The Rest of Us Just Live Here

I'm very conflicted on how to rate and review this book. But for now I'm going with 3.5 stars. This may change after I have some some to digest and write a full review. But I will say that while the plot was lacking and abrupt in many ways, the messages throughout the book were extremely important and made this book that much more.

Loved this! Review to come. :)

FULL REVIEW:

So right from the start I thought the premise of writing about the regular people in a Chosen One story was pretty brilliant—and it turned out even better than I'd hoped. Ness doesn't just play with the Chosen One trope—he pokes fun at sooo many YA stereotypes, from the Chosen Ones having “cool” names, to the ridiculousness of some of the romantic plots, to Chosen One deaths and brave sacrifices, etc. etc. There were a lot of moments that made me actually laugh out loud, and it gave the whole book a really playful tone that I very much appreciated.

Then, of course, there's the anxiety rep. The protagonist, Mike, has OCD, and while my anxiety never pushed me into endless loops like his (though I am familiar with loops, and especially familiar with feeling the need to wash my hands “one more time”), there was a lot that felt really familiar and real while I was reading. Doubly so because like Mike, I once worked in a restaurant at the height of my anxiety breakdown and would wash my hands so many times there I'd leave with dry, cracked hands. This is just one example. I took pictures of other lines that really resonated with me, but point is, at least to me, the anxiety rep felt pretty solid. So solid that after the first night of reading I had to put the book down and take a deep breath because it was almost triggering. Of course YMMV, but for me, at least, the representation rang true.

So all that said, I really appreciated seeing some real, respectful anxiety/OCD rep on the page. The cast of characters is also super diverse, which was an especially great bonus.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one and would totally recommend it to those looking for a fun read with some neuroatypical rep. I will caution, though, that if you're likely to be triggered by vivid anxiety rep, you may want to skip this one or go in with eyes open at least. But now I'm going to have to read more Patrick Ness books because this was excellent.

Diversity note: The protagonist, Mike, has OCD. Other prominent characters include his sister, who has an eating disorder (but is in recovery), his friend and love interest who is Black, and his best friend who is gay.

The ending was good and I got the message this book was trying to get across with accepting yourself with all your flaws and accepting your friends even if they sometimes choose to hide things from you because people are complicated and everyone lives different lives that we can't possibly begin to comprehend.

Buuut, I was thoroughly annoyed with all the drama in the middle of the book. Although, I did enjoy how Mike and his sisters were so close and open with each other. So it might not have been very enjoyable but it was fine as a one time read.