Everybody Sees the Ants

by A.S. King

Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

But Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the daily mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?

Michael L. Printz Honor recipient A.S. King's smart, funny and boldly original writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you and taking a stand against it.

• ISBN10: 130676498X
• ISBN13: 9781306764988
• Publish Date: 1 January 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 May 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Bianca]

The world is full of assholes. What are you doing to make sure you’re not one of them?

[Angie]

I'm not really sure what to make of Everybody Sees the Ants. Not only was I bored, but I just straight up didn't care about Lucky. He's being bullied quite heavily by one kid. It's been going on for over eight years now, and no one really does anything about it. Lucky had something really awful happen to him at this kid's hands, but that was really the only spark of emotion the entire story got out of me. Most of it takes place at Lucky's uncle's house, when his mom decides that they need to get away after he gets beaten up at the pool. And it was just kind of whatever.

Everybody Sees the Ants does have a unique premise in that Lucky dreams about his grandfather who was a prisoner of war and presumed dead over 40 years ago. He's never met him, obviously, and neither has his dad. But ever since his grandmother died after telling him to "find Harry," Lucky dreams about entering the Korean jungle to rescue him. He also wakes up with objects from the dream in his hands, which is quite cool. Unfortunately, I just didn't care about these dreams, no matter how magical. Honestly, I was waiting for him to pull his grandfather out of the dream. Now that would have been awesome.

I really don't have anything else to say about Everybody Sees the Ants. Lucky gets bullied, goes away, becomes enlightened, stands up to said bully, the end. I mean, I'm sure there's some deeper meaning to it all, especially since there is frequent talk of suicide, but I wasn't feeling it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.