VOYA: Believe it or not, Henry’s main problem is not that he gets repeatedly abducted by aliens—it is that the aliens have given him the choice to save Earth from complete destruction or not. Back on Earth things get even harder. Henry is barely holding it together at home and school. His family is broken and troubled. At school, his problems increase. Henry is constantly reminded of his boyfriend Jesse’s suicide, and he avoids his and Jesse’s mutual friend. Then a group of popular guys decide to make it their mission to torture Henry. In the midst of all the pain and drama in his life, Jesse meets Diego. He begins to take a serious look at the people and situations on Earth in order to decide if Earth and humanity are worth saving.
We Are the Ants is a very complex story about serious subjects; however, the writing is not preachy or condescending. The voices of each character are strong and unique. As the characters in the story interact with one another, their language and actions match the situations in which they find themselves. The bullying scenes in the book are intense, violent, and often graphic. Therefore, because Henry experiences so many bad situations, the language that he uses is very explicit. The relationships between Henry and Jesse and Henry and Diego are handled delicately, but the relationship between Henry and Marcus is more shocking. This title is recommend for mature readers.
Dec 112015