Ness reflects the everyday lives of teens here more than any other of his books I can think of. They're realistic, flawed, diverse, and funny, and reminded me a little of teens the way John Green writes them. I appreciated Mikey's love for his family, his mental health struggles, and his changing self-esteem. 
 For me, the dystopian/indie kids storyline didn't work that well. I didn't mind the opening paragraphs, actually, but it didn't seem like anyone - adults or teens - were reacting in a realistic way to the weird stuff that was happening, especially the graduation scene. And I know to expect some confusion with Ness' writing, but I would've like more explanation. 
 I read this for the Read Harder challenge: "Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel."