Thought Train to Pusan

I have only read one other novel by Patrick Ness before (also of the YA variety) and did not like it very much, but I had heard good things about The Rest of Us Just Live Here and figured I should give it a shot: as it turns out I found this novel be well worth the read. Despite involving some fantastical elements, these magical components for the most part are only the background of the more human-centric story which the book focuses; at it’s heart, this novel is a very relatable story about figuring out life, love, and relationships during points of change. The Rest of Us Just Live Here follows a teenage protagonist named Mikey during his last few months in high-school. Mikey is dealing with a host of issues including the thought of leaving home after graduation with his best friend, wondering about his position in his group of friends trying to express his feelings towards a friend within these last few months, worrying about his sister and her mental healt...

Well, that certainly was not what I expected. And not in a good way, to be honest. This YA novel begins in a slow-burning fashion, focusing largely on the main character, Seth, and his memories: very character-driven. Yet about a third of the way in, there is quite a twist, that changes the whole tone of the novel, and ultimately leaves more questions and confusion at the end of everything. There is the sense that Patrick Ness is trying to create an ambiguous ending for the reader to fill in the gaps with whatever explanation and reality they desire, but I don’t feel like it was all that successful in the end. Sometimes uncertainty works, but here I feel like there were just too many questions and things that couldn’t be fully explained, and that leaving things ambiguous just felt like a bit of a cop out in some ways? That sounds harsh, but I was pretty disappointed by the ending, after some really solid emotional moments were created throughout the book that drew me in initially. I...