Everybody Sees the Ants
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 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.
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Community Reviews
So far, I've enjoyed every book I've read by A.S. King. This one is no exception. It's about letting go, learning to be okay, and moving on with your life. It's bizarrely optimistic. As always, there's a slight magic realism/supernatural element, which I enjoyed. And the descriptions of Arizona hit right home. Made me want to go back to the Grand Canyon again. Lots of swearing, but that would be the only thing stopping me from recommending this book to my kids.
Listen up.
Ants don't actually wear party hats and give hysterical yet practical advice/feedback. You don't really meet up with your POW/MIA grandfather in your dreams and repeatedly wake up with a physical object that appeared in said dreams.
And yet...
And yet...
This is an absolutely realistic YA book about high school, about parents (the child's relationship with them, the relationship they have with each other, and their personal battles left over from their own childhoods), about bullying, about teenage friendships (they're not all great or lifelong) and sex (not everyone is doing it), and about feeling empty and overwhelmed and sad and defeated and ok all at the same time.
There were a lot of great things about this book that made it 100% worth the read and left me with zero regrets that I read it, but it's not entirely memorable and was missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.
3.5 Stars
Ants don't actually wear party hats and give hysterical yet practical advice/feedback. You don't really meet up with your POW/MIA grandfather in your dreams and repeatedly wake up with a physical object that appeared in said dreams.
And yet...
And yet...
This is an absolutely realistic YA book about high school, about parents (the child's relationship with them, the relationship they have with each other, and their personal battles left over from their own childhoods), about bullying, about teenage friendships (they're not all great or lifelong) and sex (not everyone is doing it), and about feeling empty and overwhelmed and sad and defeated and ok all at the same time.
There were a lot of great things about this book that made it 100% worth the read and left me with zero regrets that I read it, but it's not entirely memorable and was missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.
3.5 Stars
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