Book Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness

[The Book Reviewer]

Rating: 4/5

I’m a great lover of all the Patrick Ness books, and this one is no exception. It is unique from his other novels, as it follows the stories of characters who are not deemed the ‘chosen ones’. Mikey and his ragtag friends are thrown into an extraordinary world when really all they want to be is normal. These characters are ones I felt I could really dig my teeth into, as they are developed deliciously and come in all shapes and sizes.

At the start of each chapter, there is a small plot which summarises the current struggles of the ‘indie kids’, who would be the chosen ones if the story was told from their perspective. These brief tales are always funny and cleverly crafted, and highlight the great difference between what the two different – yet the same – worlds have to offer. Patrick Ness then throws in some mental health issues and LGBTQ to the mix, which again are normal in modern society and should not be brushed under the carpet. Everybody has a story to tell, even if some of us don’t want to hear it. And I believe that is the main flavour of the novel. That everybody has, and should, have a story to tell, because even though some may be the god of cats or are fighting the Immortals, every character builds and fortifies a story just as much as the next, and even though some of us are the chosen ones, the rest of us just live here.