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The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness.

"Part Fantasy/Part Coming of age story, this was an interesting one from Ness. It had his dark, gritty realism but at the same time, the storyline with the Indie kids ended up just being overdone and confusing." 

2 Stars

Pros: Ness touched upon some serious issues with his characters, mental health/anxiety/OCD/Eating Disorders but he handled it all in a realistic way. He didn't sugarcoat anything, which was tough at times but I think it added to the story. 

Cons: The fantasy story of the Indie kids being told in summary at the beginning of each chapter was unique but also, just kind of felt rushed and trite. 

Full Summary:

Mike is just weeks away from graduating high school and having his whole life change. His sister Mel, his best friend Jared, the love of his life but he's never told her, Henna, everyone is preparing to up and going their separate ways. And there's that whole thing with the Indie kids always causing some sort of magical mishap. It'll be a miracle if they manage to get to graduation without the school blowing up. In the past there's been soul eating ghosts, Vampires, any number of strange happenings but it's all kind of in the background because, well, that's how the story's structured.  

Basically, the story follows Mike through the last few weeks of his Senior year. There's strange happenings, blue lights in the sky, cops with glowing blue eyes, fissures opening, explosions. If all that wasn't frightening enough, Mike and his friends all have their own battles their fighting. Mike struggles with serious OCD and anxiety, his sister Mel is still learning to live with an eating disorder and sadly, their parents are no better. Their mother is a politician, so she's detached and stoic, while their father is a serious alcoholic. There are so many issues in Mike's life that he is a nervous wreck and no wonder. 

As the weeks to graduation wind down and the weirdness ratchets up, Mike finds himself in situations he never thought possible. Will he finally get the chance to tell Henna he loves her? But, she has feelings for the new kid Nathan. And what will it be like, moving away and going to College? He's so full of questions and the world is not free with its answers but in the end, Mike realizes that perhaps that's the whole thing. Perhaps he doesn't have to have all the answers. All he has to do is be present, feel the love of those around him and understand that, no matter what happens, tomorrow will happen, life will continue and in the end, it's all going to be okay. 

This wasn't my favorite by Ness, though it did have his grit and darkness. The secondary story of the Immortals and them trying to find a vessel in our world was confusing and to be honest, a bit off-putting. Though Mike, Mel et al were obviously the protagonists, I also found myself trying to keep track of the Indie kids and what was happening with that whole storyline. But, in the end, Ness got his message across and it was a good one. 

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