I loved this book so so so much after reading it, then loved it so much more after going to a talk Patrick Ness did about it (which was fabulous :D)

It is the perfect antidote to YA tropes; I snorted several times throughout, particularly at lines like "This isn't as bad as when they were all dying beautifully of cancer." The two story lines - Mikey, our main character, and the indie kids, the chosen ones - were both brilliant, and I did giggle at the indie kids' names: Finn, Satchel, Dylan, Finn, Finn, Lincoln, Finn...

The main story line - Mikey and his friends, each dealing with their own issues, and trying to graduate high school - was so wonderfully moving, but still felt completely natural. The danger with a lot of books, especially YA, is that you feel like they've dealt with a lot of 'Issues' but not much else, and you feel educated but not entertained. That was certainly not the case here! The strength of the characters, the amusing backdrop of an invasion of Immortals, and Patrick Ness' immaculate writing combined to make this something really special.