We Are the Ants

by Shaun David Hutchinson

[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.