For example, it handles mental health issues very well, namely Mikey’s obsessive-compulsive behaviour, and Mel recovering from anorexia. There were simply a lot of things I loved about this book.
The line “this is worse than when they were all dying beautifully of cancer” had me snorting rather obnoxiously alone in my room at one in the morning – and that’s another thing, for all that’s it might not initially seem like a thrilling page-turner, I still ended up reading it into the small hours. These jokes about tropes in young adult fiction made this book incredibly funny. For instance, the use of the word ‘feistily’ reminded me of this (or this) which is probably exactly what Ness intended.
In a way, it does feel like a book suited for people who are already fans of Ness. Patrick Ness loves YA, and it’s clear throughout the book that he does, which is why it works so well. The Rest of Us is, in some ways, a satire of young adult fiction. The Rest of Us Just Live Here is about a group of teenagers who are trying to finish high school while it seems like the world is ending around them. Each chapter begins with a summary of the ‘Chosen One’ storyline, before shifting the focus to the characters that would ordinarily be brushed aside in such narratives. This isn’t about saving the world, or taking down a corrupt system, it’s about the ordinary, the everyday. I want to start off by saying that to go into this book expecting the likes of the Chaos Walking trilogy or More Than This, is to do this book a disservice, because The Rest of Us Just Live Here aims to do something else entirely. Naturally, I was incredibly excited when I heard that Patrick Ness was releasing a new book full stop but the premise, a book about the people who aren’t the Chosen One, had me counting down the days until its release. After reading A Monster Calls a few years ago, and going on to devour the Chaos Walking trilogy and More Than This (I’ve yet to foray into his adult fiction) I’ve pressed copies of his books into people’s hands nearly every time they enter a bookshop with me. It’s no secret among people I know that I’m a huge fan of everything Patrick Ness writes.
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