THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE Since I tend to read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi I am pretty familiar with "The-Chosen-One-Trope". The reason this book peaked my interest is because it focuses on everybody else. You do get an occasional peak into what the chosen one's or indie kids are mixed up in, but it's just enough to know that something is actually brewing. In this book the spotlight is on Mikey and his tightknit group of friends, who are living their ordinary lives, looking forward to prom and work weekends to earn some coin. At first glance this might seem uneventful but what makes these ordinary teens quite extraordinary is the way they deal and help eachother through things like a dysfunctional familiy, OCD, Anorexia and anxiety. For once I couldn't care less about the indie kids with the exciting otherworldly adventures and that is all because I couldn't help but to discover, fear, grief, laugh and hope for the rest of them. The adversities in the life of Mikey and friends or so realistically portrayed that even the slow pacing didn't bother me. With it's diverse cast of characters this book is a breathe of fresh air. Although this book is shelved among the fantastical reads and certainly has more than a few fantasy elements woven into the storyline, it reads more like contemporary ya. Something I could appreciate this time around, because this tale could not have been told any other way. For me this was 3,5 out of 5

A great novel about the ordinary lives of people who are not the chosen ones in the average fantasy indie novel, but who still have to live their lives in spite of all hardships, and I’m not just talking about teenage life decisions, such as how to deal with your first crush of having to navigate through a dysfunctional family. It is a refreshing reframing of the young adult genre.

This book could’ve been great, it started out amazingly. But somewhere it lost me and became pretty generic. Seems like too many topics were handled only a little bit. Less is more I’d say

Interesting premise! Could have been a great book if the author had actually stuck with it.

Not for those looking for the typical fantasy plotlines, but a beautiful coming-of-age novel with extremely well-depicted struggles with mental health, insecurity and friendship. The best book I’ve read this year.