We Are The Ants

“Depression isn’t a war you win. It’s a battle you fight every day. You never stop, never get to rest. It’s one bloody fray after another.” ~We Are The Ants

We Are The Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson: 3.5/5 Stars

Synopsis:

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.

From the author of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes a brand-new 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.

My Review:

This was an interesting book. Oh, by the way, this is a spoiler-free review. 🙂

This book is very deep and it could be pretty dark at times as well. However, I like dark things so this book was pretty interesting and entertaining to me. It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t the most amazing thing I’ve read but it was kinda different from your usual contemporary book.

There were a lot of things that made this book feel like a typical contemporary. Love, bullies, high school struggles/drama, friends, etc. However, the biggest thing that made this book stand out is that Henry, the main character, gets abducted by aliens and the aliens pretty much make him the one to save the world all by pressing a button. I think the thing that confuses me and fascinates me at the same time is that I can’t tell if the abductions/aliens are real or if it’s all in Henry’s head. So, I think that kind of keeps things interesting. I’m sure it’s something you can interpret yourself.

“Grief is an ocean, and guilt the undertow that pulls me beneath the waves and drowns me.”

I didn’t think the writing was anything spectacular but that doesn’t mean I think it was bad either. It managed to keep me kind of curious and interested and I liked the depth of the things this book brought up. It made me think a little more and it kinda hit me in the feels. Only a little. Not much haha. I didn’t cry or anything.

I thought the characters were okay. I didn’t really love them or hate them. I thought they were interesting and real though. I just didn’t feel attached to them or anything. It happens and that’s okay but when you’re attached to the characters it makes you care more about what they go through. Or at least that’s what I believe.

I don’t think they were underdeveloped or anything…maybe some of them could have been a little better developed/involved, but I thought Hutchinson did a pretty good job with them. He gave them some good emotion through their words and interactions and I liked that.

“We remember the past, live in the present, and write the future.”

I honestly wasn’t going to pick up this book because it sounded kind of strange. Like everything that happens is, in my opinion, your typical contemporary style novel. The thing that’s weird is how he gets abducted by aliens. That’s why I wonder if he’s actually being abducted or if it’s a deeper meaning…maybe it’s both. I decided to give this book a try though because it’s got pretty good ratings and I had never heard of a book similar to it.

It wasn’t what I was expecting. I found it to be a pretty good read. It wasn’t my favorite read and that’s why I only gave it 3.5 stars. It was interesting but I’ve read books that I was able to connect with more and when I can connect with a book on a deeper level then it earns a special place in my heart.

I would recommend this book to any contemporary lovers. This book isn’t only focused on romance so if you like gooey love books then I don’t suggest this one. This is a dark book with lots of dark topics that I’m actually glad are brought up because I think it’s important to talk about such things. That’s why I actually really, really like the ending of this book.

I listened to the audiobook and honestly, I don’t think I would recommend it haha. I wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator. Which, I don’t think is necessarily his fault but yanno…it happens. 😉 haha

I hope y’all enjoyed this review and I hope y’all have a good day.

 

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