Everybody Sees the Ants

Everybody Sees the Ants
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.

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Written by Ann Petry

Published by Amistad in 1995

256 pages.

Genre: History, Nonfiction.

Summery: This book tells the story of the remarkable woman named Harriet Tubman. It tells about her childhood as a slave, how she ran away as a young woman, her many years rescuing slaves, and her work as a spy in the Civil War.

Response: I enjoyed this book. I knew a little about Harriet Tubman, but this book helped me appreciate and admire her a lot more. Well-written as a story, not as dry as some history books.

Word of Caution: Tells about her sometimes violent life as a slave.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Written by Suzanne Collins

Published by Scholastic Press in 2008

384 pages.

Genre: Violence, Dystopia, Suspense.

Summery: North America is now a nation of 12 districts ruled by The Capital. Once, the districts rebelled against the dictatorship of the Capital. Every year since, the Hunger Games have happened to remind the districts who is in control. The names of two children between the ages of 12 and 18 are drawn from each district, one boy and one girl. Both will enter the Games. Out of 24 kids, only one will survive.

Response: I thought I wouldn't like it, but I loved it. It may be a new favorite. I thought it would be morbid and gross, but it was very clean and the author presented it very well. There was practically no swearing or sexual references. The plot was gripping, and the characters were round and well developed.

Word of Caution: It's very intense, and there's a lot of killing.

Foreign Exchange

Foreign Exchange

Written by Mel Glenn

Published by HarperTeen in 1999

144 pages.

Genre: Multicultural, Mystery/Suspense, Social Issues

Summery: For one weekend, students from a big-city highschool are staying with host families in a small, rural town. While staying there, one of the local girls (the prettiest, most popular) is murdered. Through the brilliant poems, we find out who killed her and how the people from both sides deal with the event.

Response: Loved it. So brilliantly written. I think that the poetry works better than regular prose would. It examines prejudices, stereotypes, rivalry, ethics, and family.

Word of Caution: Murder, obviously. Sex. Some language.

The Big Game of Everything

The Big Game of Everything

Written by Chris Lynch

Published by HarperTeen in 2010

288 pages.

Genre: Family

Summery: Union Jack is a kid with a brother named Egon, a sister who's perfect, and parents named Leonard and Peach. And then there's Granpus, who hires his grankids to work for him on his golf course. This is the story of that summer.

Response: This is a great book. It has funny parts and quirky characters, but it also deals with more important themes like self-worth, family relations, and friendship.

Word of Caution: It's mostly clean, but there's a few sexual references and a couple swear words.

Trouble

Trouble

Written by Gary D. Schmidt

Published by Graphia in 2010

300 pages.

Genre: Multicultural, Family, Adventure

Summery: Henry Smith's father always said, "If you build your house far enough from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you." That was true for the first 14 years of Henry's life. Then when Henry's older brother Franklin is hit by a car, Henry has to learn to deal with Trouble. He feels called to climb Katahdin, like he and his brother had planned to do. The journey to the mountain is enlightening, to say the least. This is a story of racism, forgiveness, grief, family, history, war, and love.

Response: I loved this book. I think I might buy it. So wonderfully written and sincerely genuine. It pulls heartstrings and tickles funny bones. (That last sentence was incredibly cliche. Sorry.) It's tragic, but still uplifting. It starts out a little slow, but by a few chapters into it, I was hooked. Read this book.

Word of Caution: Describes some rather violent scenes. I don't remember any bad language, but there might be a little.

American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Published by Square Fish in 2008
240 pages.

Genre: Graphic Novel, Multicultural

Summery: Jin Wang is a typical kid. Except his parents are from Taiwan. He has the usual middle school experience: being picked on, sitting by himself, having a crush on a pretty girl etc. He also has the typical tough experience of being an American Born Chinese. The whole book is a comic strip, which is remarkably effective for the story.

Response: I enjoyed it, but I don't think I really got it. There's a few storylines going on, and maybe I was too distracted by the comics to catch it all. It's brilliantly done. The pictures are bright and expressive. A delightful book-if you like comics.

Word of Caution: Bullying.

"The Taking of Room 114"

The Taking of Room 114
Written by Mel Glenn
Published by Dutton Juvenile in 1997
192 pages.

Genre: Poetry, Suspense

Summery: A crazy high school teacher takes his students hostage. It's remarkably gripping, considering that the entire book is a series of poems. There are five poems for each of the students telling of their lives as Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and finally on the day of the event. The poems do an incredible job of getting inside the heads of teens. Very spot on. The poetry is fun and easy to read.
Response: Oh my. So good. Funny and real, with excellent characters. This book shows that we use too many words when we write. He can create detailed characters with 5 relatively short poems. His writing is fascinating. The storyline is faint but compelling. I read it in less than an hour. This was one of my favorite books I've read so far.

Word of Caution: Mild language. (We're in the teens' heads, remember?) Teen pregnancy. Poetry Haters beware -you might like this book.

"The Adoration of Jenna Fox"

"The Adoration of Jenna Fox"

Written by Mary E. Pearson

Published by Walker Books Ltd in 2010

272 pages

Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance, Ethics

Summery: Jenna Fox wakes up from a coma in a strange new home with a strangely unfamiliar body. She knows she was involved in an accident, but she can't remember anything about it. She can't remember much of anything period. Her father lives in another city and comes to visit. Her mother behaves oddly and is extremely protective of Jenna. Her grandmother hates her, in Jenna's opinion. Jenna goes through a fascinating journey of discovery of who she is and what the world thinks and does. The novel takes place in a futuristic world where cloning and genetic modification are commonly used.

Response: I liked it. The work examines the ethics of the medical world, the possibilities of science, the dangers of science, the political world, the education system, the value of life, weighing the odds, the value of friends, the power struggle between parents and teens, and the beauty and frailty of the human mind. Read this book if you liked "Fahrenheit 451". Read it if you didn't like "Fahrenheit 451".

Word of Caution: You might begin to look more closely at the health care system.