Everybody Sees the Ants

September 29, 2011 Heidi Uncategorized 0

Everybody Sees the Ants

Author: A.S. King
Publisher: Little Brown
Publication Date: October 3, 2011
Pages: 288
Source: Requested ARC at SLJ Day of Dialogue

About the Book: 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 family is fine. And he certainly didn’t ask to be the recipient of Nadar McMillan’s relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

Lucky has a secret—one that helps him wade through the daily dysfunction of his life. Grandad Harry, trapped in the jungles of Laos, has been visiting Lucky in his dreams—and the dreams just might be real: an alternate reality where he can be whoever he wants to be and his life might still be worth living. But how long can Lucky remain in hiding there before reality forces its way inside?

Printz Honor recipient A. S. King’s distinctive, smart, and accessible writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you, and then taking a stand against it. (goodreads)

My Thoughts:
The first thing you need to know — This book will make you think. Really think. And about all kinds of things! Bullying. The Vietnam War. POW/MIA. How we define ourselves. Relationships of all kinds. Family dynamics. The Vagina Monologues (Yes, I did just say vagina. You can too. Vagina.) This leads to my next point…

The second thing you need to know — This book doesn’t let anyone off the hook. Those things that it makes you think about? It will also make you think about your responses and times when maybe you could have acted differently. There were numerous times I felt convicted. It’s incredibly honest and address the issues head on.

The third thing you need to know — This book will challenge you to be a better person. After getting to know Lucky how could I not be inspired? Even when he was going through his own personal hell he was watching out for other people, still thinking about what others (even those who were not kind to him!) might be going through. Lucky Linderman is my hero!

I cannot say enough good things about his book. A.S. King has a way of getting to the heart of the matter. There’s no pussyfooting around. I appreciate that and I think teens do too.

Aside from loving the actual story I love the way the book is set up. The chapter titles, the images that go with certain parts, the embellishments, the cover… it all adds to the already amazing book!

My only concern… Lucky is such an authentic 15 year old boy. I’m not convinced A.S. King didn’t kidnap one and somehow get in his mind! 😉 Or you know… she could just be incredibly talented (a fact supported by her books so I guess we’ll go with that!)

Upcoming Blog Tour:

The blog tour for Everybody Sees the Ants starts on Monday! Check out all the posts!

Monday October 3: Y.A. Love
Tuesday October 4: Pure Imagination
Wednesday October 5: Green Bean Teen Queen
Thursday October 6: The Book Muncher
Friday October 7: Booking Mama
Saturday October 8: Mundie Moms
Sunday October 9: Compulsive Reader
Monday October 10: Here at YA Bibliophile!

You can also stop by A.S. King’s website to see where she will be if you want to meet her!

Book Trailer: