We Are the Ants
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- Create Date：2021-06-09 09:54:32
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Shaun David Hutchinson
- ISBN：1481449648
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Summary
From the “author to watch” （Kirkus Reviews） of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes an “equal parts sarcastic and profound” （Kirkus Reviews， starred review） novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving。
Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens。 Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days， and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button。
Only he isn’t sure he wants to。
After all， life hasn’t been great for Henry。 His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke。 His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up。 His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s。 And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year。
Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him。
But Henry is a scientist first， and facing the question thoroughly and logically， he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand， in the best friend who betrayed him， in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class。 Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him， Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever。
Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens。 Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days， and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button。
Only he isn’t sure he wants to。
After all， life hasn’t been great for Henry。 His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke。 His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up。 His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s。 And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year。
Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him。
But Henry is a scientist first， and facing the question thoroughly and logically， he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand， in the best friend who betrayed him， in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class。 Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him， Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever。
Reviews
John Ginther
，
Damnit。 It’s good。 Just really good。 All the emotions， I loved it。
Sy
，
it was rlly good， got me back to reading
isabella
，
god this book。 i feel like a lot of the emotions depicted throughout the characters and mc come from a place of just raw desperation to be okay and i think that’s something that everyone can relate to。 this book endures the complexity of friendship and heartbreak and grief and loss and family and so much more。 the characters are all very complex and each have powerful motives to the way they are。 this book is easily one of my favorites
Jayna Ricker
，
definitely recommend！！ it was super good but if you do plan on reading it please search the trigger warnings first！
Cindy
，
Just like Hutchinson's other book， this started off strong with a great premise。 Aliens， the end of the world， and a protagonist who isn't sure if the world is worth saving。 Sounds cool。 Until you read for the twentieth time why the world is shit。 And they were the same reasons too！ It felt like we weren't getting anywhere。 "But there are timeskips！" you might say。 Yeah， and they didn't help。 The timeskips made sure we glossed over every topic this book tried to address。 And there were so many！ Just like Hutchinson's other book， this started off strong with a great premise。 Aliens， the end of the world， and a protagonist who isn't sure if the world is worth saving。 Sounds cool。 Until you read for the twentieth time why the world is shit。 And they were the same reasons too！ It felt like we weren't getting anywhere。 "But there are timeskips！" you might say。 Yeah， and they didn't help。 The timeskips made sure we glossed over every topic this book tried to address。 And there were so many！ But in the end I felt like none of them were properly dealt with。 I'm not the biggest fan of throwing around the words "show， don't tell"， but because of these timeskips， so many important things were TOLD rather than emotionally dealt with。 This thing？ Oh， yeah， it happened like two weeks ago。 Everyone's over it， even if you - the reader - are still shocked because it's the first time you're hearing about it。 I also didn't like how this book glossed over abuse like it was normal。 Or how it treated depression as something that should be someone's fault。 In the end， the protagonist learns that it isn't HIS fault his boyfriend was depressed， but does he address the fact that depression is a medical illness and NEVER anyone's fault？？ No。 No， he doesn't。And lastly， the character development was so darn slow。 For 80% of the book， I had to listen to our protag repeat the same 3 thoughts over and over again。 I get that he is grieving。 I get that it's hard to let go。 But was it interesting to read a book where nothing happens？ And someone repeats the same things again and again？ No， not really。Listen， there are some gorgeous lines in this book， but they shouldn't be in this story。 They should've had a better one。 。。。more
Kayla John
，
This book just wasn’t for me， I enjoyed the beginning but by time I was about 300 pages in Henry really started getting on my nerves。 He was just kinda a shitty person and I understand that he was depressed but it was almost the entirety of the book of him just treating everyone awfully。 I had to listen to the last 150 pages on audio to push myself to the end。
mar
，
this book almost made me cry， and also i contemplated life a long while after reading it
Sheila Martín
，
5 estrellas por la referencia a grasshopper jungle
Akhila
，
Good
olivia
，
this was my first ever book from Shaun David Hutchinson。 it was hard to get used to the writing， but i forced myself to reach 100 pages in a day to see if i could continue it。 i ended up reaching 120 ish pages in a day。it’s been a while since i read these kinds of books， maybe a year？ and i’m surprised that i actually enjoy this genre as i stopped a few years back。this book contains some mystery so there’s always something to look up to。 i wish there were more relationships between the main char this was my first ever book from Shaun David Hutchinson。 it was hard to get used to the writing， but i forced myself to reach 100 pages in a day to see if i could continue it。 i ended up reaching 120 ish pages in a day。it’s been a while since i read these kinds of books， maybe a year？ and i’m surprised that i actually enjoy this genre as i stopped a few years back。this book contains some mystery so there’s always something to look up to。 i wish there were more relationships between the main character and everyone else around him， most of the time it was just thoughts in his head。 despite all that， i like this book and i enjoyed it。 probably won’t be rereading this book though， probably。 plus， i learned a lot of things on this book too。oh and the ending fucked me up and i was disappointed。 。。。more
Yakki the Yakkicorn
，
（Mini-review）And now I know what an existential crisis in a book looks like。I definitely related a bit too much to the world cynicism。 While it was nice to see that I'm not alone， I'm afraid it couldn't provide much new material in that department。 Still a thought-provoking book， however。Suicide is a messy issue in this book， again a debate I am familiar with。 I've never had depression， but the thoughts of "it's my fault/it's their fault， suicide is selfish/they were sick/we should have noticed" （Mini-review）And now I know what an existential crisis in a book looks like。I definitely related a bit too much to the world cynicism。 While it was nice to see that I'm not alone， I'm afraid it couldn't provide much new material in that department。 Still a thought-provoking book， however。Suicide is a messy issue in this book， again a debate I am familiar with。 I've never had depression， but the thoughts of "it's my fault/it's their fault， suicide is selfish/they were sick/we should have noticed" rang true。 I really can't speak too much about this， but it is a certain trigger warning， so readers with previous experiences with depression （especially suicidal thoughts） and suicide may wish to avoid this book。The characters and their relationships were all wonderful。 The characters all felt three-dimensional and their relationships were complex and fully fleshed out。 The older brother acts like a jerk but tries， the bully is awful and manipulative one moment but sweet and vulnerable the next， the friend who is clear-headed and blames no one but clearly harbors some self-hate and resentment， the mother who is overstretched and doesn't/can't put in the effort she should with her younger son。 It was all truly well-done in my opinion。In addition， while this is a depressing and cynical book， there are plenty of moments of hope and laughter to tide you over。 Some of it was dark humor， some of it was just humor， all of it was good。 My favorite two instances include: “But if you come with me， you can hate me and eat cookies。 Win-win。” and "I looked at the wrap job， and grinned。 'That was so sweet of you to let those poor orphans with no fingers do your wrapping for you。' 'Whatever，' Diego said。 'It’s abstract wrapping。 You just don’t understand my art。' My biggest conflict is about Henry's decision to end the world。 I was worried about this from the start， but it seems like he wants to end it all because of HIS problems， and don't worry about anyone else who still wants to live。 Fortunately， this didn't get too bad; he put plenty of consideration into how messed-up the human race in general is and the other people nearby him， but it still nagged at me。 My biggest problems come from this quote: I’d never know why Jesse killed himself。 My sole consolation was that I only had to live with that for thirty-six more days。 Henry uses the world ending as his own personal suicide， which is quite possibly the most selfish act I can think of。 Henry is depressed。 If he wants to commit suicide， while I'm certainly not advocating for him to do it and would much rather he get professional help， I'd rather him off himself than take everyone down with him。 He doesn't want to live with it。 Who cares about everyone who's never met Jesse？ The thing is， Henry is too （view spoiler）[cowardly to commit suicide。 He lost his nerve at the last moment。 （hide spoiler）] So he decides to wait until time is up for everyone instead of only hurting himself， his mother， his brother， his grandmother， his kind-of-boyfriend， and his best friend。 He decides to hurt all of those people plus everyone else。 Because it's not his problem。Despite this， I loved the ending， although （view spoiler）[rape felt like it was used as a plot point。 （hide spoiler）] It was ambiguous， but on the positive side。 （This next quote is a pretty blatant spoiler for the ending， look with caution！）（view spoiler）[ “Jesse’s still dead， Diego might end up back in juvie。 The world pretty much sucks。 But the bad shit that happens doesn’t cancel out the good。 I mean， a world with people like you in it can’t be totally crap， right？” （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Quinn Canavan
，
TRIGGER WARNING
gabriela
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 como de costume， esse livro veio em um momento incrivelmente oportuno。 o que me fez dar cinco estrelas não foi simplesmente o fato de eu ter me relacionado com cada aspecto da personalidade e sentimentos do personagem principal， henry; o que me fez dar cinco estrelas pra esse livro foi， também， o quão bem ele foi construído， através da metáfora velada da depressão， que residia no desejo de henry em acabar com o mundo （além do fato de que， por não ser óbvia para o personagem， não era óbvia para n como de costume， esse livro veio em um momento incrivelmente oportuno。 o que me fez dar cinco estrelas não foi simplesmente o fato de eu ter me relacionado com cada aspecto da personalidade e sentimentos do personagem principal， henry; o que me fez dar cinco estrelas pra esse livro foi， também， o quão bem ele foi construído， através da metáfora velada da depressão， que residia no desejo de henry em acabar com o mundo （além do fato de que， por não ser óbvia para o personagem， não era óbvia para nós， leitores。 as coisas que ele dizia faziam sentido， e a completa falta de esperança no mundo era justificável e intrinsecamente ligada ao viver） — assim como a representação de que muitas vezes não percebemos que não estamos bem。 o que eu achei mais admirável foi que， acima de tudo， esse livro não traz o típico personagem depressivo; a infelicidade dele é velada， ainda que estranhamente óbvia， e se esconde por trás do entorpecimento e da falta de vontade。 o desejo dele de morrer não é explícito （é retratado， no início， mais como a aceitação de um fato）， e ele não está planejando （conscientemente） um suicídio — isso elucida pro fato de que há outras formas de morrer e querer morrer， mais silenciosas， à espreita demais para serem alarmantes。 elas， obviamente， se escondem por trás do “I don’t want to die， but I don’t want to live， either。 I don’t know why anyone would。 This world is so fucked up， Mom， I think we’d all be better off if I didn’t press that button。 Everything， everything just hurts too much。”o processo que evidenciou a gradativa realização de henry sobre o fato de que ele não estava bem foi louvável: quando ele não se identifica na pintura de diego， achando que aquela pessoa， tão lindamente representada， tão importante， que merece viver， ser vista， apreciada e respeitada， não é ele， porque aquela pintura faria coisas que ele não fez， coisas que ele faria caso não estivesse depressivo， caso não estivesse vivendo no automático。 então， ele finalmente assume， “I’m not okay”， depois de perceber que estava， sim， quebrado， e não sabia consertar isso por conta própria。 em seguida， uma associação do sentimento dele com o do de jesse， em “Apparently， letting the world end is sort of the same as wanting to kill myself， so I guess I’m just as screwed up as you。”por fim， não tem como não dar cinco estrelas para um livro que começa com “Life is bullshit （。。。） Think about the absurdity of life。When you break down the things we do every day to their component pieces， you begin to understand how ridiculous they are。”， seguido de， “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。”， e que termina com “When we’re gone， time will forget whether we swapped spit with strangers。 It will forget we ever existed。And it doesn’t matter。 The universe may forget us， but our light will brighten the darkness for eons after we’ve departed this world。 The universe may forget us， but it can’t forget us until we’re gone， and we’re still here， our futures still unwritten。 We can choose to sit on our asses and wait for the end， or we can live right now。 We can march to the edge of the void and scream in defiance。 Yell out for all to hear that we do matter。 That we are still here， living our absurd， bullshit lives， and nothing can take that away from us。 Not rogue comets， not black holes， not the heat death of the universe。 We may not get to choose how we die， but we can choose how we live。The universe may forget us， but it doesn’t matter。 Because we are the ants， and we’ll keep marching on”louvável。 。。。more
yvonne
，
“We could all die， the world could end， and the universe would simply carry on。 A hundred billion years from now， no one will exist who remembers we were space boys or chronic-masturbating alcoholics or science teachers or ex-cons or valedictorians。 When we’re gone， time will forget whether we swapped spit with strangers。 It will forget we ever existed。And it doesn’t matter。”i'd rate this 6/5 if i can， tho henry frustrates me sometimes。 he's just too kind to charlie damn。 his brother deserves to “We could all die， the world could end， and the universe would simply carry on。 A hundred billion years from now， no one will exist who remembers we were space boys or chronic-masturbating alcoholics or science teachers or ex-cons or valedictorians。 When we’re gone， time will forget whether we swapped spit with strangers。 It will forget we ever existed。And it doesn’t matter。”i'd rate this 6/5 if i can， tho henry frustrates me sometimes。 he's just too kind to charlie damn。 his brother deserves to be kicked in the balls multiple times a day。 if henry were to ask me though， i wouldn't push the damn button。 i like how the ending makes me want to change my mind。 。。。more
Fenne
，
There could be minor spoilers"because we are the ants and we'll keep marching on"Real rating: 3。5。 I didn't like the setting for the story， meaning the bit about the sluggers。I also didn't expect this book to be about mental health， depression and anxiety。 It handled it very well in my opinion。 I liked the last third of this book the best。 There could be minor spoilers"because we are the ants and we'll keep marching on"Real rating: 3。5。 I didn't like the setting for the story， meaning the bit about the sluggers。I also didn't expect this book to be about mental health， depression and anxiety。 It handled it very well in my opinion。 I liked the last third of this book the best。 。。。more
claire
，
We may not get to choose how we die， but we can choose how we live。
Thehottestcheeto
，
It was definitely better than I expected。 Although I couldn't stand hanry， I liked all the other characters。 It was also very interesting to see how the characters had perceived Jesse。The plot was a bit too much because a lot of thing happened like every chapter and I was pretty exhausting to read through， I sometimes felt like I'm reading a high school parody。 It was definitely better than I expected。 Although I couldn't stand hanry， I liked all the other characters。 It was also very interesting to see how the characters had perceived Jesse。The plot was a bit too much because a lot of thing happened like every chapter and I was pretty exhausting to read through， I sometimes felt like I'm reading a high school parody。 。。。more
Tabetha Buck
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I give this book a 4。5 stars。 This book is amazing， don’t get me wrong。 It’s been on my book shelf for about two years and I wish I read it sooner。 I love Henry and how he went from hating the world to a place where he can see himself living in the world。 I didn’t give this a five star rating because I felt like that Shaun could have given us more of a closure with Jesse and Henry’s need to find a reason for his suicide。 I get why there was never a answer to why Jesse did it， because sometimes t I give this book a 4。5 stars。 This book is amazing， don’t get me wrong。 It’s been on my book shelf for about two years and I wish I read it sooner。 I love Henry and how he went from hating the world to a place where he can see himself living in the world。 I didn’t give this a five star rating because I felt like that Shaun could have given us more of a closure with Jesse and Henry’s need to find a reason for his suicide。 I get why there was never a answer to why Jesse did it， because sometimes there just isn’t one。 I just feel like Shaun could have given Henry and Jesse’s mother a deeper conversation than what they had about Jesse。 Diego is definitely one of my new favorite characters。 How couldn’t he be？ I mean he almost killed his dad because of his abuse towards his mom and sister。 I love how even though Henry was still not over Jesse， he was not upset about it。 And the fact that Diego let Henry express his feelings about Jesse and stopped Henry when he was comparing them， was well done。 And the fact that Diego wanted them to be a couple， and respected that Henry was not in the right frame of mind to commit to a relationship is just no words to describe it。 Unlike Marcus。 I’m not even going to talk about Marcus。 。。。more
Alec Angell
，
Good god everyone needed therapy from pg 1。 This poor child was everyone’s punching bag and he couldn’t let go。 So much pain， guilt， trauma， and abuse for one boy。 I wish I could’ve given him a hug and made him feel loved。 Diego was a godsend， who also needed therapy。 I’m glad Henry got a lot of closure but not all of it。 I’m glad Marcus got what was coming to him， if only by rich white boy standards。 I’m glad he got a decently happy ending。 This book asked so many huge questions and explored th Good god everyone needed therapy from pg 1。 This poor child was everyone’s punching bag and he couldn’t let go。 So much pain， guilt， trauma， and abuse for one boy。 I wish I could’ve given him a hug and made him feel loved。 Diego was a godsend， who also needed therapy。 I’m glad Henry got a lot of closure but not all of it。 I’m glad Marcus got what was coming to him， if only by rich white boy standards。 I’m glad he got a decently happy ending。 This book asked so many huge questions and explored them in a very unique way。 Do we matter？ Does anything matter？ Does God exist？ Or does he hide away in heaven for fear of what he created？ If you knew the world was ending and could prevent it， would you？ Does humanity deserve a second chance？ Or do they need to be wiped clean and start anew？ I honestly couldn’t answer any of these questions， even after reading this book。 。。。more
thaís
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 i'll be honest， this book was not what i was expecting AT ALL。i started reading it certain that david would have a very philosophical approach about how the world is beautiful and how we should live life the best we can - the main lesson of this book ended up being similar to this， but still did not meet my expectations。 the book is great， don't get me wrong。 it's mostly about this kid， henry， that is depressed and wants to explode the whole world so he and the people around him won't have to de i'll be honest， this book was not what i was expecting AT ALL。i started reading it certain that david would have a very philosophical approach about how the world is beautiful and how we should live life the best we can - the main lesson of this book ended up being similar to this， but still did not meet my expectations。 the book is great， don't get me wrong。 it's mostly about this kid， henry， that is depressed and wants to explode the whole world so he and the people around him won't have to deal with their problems anymore。 the whole book goes around this teenage drama， and portrays henry learning to let his dead-ex-boyfriend go， learning that life is unexpected but still worth being lived， and that the future is still to come - and how it is not molded by our pasts。 the whole message is great， i just wasn't expecting as much teenage drama as the book actually delivered。 I LOVED how henry ended up on therapy， though， cause MANY books have this prompt of the main character being depressive but getting over it by himself and this is a horrible example for depressive kids for they should seek help - and i felt like david really encouraged this throughout the novel， which i'm very thankful and happy for。 i also really enjoyed the passages in which henry "dreamed" about the end of the world - i thought they were very creative and entertaining。 i don't think i completely understand the ending， though; was henry imagining everything with the et stuff？ why did he not care if the world was going to end or not？ cause i thought the point of the books was exactly this - that he came to a point in which he would care about the world and life， but turns out he seems to just "oh， it doesn't matter！" and idk， it was confusing to me。overall， 3，5/5。 this kind of reminded me of the books i used to read while still in high school， and idk。 not the vibe i am right now， i guess 。。。more
Donna
，
Easy though deep at tines， filled with adolescent tribulations that I feel we all can relate to one way or another。 Sprinkle in the end of mankind and We are the ants puts quite alot into perspective。
Luz Villarreal
，
Wanna be sad？ It was a little corny， but I cried a lot so。 Sweet， massively messed up， maybe don’t read it if you’re feeling some kinda way during this pandemic （i。e。 depressed）。
Abigail
，
Overall， I enjoyed the book。 There were bits and pieces that I didn't like， mainly the ending。 It happened really fast and didn't fell like Hutchinson left the necessary time to resolve it。 （view spoiler）[ Also I'm just pissed that it didn't say if the world ended。 I know that wasn't the point of the book but I still want to know。 （hide spoiler）] Overall， I enjoyed the book。 There were bits and pieces that I didn't like， mainly the ending。 It happened really fast and didn't fell like Hutchinson left the necessary time to resolve it。 （view spoiler）[ Also I'm just pissed that it didn't say if the world ended。 I know that wasn't the point of the book but I still want to know。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Megan
，
To be honest， when I first started reading this book I didn't like it。 Then when the plot started to develop more I was interested。 It took me a few days to get through the first couple of chapters， but I just couldn't put it down once I got past the rough part。 To be honest， when I first started reading this book I didn't like it。 Then when the plot started to develop more I was interested。 It took me a few days to get through the first couple of chapters， but I just couldn't put it down once I got past the rough part。 。。。more
Allison Sirovy
，
I thought about reading this book about a year or two ago。 It was sitting on my daughter’s bookshelf and was one I hadn’t read yet。 I slid it from the shelf， crawled in bed with it， started the first few pages and was like， “Nope。 Not interested。”Three days ago， I was back at her bookshelf， slipped the book from the shelf， crawled in bed， started reading it and couldn’t put it down。 Loved the characters， the conflicts， and the conclusion！
Sharon
，
OMG。。。 Amy ordered me a lot of queer books because I thought it appropriate for pride month。 I didn't realize I was going to have so many emotions and surprises while reading it。 I cried a ton， it hit several of my triggers and I caution anybody who has issues dealing with suicide， mental issues and rape。 This book covers all the sad things we can suffer but had some light sides too。 But a great read and I give it a 5+！！ OMG。。。 Amy ordered me a lot of queer books because I thought it appropriate for pride month。 I didn't realize I was going to have so many emotions and surprises while reading it。 I cried a ton， it hit several of my triggers and I caution anybody who has issues dealing with suicide， mental issues and rape。 This book covers all the sad things we can suffer but had some light sides too。 But a great read and I give it a 5+！！ 。。。more
lisa
，
Honestly， I wasn’t expecting too much when I picked up this book and to be fair， I initially came across it because of its first sentence: “Life is bullshit”While the whole alien abduction theme admittedly felt a bit ridiculous at first， it soon unraveled into a plot with deeper meaning， raising the question of the meaning of our existence in this vast universe on a level that is still understandable and interesting for non-philosophers。 This is a story that deals with darker topics like abuse， Honestly， I wasn’t expecting too much when I picked up this book and to be fair， I initially came across it because of its first sentence: “Life is bullshit”While the whole alien abduction theme admittedly felt a bit ridiculous at first， it soon unraveled into a plot with deeper meaning， raising the question of the meaning of our existence in this vast universe on a level that is still understandable and interesting for non-philosophers。 This is a story that deals with darker topics like abuse， assault， bullying， dementia， mental illness and suicide in a realistic and relatable way。 It made me laugh and cry， it made me think and gave me hope and it might become my new favourite book。 Probably the first book ever that I’d consider reading a second time。 。。。more
Kyra Webb
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I frankly found this an awful read and was skipping through the last 1/4。 It definitely belongs in the canon of teen literature from the 2013-17s as it comes across as incredibly tropey。 The alien plot makes no sense to me， neither does the conclusion。 It was all just a way to attempt to justify the existentialism and pessimism of the main character who is frankly annoying。 And I get that this was supposed to be reflective of his poor mental health - but it just didn't seem that way to me， and I I frankly found this an awful read and was skipping through the last 1/4。 It definitely belongs in the canon of teen literature from the 2013-17s as it comes across as incredibly tropey。 The alien plot makes no sense to me， neither does the conclusion。 It was all just a way to attempt to justify the existentialism and pessimism of the main character who is frankly annoying。 And I get that this was supposed to be reflective of his poor mental health - but it just didn't seem that way to me， and I felt that discussions of mental health were really badly folded into the plot。 The "should-we shouldn't-we" between Henry and Diego is yawn-inducing and painfully cliche， as is the "in the closet school bully who sleeps with the gay boy he bullies" trope。 I also found the copious amounts of trauma used to further the plot extremely disturbing。 Jesse as a kind of character who isn't actually there reads like an object whenever he's spoken about and none of these characters were fully fleshed enough in my mind to envision what they looked like or sounded like。 Also Diego and this whole "I'll kill anybody who hurts you" thing is very much giving Edward from Twilight and I think we all know that it isn't as cute as it seemed in 2013。 In general I just have no good things to say about this book。 It was so meh。 A couple of quotable lines brought the rating up but so much of this book was dragging out the inevitable and having the same conversations 50 times。 The characters are every teenage stereotype there is and I cared for none of them。 Also， the mentions of masturbation were so ridiculously excessive that it was just kinda weird。 。。。more
Cc
，
3。5 I’ve had this book for years and I wish I had read it as a younger person。 The issues I had with this are not issues with the book but just the fact that I’m not the target audience for this anymore。 This uses a lot of well worn tropes and the angst is turned up to 11， but these are things I would have loved in my teens and don’t love now in my 20s。 That being said I still enjoyed this， there’s some really beautiful lines in this。 This deals with a lot of heavy subject matter like grief， tra 3。5 I’ve had this book for years and I wish I had read it as a younger person。 The issues I had with this are not issues with the book but just the fact that I’m not the target audience for this anymore。 This uses a lot of well worn tropes and the angst is turned up to 11， but these are things I would have loved in my teens and don’t love now in my 20s。 That being said I still enjoyed this， there’s some really beautiful lines in this。 This deals with a lot of heavy subject matter like grief， trauma and mental health。 And I think the little sci fi twist is used successfully。 Lastly despite how heavy this book is it ends on a hopeful note which I think is important for mental health stories for teens。 。。。more
Inez Rignell
，
*3，5
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=We Are the Ants
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=We Are the Ants&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,We Are the Ants&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0