I’ve been a fan of Patrick Ness since listening to a wonderful audio version of The Knife of Never Letting Go, long before the Chaos Walking trilogy started on the big screen. There is a quiet, and sometimes not so quiet, humour to Ness which is becoming addictive. I respect so many authors, but as a writer, Ness is now at the top of my list of writers who make me say, “Damn, I wish I wrote that!” So, I’m finally working my way through his back catalog and though I’m 6 years late, I am so excited to have lost myself in The Rest of Us Just Live here.

I don’t do summaries in reviews. But in brief, The Rest of Us is a bittersweet look at the entry into adulthood of a unique group of teens, who consider themselves at best average and at worst, broken. Their struggles are set in juxtaposition to “the indies”–– those cool, good-looking kids who are always off battling the forces of darkness. The homage and send-up of the New Moon series are so delightful, it continues to make me smile even now, days later.

The characters are well drawn, individual and unexpected. Mikey, the lead, is complicated and a little lost in the complexities of OCD. It was wonderful to feel both love for him and frustration in his narcissism… but that just means I felt what his friends do. Right in there with him.

Really, I am only say just go and read it so that we can talk!