The Rest Of Us Just Live Here
by Patrick Ness
Published by Harper Collins
THE Rest Of Us Just Live Here is a refreshing and clever take on the coming-of-age story with endless heart. Patrick Ness, best known for the Chaos Walking Trilogy, which was adapted into a movie starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley this year, has an incredibly relatable way of writing teenagers and
young people that is both authentic and timeless. It is in this book that his talent
for this truly shines as it is a story not about what happens to the characters but the characters themselves, about the people without lives quite so dramatic as others, but who matter nonetheless.
This is a book for real people and fees like it.
Set in a small town where supernatural dancers are regular, teenagers seem to be the only ones paying attention. After the vampires, or whatever they may be, have passed and things are back to normal there’s a sense of denial among adults – or perhaps they truly convince themselves it never happened at all.
These battles are fought by the group of young people in every generation, now known as The Indie Kids. They’re impossibly courageous, self-involved, unique and always seem to be dying in some epic way.
The start of each chapter describes what’s going on in their tense, supernatural adventures but by no means is this story about them. What is often forgotten in novels and movies is that there are people aside from those who the big things happen to, people who don’t save the world but who have to deal with the fall-out from those battles instead.
The Rest Of Us Just Live Here is a love letter to those left out characters and does so with grace and the perfect mixture of tears and laughter. This is so effective and captivating that by the time you’ve settled in with this book you’ll have nowhere near as much interest in the fantastical mishaps of the Indie Kids in comparison to the relationships and everyday troubles of the regular teenagers.
The story is told from the perspective of Mikey in the month leading up to his graduation and is really about his friend group and his family. The story explores his OCD and daily struggle to manage it as change draws near and stress intensifies – his sister Mel’s eating disorder, his father’s struggle with alcoholism and a politician mother running a campaign with a picture-perfect American family at its centre.
Among Mikey’s charming friends, each with their own stories and problems, is Henna who he’s been in love with a long time and has now come to the realisation that with graduation nearing he may never have the right moment to tell her how he feels.
What is so perfect about this stunning, sympathetic story of growing up is the quality of the characters. These are the kinds of people you would know in real life and the kind you would want to know, making this unforgettable and coming-of-age tale a must read.
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