plot.

Something's going on in the background of said plot. Something "Harry Potter" or "Buffy" involving a

Big Bad and Apocalypses. But that's not what the story is about. This is about the extras that end up in the B-roll, when the cameras pan over the ambulances. Who are those people?

One is gay. One is going to a war-torn third world country after graduation. One is a recovering anorexic. And one (the main character) has a compulsion disorder. There is magic in the world, but no one is using it. No one wants to. They've seen what happens to the kids who do. They're stressing about college, graduation, dating, whether he-likes-her-but-does-she-like-me. It's nice to see a deconstruction of the hero's journey, but hard to do well. This one does. The style reminds me of John Green writing a Harry Potter background character or A.S. King ("Please Ignore Vera Dietz").

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LibraryThing member srsharms

This book is an answer to the question: what would the story have been if we had followed the fictional life of Random Extra #2 on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the end of season 3? It's a question I find myself asking more than once with shows like Buffy or Smallville, and in some ways it

was lovely to see Ness tackle it. And yet...it's not a story that gripped me hard, as with his previous books. It sort of makes you realize WHY Joss Whedon etc. never writes an episode for Random Extra #2 — we'd like it fine because it's in the hands of a good writer, but it's still rather...uneventful and staid. Overall, a light-hearted, at times surprisingly touching effort, but not necessarily a memorable one.

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LibraryThing member rivkat

The conceit is that the indie kids (the Buffys, Bellas, and other special teens) are having their own world-ending/saving drama, while the narrator Michael (who suffers from an anxiety disorder/OCD) and his sisters and friends are just living their own lives, largely ignorant of the forces

threatening the town but occasionally threatened by them anyway. Each chapter summarizes what’s going on with the indie kids, then turns to the dramatis personae of this particular story, which does feature a half-god best friend, but most of his issues are about leaving his single father home alone when he goes to college and about finding a nice boy to date. It was well-executed, so if the idea appeals, it’s worth checking out.

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LibraryThing member Goldengrove

'The Rest of Us Just Live Here' is a satirical take on the 'paranormal + pesky kids' trope.
What happens to the un-chosen ones while all the supernatural action is going on?
Quite a lot, actually. Here they are, dealing with real teenage troubles: difficult parents; falling in love; emotions

generally; eating disorders. Patrick Ness can certainly write, and he portrays the messy, complicated inner life of his teenage protagonists very well. The trouble is, the satire is just a little top heavy, and it turns the novel into one-joke-stretched-too-thin. I enjoyed reading it, I can imagine my students enjoying it, but I don't think it's his best work.
(But I must admit I laughed at his accuracy when, just after finishing The Rest of Us, I catalogued a new book for my school Library in which the heroine, newly arrived in her town, is visited at night by the mysterious new boy at school - the darkly handsome Finn...)

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LibraryThing member LibraryGirl11

A behind-the scenes story of what the normal kids are doing while the "indie kids" are saving the world.

LibraryThing member Jessika.C

I had a love hate thing going with this book. I loved the idea of following the lives of the non-special snowflakes in the background of the hero with a weird name. Mickey his the circle of friends all have semi-normal names and normal boring lives only not really. They go to school noticing but

not knowing the special-smart-witty-unaware-of-her-own-powers Satchel and pining-after-but-just-staying-in-the-sidelines-because-he’s-only-the-sidekick Dylan (or Finn or maybe it was Carroway???) Crazy stuff happens randomly and this group of friends know it's those “indie kids” who dress like hipsters and like stuff ironically, so yeah: hipsters. SUCH AN INTERESTING PREMISE…But kind of poor execution.
Every chapter starts with a blurb of the would-be chapter in the paranormal YA about some immortals and evil kingdom before telling us about Mickey, Mel, Jared, or Henna. I was never sure if it was Mickey who was letting us in on the not-main story since he was the narrator for the main one. That wasn’t the problem. Or maybe it was because I didn’t like Mickey…until his OCD problems are actually explored. But that took such a long time.
In fewer words it was boring for the longest time. I started this book last year but didn’t finish until I checked out the audiobook from the library.
The small blurbs made me laugh harder than any other content from the book because of the satire. Making fun of special snowflake’s name (Satchel), ‘he tells her that some other guy likes her, which means that he’s the one that actually likes her’, ‘she holds the emblem which gives her visions of the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen’, ‘beautiful boy tells her she’s special in her own way’…these little gems just go on and on (these aren't exact quotes but rather the ideas). For taking so many jabs at the clichés in other stories like this one the actual story of Mickey and his friends had the same ones but more boring.
This book makes me sad because I love all things Patrick Ness. This story was just not one of his best.

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LibraryThing member dcoward

Each chapter of this book starts with a paragraph about a group of teens chosen to fight paranormal forces in a small town in an amusing parody of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But then the book moves to a group of everyday teens coming of age with more realistic problems, including OCD, parental

expectations, and anorexia. I loved the diverse characters and the juxtaposition of the crazy paranormal events with the real problems of growing up.

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LibraryThing member DavidO1103

Another superb book by Patrick Ness. Some kids are The Chosen, or are destined to save the planet, but, as the title says, the rest of us just live here, and this is a lovely book about them...

LibraryThing member krizia_lazaro

It was okay, it was not that memorable. I just like the concept of a story within a story, some people are the chosen one and some people just live their ordinary lives. Nice concept but I think it can be improved on.

LibraryThing member Silvernfire

I wasn't sure if a book about the background characters in a YA urban fantasy was going to be able to hold my attention—after all, the exciting story is happening off-stage and this book pretty much promises we're not going to see much of it. Happily, the far more normal story of Mikey and his

friends and family was interesting in its own right. I enjoyed seeing how the "plot" summarized at the beginning of each chapter would show up in the story itself. I also appreciated that Mikey and Mel's problems were there, but weren't the focus of the book, which saved it from being an Afterschool Special. Ness also avoids making Mikey and Mel's mother a completely two-dimensional character: there are hints that she does have some genuine affection for her kids beyond their political value, and hey, did she live through a world-threatening crisis when she was a teenager? (We never do get a solid answer as to why so many adults are oblivious to these crises. Drat.) So yes, I'm glad I took a chance on this book.

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LibraryThing member pennma05

The main characters of this story were such an eclectic bunch that it was easy to pick bits and pieces of each of them to relate to. They felt very real and faced a lot of challenges that kids face in the real world. I loved their group dynamic. Even though they all had their problems, they stuck

together. Throughout all of this, weird stuff involving mythical creatures is happening all over their town. All of these events are somehow connected to the hipster kids in town. Those parts weren’t as enjoyable as I had hoped. But overall, it was a really great read.

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LibraryThing member herschelian

If it hadn't been selected for my next Bookclub discussion, I would probably have given up reading this book quite early on as much of it just escaped me.

There is a reason for it being classified as YA fiction, and obviously in my late 60s I am just too old and out of the whole 'Buffy' loop which

has created many YA tropes. To be honest though, thinking back to my own reading when in the 'YA' demographic, I can't say it would have particularly appealed to me then either. Back in those distant times the YA genre didn't really exist (although Puffin books, the children's book arm of Penguin Books, did venture into the teenage market with Peacock Books which was quite successful).

This book is about a group of young friends who are in the final weeks of their high-school careers and about to graduate and go off to college. They are defined as the 'ordinary kids' as opposed to the 'indie kids'. They knuckle down to homework, have after school jobs, participate in school sports, go to the Prom etc. The 'indie kids' are the kids perceived as too cool to be involved in anything so mundane (for some reason I imagined them as Goths or Punks).
The main story revolves round the interconnected lives of Henna, Jared, Mel, Mikey, Nathan and their families. One has OCD, one is recovering from anorexia, one is gay, one is bi-racial. All a little bit 'meh'.

Parallel to this is a story about an indie girl called Satchel and various indie boys called Finn and their war with other worldly characters who are trying to damage and destroy everything. Sometimes the two stories intertwine or collide.
I found it irritating and could not suspend my disbelief - maybe I just don't get it, whatever 'it' is.

So I read it right to the banal end, and have done my Bookclub duty.

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LibraryThing member Kaethe

What's going on in the background while The Chosen One is busy saving the world? Brilliant, hilarious, and one of the best books of the year.

Library copy

LibraryThing member mamzel

A group of seniors are rapidly approaching the end of their high school years with various levels of trepidation. Mike has OCD and his repetitive behavior is worsening. His friend, Jared, helps him when he gets caught in a loop of washing, counting, or whatever. Jared is part God and has a healing

power. His older sister, Mel, almost died from anorexia and is now the same year as he is. Henna has a religious mother and Finnish father and is nervous about their planned summer trip to the Central African Republic to minister but they have just broken out in war.

So we have a very interesting group of kids who have lived through zombies, flesh-eating ghosts and now some weird blue light resurrection thing is going on but our friends are only peripherally affected by it. We follow it through the chapter headings. (Interesting format) It's like watching one of those movies where the lead characters are having a conversation oblivious to the chaos that is erupting around them.

Good fun!

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LibraryThing member ewyatt

Mike and Mel are in their last year of high school. They live in a town where the indie kids regularly are in mortal danger and have to deal with the supernatural.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. It certainly had its share of beautifully written passages. Each chapter started with a

snippet of the supernatural action happening in the Washington town and then it jumped into Mike's story of dealing with OCD, his family, and navigating his feelings of inadequacy and longing.

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LibraryThing member laura.w.douglas

I enjoyed this weird little book. There are all these young adult novels about vampires, ghost, aliens, in other end of the world creatures. However, what to the regular people do while the world is ending? That's the idea behind this book. And I enjoyed it.

LibraryThing member alsparks

Mike has anxiety issues. His mom is into politics. Dad is an alcoholic. Older sister survived briefly dying as a result of anorexia. They are trying to keep things normal for young sis. But then there are strange events in and around town with immortals, gods, and blue lights. All they want to do

is get to graduation. Centers around trying to grow up normal in strange times. Wasn't my favorite book but kept me interested.

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LibraryThing member DarkFaerieTales

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.

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LibraryThing member Gretchening

Smart, funny, satisfying, and heartfelt, this is a winning YA novel that manages to give its diverse teen characters plenty of room to be relatable and real without over-dramatizing them or feeling didactic. These kids grapple with a lot of issues, but this isn't an Issues book. Importantly, it's

very much about kids who have already been living through tough concerns (the end of the world barely registers, after overbearing parents, mental illness, eating disorders, queerness, and of course, love). These are kids who love each other even though they're still figuring out what that means, who accept and support each other and *choose* each other every day. The contrast between their everyday problems against the backdrop of what's going on with the Chosen Ones (hilariously summarized events introduce each chapter) is pitch perfect. This is a good one if you loved Buffy and Harry Potter but are sick of investing in their many knockoffs. It's also great for any teenager who is done with being looked down on. I read this in a couple of days because I feel in love with the characters that much.

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LibraryThing member lauriebrown54

Think of an episode of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ taking place, with creatures blowing up the high school, people being killed, and strange things happening. Now think about the people who are living with these events, but aren’t part of the Scooby Gang, people who aren’t in on the secret

events, people who don’t have special powers to save the world. This book is about those people. Sounds boring? It’s not.

Mike Mitchell is our narrator. He has OCD, and is in love with his best female friend, Henna, but she doesn’t know it. Or doesn’t admit to knowing it. His sister, Mel, had anorexia but is in recovery. Their kid sister, Meredith is possibly a genius. Their father is a fairly useless drunk, with basically no involvement in the family, while their mother is a politician, who seems to regard her family as a political asset or liability. She’s extremely unlikeable. Mike’s best friend is Jared, who is gay, and just happens to be the grandson of the Goddess of Cats. This makes him very attractive to cats, including mountain lions, and gives him the ability to heal others. He’s the odd man in this circle of friends; he has superpowers, but isn’t involved in the supernatural crisis. He’s considered a normal kid. That bit seems pretty strange.

Every chapter starts with a few lines about what the super friends- the indie kids, as they are called- are up to with the aliens/demons/whatever. Mike and his friends aren’t even interested in what’s happening on that front. Mike hits a zombie deer with his car, and while it seems odd, he’s not really concerned about the fact that the deer is a zombie. All he wants to do is go to the prom with Henna, and graduate without the school getting turned into a hellmouth or something.

The story amused me. On the cover we see a bunch of teenagers, the four in color being Mike & Co, while in monochrome are a girl with a stake, a kid with a wand and cloak, someone with a bow & arrow, someone sparkly, and a lot of others- the people from all the supernatural YA books, movies, and TV shows. They are in the background, while the normal kids are the focus. The story is totally character driven, and the kids really come alive. Mike annoyed me at times with his neediness, but that is a part of his anxiety complex that drives his OCD. I understand that. I have OCD, too, and it was nice to see it accurately portrayed. I don’t know if the author’s other work has the dry humor this one does, but I’ll be reading some to find out.

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LibraryThing member KWadyko

OK...I've had a a few days to digest this book, so I think I am ready to write the review.

3.5 Stars

I am really torn about how I feel about this book because I feel like it could have definitely taken a more interesting route had it gotten more in depth about the immortals and the past events that

Mickey's mom survived...I found myself way more interested in that than the day-to-day with the normal kids.

Also, the blurbs from the "Indie" kids were weird and had no real context since no details were really given about that world, so while listening to the audio it was really confusing at first. It took me forever to connect with the book, and like I said previously, I was more interested in the paranormal/fantasy aspects mentioned, but not detailed in the book.

I didn't hate the book, but it definitely didn't make a great impression.

#punkrocklibrarian #overdrive #audiobook #goodreads

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LibraryThing member brakketh

An enjoyable and well written novel about the experiences of the 'normal' people in a town that is continually overrun by disasters, I especially enjoyed the non-judgemental approach to characters sexuality.

LibraryThing member raschneid

Funny and sweet - this book captured the confusion and ambiguity of adolescence.

After a while I really, really did not care about Henna as a character, and in general I felt like some of the emotional payoffs could have been stronger, but other readers will probably disagree.

LibraryThing member foggidawn

In a world where terrible and extraordinary things happen on a fairly regular basis, Mikey and his friends are perfectly normal (well, mostly). While kids with names like Kerouac and Satchel are saving the world from invaders from another dimension, Mikey and his friends just want to make it to

graduation. Of course, being perfectly normal doesn’t protect you from becoming collateral damage when weird things start to happen...

This book was a lot of fun to read. It takes on the tropes of the genre in a tongue-in-cheek way (my favorite line was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Fault in Our Stars reference about the time, a few years ago, when all of the special kids were beautifully dying of cancer). Perfect for the reader who has read one too many books about very special teenagers saving the world.

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