Beautiful, Unputdownable, Worth Every Tear | Mini Review: None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: April 7th, 2015

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

"I cried so much while reading this, but every tear was worth it."

I've been eyeing this book for some time now, so I'm grateful for Dahlia's Book Club for giving me that extra push. This is a fabulous novel and is so important. It's so important for people to learn more about those who are intersex and what that is like, and this book hopefully provides some more visibility on the topic. So much of the focus of LGBTQ+ discussions leaves out intersex, leaving most people very unaware of what that actually means. This is manifested in the majority of Kristen's school.

This story broke my heart and then slowly healed it again. I learned so much along the way, and it was just an emotional rollercoaster. The characters really add such a depth to the story and to the conflicts. I feel like there might be criticism about some of Kristen's friendships, but oh my gosh did I see my own middle/high school friend dynamics in there (minus the partying). And I would hate to think about how non-tolerant those in Kristen's school were, but to be honest, I don't find it surprising. High school can be so ruthless and terrible, and teens can be so quick to tear one another down. But I think another important experience and lesson to be learned here is that despite all the terrible people (or the good people who make bad decisions), there are also really decent and amazing people who don't care and will stick up for you. And seeing that in this book was such a treasure. I cried so much while reading this, but every tear was worth it.

But before I forget or get sidetracked, I want to bring it back to this being about a girl who just founds out she's intersex and is struggling to figure out her identity when she feels it's being taken away. It is just so powerful, but it's also so impactful for anyone who goes through a time where they feel they're losing/they have lost their identity, even when it's something that doesn't truly define you or your personality. I just think this story was beautiful, and I couldn't put it down.

That being said, there were large parts of the story that were pretty predictable, including that ending. And there were a few other things, but I think they are far outweighed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and while it wasn't my favorite, it sure is amazing and definitely needs to be read by all.

None of the Above: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

I. W. Gregorio: Website | Tumblr | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Great World Building and Exploration of Identity, But Where Did Everyone Go? | Mini Review: Audiobook: The Real Boy by Anne Ursu

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu (Audiobook)

Publisher: Walden Pond Press

Release Date: September 24th, 2013 

On an island on the edge of an immense sea there is a city, a forest, and a boy. The city is called Asteri, a perfect city saved by the magic woven into its walls when a devastating plague swept through the world years before. The forest is called the Barrow, a vast wood of ancient trees that encircles the city and feeds the earth with magic. And the boy is called Oscar, a shop boy for the most powerful magician in the Barrow, who spends his days in the dark cellar of his master's shop grinding herbs and dreaming of the wizards who once lived on the island. Oscar's world is small, but he likes it that way. The real world is vast, strange, and unpredictable. And Oscar does not quite fit in it.

But it's been a long time since anyone who could call himself a wizard walked the world, and now that world is changing. Children in the city are falling ill; something sinister lurks in the forest. Oscar has long been content to stay in his small room, comforted in the knowledge that the magic that flows from the trees will keep his island safe. Now, even magic may not be enough to save it.

"There's so much depth to Oscar, and I love the exploration of identity and what it means to be human and to be growing up."

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was actually introduced to it through Dahlia's Book Club, and I decided to listen to this instead since finding time to read in college is hard.

There's so much depth to Oscar, and I love the exploration of identity and what it means to be human and to be growing up. Growing up can be so hard and so isolating for anyone, but social interaction is particularly difficult for Oscar. I also really enjoyed Callie as a character and how she is one of the few people to see through everything that prevent people from really getting to know or care about Oscar. Their friendship is so beautiful and so important and shows how important acceptance and love are, how much someone can change your life.

The world was really interesting, and I loved the premise of the story. I thought the story carried itself well, and I almost always wanted to keep listening. I'm still getting used to listening to audiobooks, but this wasn't particularly difficult to get into. I was glad there weren't long descriptions, but there were also so many times where I found it difficult to get any image of the setting. Like I know what the places are called, but it was still difficult to visualize much that wasn't the forest or garden.

The ignorance of the people also bothered me beyond belief. As much as it could be realistic, I don't see how everyone could just be brainwashed to forget simply because they were scared...but maybe that's because I never lived through something like that. My other biggest problem with the book was how quickly so many seemingly important characters just left the story, from Master Caleb to Wolf to Madame something (the one who Callie was working under) to the baker. There was so little exploration of these characters, and maybe the author didn't find that important, but it's such a shame.

But overall, I enjoyed the book, and it was worth the time.

The Real Boy: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Anne Ursu: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Real, Raw, Palpable, Heart-breaking, and Hopeful | Mini Review: Finding Center by Katherine Locke

Finding Center by Katherine Locke
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: August 17th, 2015

Zed and ballet are my two greatest loves

It took all of Aly's strength to get them back after a tragic accident ripped them from her six years ago. A long road to recovery led to her return, dancing full-time for the District Ballet Company and carrying Zed's child. But Aly is slipping. Each day becomes a fight to keep her career from crumbling under the weight of younger talent, the scrutiny of the public eye and the limitations of her ever-changing body. A fight she fears she's losing.

I'm scared Aly is broken to her core

Zed recognizes the signs, but he doesn't know how to fix her. The accident left him with his own demons, and while he wants nothing more than to take care of the woman he loves, it's getting harder the farther downward she spirals. When Aly's life is threatened and Zed's injuries prevent him from saving her, he's never felt so useless, so afraid he's not capable of being the man Aly and their child needs.

With new life comes new hope. And with their fractured lives already hanging by a thread, Aly and Zed must discover if they have what it takes—both together and apart—to rebuild and carry on.

"This book in particular is raw and haunting but also hopeful."

"It made me feel understood too, and that made me feel a little less alone."

THIS BOOK. I'm not sure why I waited so long to read this, but I was really missing ballet, so I picked this one up. And I'm so glad that I did.

I loved Second Position, but I didn't realize I could fall in love with Locke's story even more. Yet Finding Center did just that. It still contained the ballet that I love and was looking for within Locke's story, but this one hit so much more and focuses much more on the characters and their development. 

The story continues with the emotional character development in the first book. I absolutely love how Locke handles mental illness within her books. She handles it deftly and carefully but doesn't leave anything out, doesn't sugarcoat anything. This book in particular is raw and haunting but also hopeful. We see that there's a way through. It never leaves you, but it gets easier, and you learn how to handle it amongst everything else in life.

But the journey to get there is an emotional one. There are so many ups and downs, so many miscommunications, so much that is conveyed. Locke shows how people can change but also how slow and how much of a process it is. The changing point of view is especially effective in this book and in getting the message across. Both are going1 through so much and shut others out, but we can see both sides of it, and I think that is so important and so well done.

The book is never lagging, and the struggles are so real and palpable. My heart broke so many times, and I cried so much while reading this, not just because the plot was often so sad and distressing but also because it just understood what it felt like. I definitely don't have anything close to what Aly and Zed are feeling and going through, but I can understand how they felt. It made me feel understood too, and that made me feel a little less alone. (And of course the dance/ballet portions are beautifully written, as always. The conflicts are well written and envisioned, and I loved every moment of it.)

I implore you to go read it (and/or Second Position).

Finding Center: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Katherine Locke: Website | Twitter | Tumblr 

Music Monday (#16): Feb 2016 Playlist

Every other Monday, I'll share a song/artist/album that I'm either currently listening to or currently obsessed with, though they often go hand-in-hand. Some may have special themes or surprises. This means that I might share a playlist, fan!mix, Top Ten list, etc.

Today I'm sharing my February 2016 playlist with you all! I want to start compiling some songs I listened to and enjoyed in each month, so I'll try to share them here with you. The songs/lyrics don't necessarily have any relation to things that happened in the month. They're just mood/aesthetic music and music I found.

Listen to the playlist!

Intense, Engaging, Fun, Kick-Ass, Political, and Incredibly Complex | Review: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: January 5th, 2016

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

"It's intense and engaging. It's fun and kick ass and political and just so complex."

Ahhh, let's take a moment to talk about the hype monster surrounding Truthwitch. I'm not going to lie; I added to that hype as part of the #Witchlanders team. But I will admit that there were many times when I knew I was just playing/adding to the hype. Don't get me wrong, I love Sooz and am not ungrateful for the street team, for the experience, and for my clan (Aether!) (on a side note, I felt a twinge of pride every time Aether was mentioned in the book hehe), but it sometimes felt like a little much, like everyone was always seeing something about Truthwitch, which I guess was the point of the street team.

But moving on, I was very much looking forward to this book. I really enjoyed Dennard's first series, Something Strange and Deadly, and I loved that the book was meant to focus on a badass female friendship. I kept hearing amazing things about the book from people who had read the ARC, and it didn't help that I kept talking and thinking about it.

I loved it as much as I expected to. I love the characters and the way Dennard builds up characterization and really shows how people change, even within the time frame of the novel. Dennard has always done a great job of creating interesting, complex characters and conflicts, and Truthwitch is no different. Each character has a different background, different experiences, different motives, and different goals, yet they're woven together to create this story, and it works so well. And of course, there's Iseult and Safiya's friendship, which is just so fabulous and so nice to see. The way they complement one another and support and love one another is everything I could have hoped for and more. They are stronger when they are together, but they still have flaws, both individually and together, and I loved that. Seeing how intertwined their stories are was just such a treat, and I love how much love they showed to one another, either out loud or within their narratives. It's the kind of friendship I would want, that strong bond that becomes hard for others to even begin to sever. There's this loyalty and sense of wanting what's best for the other--almost to a fault--that is so powerful and does lend itself to some conflicts as well. To be able to see both of their thoughts and see how much they both love one another is important and well-done and just fabulous. The romance that is set up is also just all heart eyes. I love it!! Sooz has such a way with writing interactions and relationships (of all kinds), and it's one of the strongest aspects of this novel, for sure. It's a fantastic fantasy novel that sets up for a much grander set of challenges ahead, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book. This book is so full and so much happens. It's intense and engaging. It's fun and kick ass and political and just so complex.

The map is gorgeous and accompanies her grand world building. At times it was an uphill battle to fully comprehend everything. The magic system and its intricacies are a bit difficult to fully grasp at first and aren't fully fleshed out because the characters already (of course) know how it works and the history behind it. I think Dennard does a wonderful job of explaining it as best she could, but there were still many points at which I just didn't understand what was being said or explained. But while I think it's important to understand the magic within the Witchlands, I could still follow the story.

The book was such a ride and kept me turning pages. However, there are slow(er) portions, and I could see others getting put off by that. Particularly at the beginning, it can be a bit tedious to get through the set up where there's not much happening yet, but I definitely think it picks up. As with any novel, there are also some spots throughout where the action lulls, and I could see that affecting people's read of it. I didn't mind it too much because that was where a lot of important developments occurred and where I saw a bit of the political aspects of the world and of the conflict. I personally found that she still captured my attention and kept me engaged, even if not as much as I was hoping or as when it was an action-packed scene.

I found that Truthwitch read very much like her Something Strange and Deadly series, which is fine by me because I enjoyed the series. However, some of the things I didn't like as much about the SSaD series did carry over, and I still saw parts of it in the novel. If you didn't particularly like her writing or style of storytelling, you might not enjoy Truthwitch. I don't know yet how Truthwitch stacks up again SSaD, but I'm thinking that this is a step up, an improvement (again, not that SSaD wasn't good!). She has certainly improved a lot and has created yet another wonderful set of characters and an enthralling new world. I cannot wait for the next part of the adventure, but even more so, I cannot wait to see more of the wonderful friendship she has woven into an already intricate story.

Truthwitch: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Susan Dennard: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest | YouTube

Hello...It's Me

*waves* HELLO! It has been quite a while, hasn't it? (Yes, it has.) I can explain, I promise. It's been a crazy few months, with the end of my first semester of college, traveling this winter, and starting my second semester. It's been quite a ride, as my friends could surely tell you. I went to Barcelona during my winter break, and it was breathtaking and life changing. I learned so much from the trip and from my experiences, and it truly sparked my desire to travel, particularly all over Europe. If I thought I wanted to travel before, it's nothing compared to my desire now. And Barcelona will now forever have a special place in my heart. I may write more about it either here or on Infinite Golden Floors, but it was a really personal time, so we will see. I just fell in love with the city and made some great friends.

BUT after just a few days there, I found out I was in a huge reading slump. I was either just too tired to read after exploring all day or just wasn't feeling pulled into the stories (there's slightly more to it, but that's a bit personal), even if they were books I think I would normally love. Then it only got worse once I started meeting people and hanging out with friends at the Spanish school I was taking classes in. Suddenly, my life was entirely more exciting than any of the books I was attempting to read, and I just couldn't read more than three or four pages on my Kindle at one time. This slump has continued, even long after I've come back from Barcelona. First it was the whole getting back to school thing, then it was the fact that I'm participating in FAWM, and then it's been added to by my new relationship with YA novels. I've put myself on a book buying ban, particularly on YA, with only a few exceptions. Instead, I've been trying to read more classics and adult books. There are various reasons for this, and I'll explain it more in another post, but it's just been a rough few reading months, and I think it's also affected my motivation with this blog as well. I love blogging, and I still really want to talk about the books I'm reading, but it might be in a new direction, and right now, it's just hard to feel motivated when I am not motivated to read.

That being said, I have some catching up to do, so expect some mini reviews to roll out over the next few weeks. In addition, there are a bunch of discussion posts I've jotted down ideas for. Some are going to be more for Infinite Golden Floors, while others will be here. Once I've caught up, we'll see where I'm to go from there. Hopefully, by then I'll still have time for blogging and will have gotten back to my regular reading.

On that note, I'm currently reading Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut, and though I'm going through it slowly (most of my reading in college so far has been slow going regardless), I'm really loving it. I loved Slaughterhouse Five, and this is just bringing me back to that. I love his writing and his style, and I hope that enjoying this will help me get out of this huge funk.

Lastly, I'd like to try to get back to Tweeting and Instagraming more regularly and with content that's more relevant (re: Twitter). I feel like I've fallen out of the community quite a bit, and I'd like to step back in after my little time away. I still love this; it's a tough road, but I'm ready to be back on it.

How have you all been lately? What are some books you're loving right now or are really excited for? (I'm so out of the loop with releases this year. Except When We Collided. I am SO on top of that.)

Best of 2015

Hey, lovelies! So I'm hoping to make this blog bigger and better in the new year. I feel like I always say that, but at least for now, I'm really motivated and excited. In addition, I'm hoping to really start up my personal blog, Infinite Golden Floors. At this point, I may still end up combining these two blogs, but I'd probably have to change my blog URL again, and I'd rather not. (Regardless, I'll be changing my Twitter handle.)

But let's talk about this past year! It's definitely been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but overall, I would say I've had a good year, at least looking back now. I'll admit that I think more in school years/semesters than calendar years, so some of the beginning of the year is fuzzy, but I'm loving where I am now in college.

And here is my Best of 2015 list! Everything is listed in no particular order. (I've reviewed many of these, some won't be reviewed at all, and others will be reviewed in early 2016, by the way.)

Top 10 Reads of 2015

Honorable Mentions: I Crawl Through It by A.S. King, Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom, Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Top 2 Graphic Novels of 2015

I decided to just pick two despite having a read a few because most of the graphic novels I read were all within the same rating range and don't particularly stick out.

Top 10 Albums of 2015

(Though most of these were released in 2015, not all were. In addition, I didn't include albums for musicals.)

Honorable Mentions: Stand By You and Fight Song by Rachel Platten, Rabbits on the Run by Vanessa Carlton

Top 3 Movies of 2015

(I'm very bad at keeping track of movies I watch, so I've only looked at those released this past year. I didn't watch very many movies (probably around 5 in theaters), so.)

Honorable Mention: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Top 6 Shows of 2015

American Ballet Theater November 1st Performance (After You, Piano Concerto #1, The Brahms-Haydn Variations)

The Royal Ballet Junes 27th Performance

Happy New Year!

And that's a wrap! I hope you've all had a good year, and I hope the next year will bring even better things. Have a happy new year, lovelies! <3

What were your 2015 favorites? Do you make resolutions; what are some of yours?

Finals Hiatus

Hey loves! I suppose this shouldn't come to anyone's surprise, but I just wanted to announce officially that I will be on hiatus until after Christmas due to finishing up the semester and finals testing. My classes don't actually end until the 14th, when I'll have a few days off before I have 3 sit-in finals between the 21st and 22nd.

Obviously this means I won't be around much anywhere, as I really need to focus on my studies. I'll still try to post on Instagram every once in a while and will be in and out on Twitter.

Some things to look forward to after the hiatus:
Review of Finding Center by Katherine Locke
Review of Spring Awakening on Broadway
Review/Discussion/Post on Master of None (TV)
Discussion posts on blogger jealousy
Discussion on romance in books, particularly in YA
Possible discussion post on blogging friends/online friends

I also have a bunch of post ideas for Infinite Golden Floors, my personal blog, if you might be interested in that.

See you soon! I hope you all have a very happy holiday season, and I wish everyone with finals and college apps the best of luck! <3

A Beautiful Story About Friendship and "The Future" | Review: Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler (ARC)

Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Release Date: November 17th, 2015

Reagan Forrester wants out—out of her trailer park, out of reach of her freeloading mother, and out of the shadow of the relationship that made her the pariah of Charytan, Kansas.

Victoria Reyes wants in—in to a fashion design program, in to the arms of a cute guy who doesn't go to Charytan High, and in to a city where she won't stand out for being Mexican.

One thing the polar-opposite best friends do agree on is that wherever they go, they’re staying together. But when they set off on a series of college visits at the start of their senior year, they quickly see that the future doesn’t look quite like they expected. After two years of near-solitude following the betrayal of the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart, Reagan falls hard and fast for a Battlestar Galactica-loving, brilliant smile-sporting pre-med prospective... only to learn she's set herself up for heartbreak all over again. Meanwhile, Victoria runs full-speed toward all the things she thinks she wants… only to realize everything she’s looking for might be in the very place they've sworn to leave.

As both Reagan and Victoria struggle to learn who they are and what they want in the present, they discover just how much they don't know about each other's pasts. And when each learns what the other’s been hiding, they'll have to decide whether their friendship has a future.

"Thank you, Dahlia, for writing this book. The world needs it; people who were like me in high school need it."

Disclaimer: This review is based of of the ARC, which I won from the author in a giveaway. This did not affect my review in any way, nor am I being compensated for this.

Every time I read a book written by someone I know and love, I hope that I won't be disappointed because that might create awkward situations. But once again, I need not have worried. Dahlia and her books are forces to be reckoned with, and it's part of why I love them.

There is no doubt that the book's strength is its focus on a strong, positive friendship. Reagan and Victoria's relationship is so solid and so important. So often, books focus on romantic relationships or on friends that tear one another down. While those are certainly real experiences, so many of us hope to have or have the kind of friendship that Victoria and Reagan do. I love how they complement each other while also being completely different. I think my best friend Jess and I are like that in many ways. While we definitely have some things in common, we're both very different people. Yet, she's one of the people I'm closest to, and I can't imagine how much more horrible high school would have been without her. Just Visiting made me think about all of my own experiences with her in high school, and while it wasn't quite like that of Reagan and Victoria, their friendship reminded me of how much I treasure my own, both now in college and before in high school.

Another one of Dahlia's strengths is writing complex, intersectional characters who develop throughout the book. It's something that can become easy to expect from all books after you've read a book or two by Dahlia, but then you remember/realize that it doesn't carry across all books (which is sad and terrifying to think about and needs to be changed). But more than having these characters, I love how the different parts of them don't necessarily define who they are. Certainly, being Mexican is a huge part of her identity and shapes who she is, but there's more to her than being Mexican. It's a central theme but not the only one. Almost all of the bigger characters (Reagan, Victoria, Dev, "Freckles," all the parents, etc) in the book are intersectional in different ways, but they are not token characters hoping to give the author and the book diversity points. Instead, it's genuine and reflects how many people in real life are.

Dahlia also has a way of writing heartbreaking tensions and conflicts and excels at weaving a story in a way that makes you smile and laugh in one moment and cry in the next. There's just something I love about her writing and the way she tells stories. I hope she never loses that magic.

Speaking of magic, she also writes the most amazing, magical romances and romantic scenes. *swoons* And I love how while it is a big part of the story, it's not all that there is. In fact, there's so much more said about "the future," the uncertainness of it. I actually recently wrote a blog post on Infinite Golden Floors about my own doubts over my future. It's not something that goes away once you're in college. I've only just started, but so many of my upperclassmen friends have no idea either. But to be honest, do most people ever truly know? But it's especially daunting when you're on the cusp of entering a new part of your life, whether that's graduating high school or graduating college. With my younger sister and many of my friends applying to colleges now and having just gone through the process myself last year, I completely understand that feeling as a high school senior of having to get ready to leave everything behind--all the friends and people you've known most of your life, your home, etc. Of course, not everyone leaves home and some people do stay friends, but again, it's not something you can know for sure. And choosing a college is difficult too--it has to be affordable, be in a desirable location, have your intended major (if you're going in with one), etc. It's so much and can be so overwhelming, but it's also so much better when you have a friend to get through it with you. And to see struggle in book characters can make the feeling so much more validating, can make some feel so much less alone.

It's funny I rated this 4.5 because now that I'm writing this book, I'm not sure what criticism I had for this book. Maybe it was that I felt like something was missing, some missing piece. It may have had something to do with the parents or with wanting certain things to have been talked about a bit more (like how Reagan was forced to type up an assignment even though her teacher knew she wasn't able to at home and would have to go to the trouble of finding another way to get it done). But those are so minuscule when you look at everything else in this book.

If you haven't read any of Dahlia's books yet, I'm not sure what you're waiting for. She always writes the most amazing stories that never fail to make an impact. Thank you, Dahlia, for writing this book. The world needs it; people who were like me in high school need it. And to all the high school seniors out there, you are not alone. You can make it through.

Just Visiting: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Dahlia Adler: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Quiet, Raw, and Subtly Perfect | Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: October 6th, 2015

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.

"The Rest of Us Just Live Here is just a beautiful book that I will treasure forever. It's quiet, raw, and subtly perfect."

This book has been on my radar for a while now, but I got even more excited after attending Ness' book signing at Books of Wonder and heard him speak about it and the different themes in the book. I was not disappointed; this book delivered and more.

This book won't be for everyone. It's about the "other" people, the ones who aren't off saving the world. It's about all the people that feel like they could never be the hero and probably wouldn't want to be. It's even about how being "the chosen one" (or in this case, the "indie kid") isn't all that great if you were actually to be one of them. Some people will find portions of this slow and boring, and maybe it is at times, but I liked the slow nature of some of the parts of this story. I love how this doesn't just forget about all the school stuff, about the "real life" stuff. I love how there was more of the mundane because it's what most of us go through every day in high school. It may come off as boring, but there's so much drama in that (but different from the drama in other contemporary novels). It's about showing how our every day lives are just as important as the lives of the "indie kids."

I loved the focus on friendship in The Rest of Us Just Live Here. Yes, there was a bit of romance, and I wasn't always the biggest fan of Mikey's obsession, but I could understand it, and I think it was handled well in the end. I didn't have the amazing group of friends in high school that they have in this book, but I loved every minute of their interactions because it felt real to me. 

The support they provided one another was also really important to me. The honest portrayal of friendship and of defining family for oneself and of mental illness was HUGE. This is the kind of book I wish had come out while I was still in high school. So many of Mikey's anxieties and doubts were/are similar to my own. His insecurities are so much like mine, so I think that what he learns from Mel and Jared and the rest of them are so impactful and could honestly help so many teens. A lot of my deeper connection with this aspect of the story also came from what Ness said during the signing, and it's something that will stay with me for a long time.

The conversation about being the one who belongs the least in the group, of being the least important, is very much something that has stuck with me in the time since I finished this book. The week or two after finishing the book were tough for me because I was feeling exactly this, but I'm not going to lie about how much the book helped me get through that time. To say I read this at exactly the right time would be an understatement. Overall, I just think he does such a great job of having a raw, open, real portrayal of mental illness and of how it affects a family.

But moving on, this book was also hilarious at times. The short inscriptions telling the reader about the indie kids' situations at that point in time were such a treat, showing not only a progression in time but also how those "hero" stories and their timelines would play out in real life. It's an added layer that adds just enough flavor. And there is enough action to keep the story moving but without overwhelming the characterization. The way it picks up and comes together at the end was just brilliant.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is just a beautiful book that I will treasure forever. It's quiet, raw, and subtly perfect. It's not about being flashy and all out. It's about the little moments and how those little moments mean so much to us, something that can be forgotten about when we have action-packed books. I highly, highly recommend this read.

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