The Rest of Us Just Live Here

There are stories about superheroes who do amazing things, but this story isn’t about them. This is about the other kids… the ones without superhero powers – the teens with actual, real-life challenges to just get through each day. Patrick Ness is a solid author. I first became aware of him with his book A Monster Calls (which is a profound read… boy and his mother… she is dying of cancer. And the boy hates himself for sometimes dreaming about letting his mother die. The monster Yew tree outside the boy’s window has some lessons to teach the boy). Patrick Ness deftly weaves complex issues into this story about superheroes and supervillains and crafts something worth your time.

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A bold and irreverent YA novel that powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable, The Rest of Just Live Here is from novelist Patrick Ness, author of the Carnegie Medal- and Kate Greenaway Medal-winning A Monster Calls and the critically acclaimed Chaos Walking trilogy.

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 worshipped by mountain lions.

ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults * Cooperative Children’s Book Center CCBC Choice * Michael Printz Award shortlist * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * VOYA Perfect Ten * NYPL Top Ten Best Books of the Year for Teens * Chicago Public Library Best Teen Books of the Year * Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books * ABC Best Books for Children * Bank Street Best Books List

The Purple Fantastic Steam Meter gives this a 2. It is appropriate for teens.

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