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starryophonic's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
mackenzienoelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Outing, and Alcohol
chrisljm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Racism, Rape, and Mass/school shootings
graff_fuller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked up this book because Jade of Bedtime Bookworm YT/Discord channel mentioned it during our Book Club discussion about Matt Haig's The Humans.
While she was reading that book, she kept thinking there was a "big red button" to push. Afterwards (or maybe during her reading of The Humans) she realized that she must have been thinking of another book.
One of the members of the Book Club looked it up and it was THIS book. We are the Ants. Since I read a LOT...I decided to take the plunge and read it.
Okay. This is not anything like The Humans. That book was funny, lots of pop culture references, the main character is an alien, so his views on humanity were funny and the situations that he was put in...were sometimes (most of the time) comedic. Generally a book about anxiety and a "self help" look at our lives. A generally up beat book on life.
This book is NOTHING like that. This book is about a homosexual boy (in high school) who was in love with another boy who later committed suicide. It is basically how he and the others (in their circle) are dealing with Jesse's suicide.
Oh, the protagonist (Henry Denton) has also been abducted by aliens (slug like creatures) and the town/high school know about it...though they don't believe it. Honestly, as the reader...I don't believe it, either. I think it is his coping mechanism for his loss [my thoughts about 25% into the book].
This book has taken me a LOT longer to read. I keep wanting to pick up another book (which I have FOUR times).
Not sure when I will finish this book, but it has been a journey. I do want to finish it, for I am curious on "what actually happened". Is the alien abduction real...or a figment of his imagination. How will he eventually get through the death of Jesse and go on with his life? So, as you can see...it is riveting enough to keep me turning the pages...but if I put the book down...it is HARD for me to WANT to pick it back up. Ugh.
____________
Just finished the book. I can say that the end of the story uplifting. This book makes you face your fears, who and what you are, who you want to be and be with.
Though I cannot say that I enjoyed reading this book, I'm glad that I finished it. I now know what the author was going for. He went all in...which I can respect. BUT, the ending fell flat for me...especially since I do not like ambiguous endings. Ugh.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
kittykaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Grief, and Suicide attempt
jacintha_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
heyitsdaliiii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is everything I wanted A Little Life to be, it doesn’t shy away from its very delicate and sad subject matter, but Henry’s evolution into his better self is incredible and honestly gave me hope that I, too, could be semi functional one day. His suicidal ideation is very well written and the death of his boyfriend Jesse is very delicately handled, and shows the aftermath of that act without blaming anyone- including Jesse himself. All in all this is a heartbreaking story but it ends happily, which is all I can ask for.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, and Suicide attempt
gwas007's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
grace007's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing