We Are the Ants

by Shaun David Hutchinson

• ISBN10: 1481475207
• ISBN13: 9781481475204
• Publish Date: 19 January 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 April 2021
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Edition: Export ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

This year my brother and I decided we wanted to do some buddy reading. And we knew we'd take it at a slow pace - he doesn't read a ton, even though he enjoys reading and I have lots of other reading going on. And I love being able to talk books with my best friend 3. He's picking the books, which is great because he's exposing me to books I otherwise wouldn't have read or heard of.We Are the Ants definitely falls into that category. I would never have picked it up - its sounds like Sci-Fi (minimally so), which is not my genre. But it had enough to pique my interest so I was in. And I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it - but OMG it's brutal. Our narrator, Henry is SEVERELY depressed. And for a lot of really good reasons. He's so depressed that when given the scenario that he could save the world by pushing a button - that's it, simple, push a button - his first response is no. He and everyone else would be better off if the world ended. And I appreciated his complex response to the question of did he want to die? No, but he didn't particularly want to keep living either. He wasn't going to hurt himself, but he wasn't going to try too hard to stay alive either. SO DEPRESSED.

What follows is a complex story of dealing with severe, situational depression - there may be some chemical in there too, but no doubt situational - and the knocks just seem to keep on coming. And yet it's also a heartwarming story because you watch him start to find reasons amidst the struggle to want to maybe think about pushing that button --- choosing to live. Henry is in high school, openly gay, with a boyfriend who recently committed suicide, a father that walked out and a grandmother going through dementia... just to give you a lay of the land. Oh and there's one other thing...

You know how I said it's kind of Sci-Fi? well Henry is called "Space Boy" because he has been getting periodically abducted by aliens for most his life. Returned naked, or just in his underwear, all over their city after hours or days. We spend some time with him with the aliens and I admit, it was an interesting twist to the story. I spent quite a bit of the book wondering if we were going to either find out that the alien abductions are just a reflection of his severe depression or if they were real... and I'm not going to tell you, you get to find out when you read it :)

A great read and I would definitely consider more from Shaun David Hutchinson!

[roundtableknight]

Rating: 3/5 stars
~
I'm not completely disappointed with the outcome of my review for this book since I wasn't expecting much, but I am a little bitter. The book was meh, not terrible, but I would look elsewhere if you want a LGTB book with good metal representation. Everything felt middle of the road for this novel, but I did enjoy the random facts about space interspersed to keep me somewhat entertained.

[Bianca]

That for one fleeting moment you were the most significant person in someone else’s insignificant life. But whether you knew about it or not, that ant is still out there doing ant things while you wait for the next text message to prove that out of the seven billion self-centered people on this planet, you are important. Your entire sense of self-worth is predicated upon your belief that you matter, that you matter to the universe. But you don’t. Because we are the ants.

— A reflective, funny yet a very sad book with well-developed, multi-layered characters and beautiful writing that effortlessly weaved together a lot of important themes (societal expectations, labels & bullying, depression & grief). A truly remarkable book.

[layawaydragon]

Another free Riveted Lit read down for the marathon!

Content Warning: Suicide, Death, Depression, Abuse, Rape, Bigotry, Violent Bullying, Closeted Homophobe Commits Hate Crime,

I don’t know how to feel about this one. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t love it like everyone else.

It tackles several serious issues well while never feeling forced or pandering.

I’ve been in a similar headspace as Henry and was expecting to fall in love and feel like I found another me-book. I appreciate seeing it and I wonder if I was a teen again, my reaction would be different.

It’s hard to pinpoint why I feel apathetic . It does so many things well, and yet…

I love:
+Henry
+Diego
+Henry & Diego
+On point mental health rep for grief, depression, anxiety, anger management problems and abuse,
+Romance doesn’t quick-fix anyone
+The mini-stories of How the World Ends dispersed throughout were great, clever, and fit nicely.
+Love Henry’s family. Okay, it’s mostly his mom, grandma, and sister-in-law and their dynamics. They’ve got issues, it’s realistic, sad, and heartwarming.

Didn’t Like:
--Homophobe in the Closet, the cause of hate crimes and has the ability to stop it.

--The rape scene doesn’t sit right with me. I have notes written down from when I read it but without a copy handy I don’t feel right expounding on it. It’s just a gut feeling, as too easy, too cliche, too neat, and a missed opportunity of making it about Closeted Homophobe’s sex drive rather than power and dominance.
.
--The wrap up “I wrote this 140 page short story collection and turned it in for class” sounded out like a bit much, especially with everything else he had going on in his life. Given the random unexplained-ness of the Aliens, I think the short How the World End stories could have been included without the weak explanation.

--The aliens are never explained. The Aliens Are Never Explained. THE ALIENS ARE NEVER EXPLAINED. Is it an hallucination or sleep walking and there’s explanations for the turning up places naked? Does this need to be evaluated for correctly portraying a psychological break? Are the aliens real and took pity on us all? Or is it a fucking gimmick to send a message? You know there are real people that question shit like this without alien involvement. *I* went through this and came out the other side like Henry did without aliens. Why include them if they mean nothing? It smells fishy and feels insulting.

[Angie]

Wow. We Are the Ants was nothing like I expected it to be, but it was so good and super intense! Henry has been randomly abducted by aliens for the last few years, but this latest kidnapping was different. He's told that the world is going to end, but if he pushes the red button, it won't. At first it seems like an easy decision: just push it! Henry figures the alien chose him for a reason and he shouldn't be so hasty. He has 144 days to decide, but as time goes on, Henry has less and less reason to save Earth.

We Are the Ants deals with a lot of heavy topics. Henry's boyfriend recently committed suicide and didn't leave a note or say anything to anyone, so Henry's been blaming himself as he grieves. His father also left without a word, which Henry also blames himself for. His mother seems to have given up on life, just smoking and working too hard at her crappy job. His grandmother is in the early stages of dementia but refuses to go to a nursing home. His brother dropped out of college after knocking up his girlfriend. The guy Henry is hooking up with is emotionally and physically abusive. The new guy he's crushing on is keeping secrets and possibly hiding anger issues. It's a lot, but never felt like too much. It all felt real and definitely cemented Henry's conflict over whether the world is worth saving.

I don't want to give too much away about We Are the Ants. Henry is going through a lot, which was hard to read at times. It's not all gloom and doom though. He does find some bright spots, which I think is the whole point of the story. Things may look bleak and not worth continuing, but should that overshadow all of the good stuff in life?

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Stephanie]

I cried because we ARE some pretty damn awesome ants.