The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
1,957	97	8,541	(3.74)	64
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.… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 96 (next | show all)

Oh my shiny lovely indie kid studded stars this book. Let's put aside the awesome concept and instead let me focus on how RIGHT Ness got a lot of things. Like Michael's anxiety issues. And the feelings of being lost and alone. And how saying you're okay and being okay almost never sync up perfectly. (

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lexilewords | Dec 28, 2023 |

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. (

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raschneid | Dec 19, 2023 |

What a gorgeous little novel. I didn’t read the summary before beginning - I’d only heard that it was about the “other” kids in YA fantasy and that there was a character who ruled cats – I was very surprised (but ultimately thrilled) when I discovered that the story is so much bigger.
I am amazed with how many layers this story contains, the depth that it goes into regarding mental health, and the eloquence with which Ness combines wry humor with very serious topics. I am looking forward to reading more of Ness’ work and I can see myself rereading this novel soon. (

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dinahmine | Apr 28, 2023 |

This was fine. I didn't love it, but after the first 100 pages, I was engaged and enjoyed the story well enough. Might just not be the writing style for me. Idk. (

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boredwillow | Mar 4, 2023 |

Loved it. I am a huge Buffy fan, so the fact that this was written from the POV of a character like Xander if he hadn't been friends with Buffy and Willow was pretty obvious. But it was funny and sweet and I loved it. (

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Kateinoz | Feb 14, 2023 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Patrick Ness	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Cochran, Josh	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Fitzsimmons, Erin	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Fouhey, James	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2015-08-27

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Epigraph

I thought I could organise freedom.
How Scandinavian of me.
- Bjork

Dedication

For my own excellent sister,
Melissa Anne Brown, who's both kind and funny,
the best possible combination.

First words

On the day we're the last people to see indi kid Finn alive, we're all sprawled together in the Field, talking about love and stomachs.

Quotations

The indie kids, huh? You've got them at your school, too. That group with the cool-geek haircuts and the charity shop clothes and names from the fifties. Nice enough, never mean, but always the ones who end up being the Chosen One when the vampires come calling or when the alien queen needs the Source of All Light or something. They're too cool to ever, ever do anything like go to prom or listen to music other than jazz while reading poetry. They've always got some story going on that they're heroes of. The rest of us just have to live here, hovering around the edges, left out of it all, for the most part.

Last words

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Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

813.6

Canonical LCC

PZ7.N43843

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▾Book descriptions

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.

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