Review: Everybody See The Ants by A.S. King

Title: Everybody Sees the Ants

Author: A.S. King

Release Date: October 3^rd, 2011

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 282

Source: Finished copy for review from Publisher!

Summary (goodreads.com): 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.

My Review:

A.S. King does it again! I love her and her books. Everybody Sees the Ants may be my favorite yet. There are two sides to this book. There’s the practical part where Lucky has to deal with bullies and parents who don’t understand him. Then there’s the kinda strange part where Lucky’s dreams take him to see his MIA/POW Grandfather in Vietnam jungles during the war. Only those dreams seem to be very real because he keeps bringing back souvenirs from his time in the jungle. The parallels these sides create make this book to be a very thought provoking read. I love that King has Lucky going through a real issue that a lot of readers can relate to. I instantly connected with Lucky which made his dream world even more interesting to me because it was so odd. There is so much to get from this book that all sorts of people will take something different and profound from it. I recommend this to everybody, whether you see the ants or not.