Author: A.S. King
Genre: Social Issues, Violence
Pages: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
This is honestly a life-changing book. It's a story of sadness, despair, weakness, strength, triumph, and family.
Everybody Sees the Ants is a story of Lucky Linderman, a sophomore in high school. He's got a POW MIA grandfather, a squid mother, a turtle father, and a relentless bully. After a particularly bad experience, his mother packs him up and flies across the country to visit his wack-o aunt and uncle.
The book powerfully and honestly deals with grief, weakness, dysfunctional families, bullying, sexual maturity, parental abuse, infidelity, and coping. It sounds like quite the downer, but I promise it's not. The characters and plot certainly bring the reader into Lucky's head and create a black moment, but the story is Lucky's journey from weakness to strength. It's full of hope and triumph and healing, and it's got a great ending.
The book rings true in many ways, on every page.
“The world is full of assholes. What are you doing to make sure you're not one of them?”
“She's like a kindness ninja. Sneaking around in order to help people.”
“I bring my hand to my face and pull away tiny pieces of the jagged scab. My face reflects in the rounded airplane window, and I see it is now a tiny Massachusetts, with Cape Cod curling toward my ear. In only a few more days it will be gone. I feel the fresh, smooth parts and marvel at how soft they are. New skin amazes me. New skin is a miracle. It is proof that we can heal.” (Ok, that one's more than a line. But it was really good!)
Everybody Sees the Ants is in no way a light read, but it's a good one. It's a book to read and ponder.
Word of Caution: The F word is used liberally. There's one detailed scene of sexual assault. Scenes of bullying. Read it before you give it as a gift.
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