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kice7788's review
2.0
I did a review of this on my youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrBOXtMOFzI
I didn't really like this book to much but remember its different for everyone. If you have any questions or comments just let me know.
I didn't really like this book to much but remember its different for everyone. If you have any questions or comments just let me know.
kelleemoye's review
4.0
4.5 stars
Lucky has the weight of so much on his shoulders- his father is absent, his mother escapes life, his grandfather is a POW/MIA, his grandmother who raised him has passed away and a classmate has made his life a living hell for 8 years. He has begun to wither away and only finds himself completely in dreams he has of saving his grandfather.
After one very rough encounter with his bully, Lucky's mother takes him away on a 3 week vacation to visit his uncle in Arizona, once again trying to escape the problem. However, this time, her escape ends up being just what Lucky needs. How much longer can he fight in his dreams but not in real life?
Any student who has ever been bullied will definitely connect with Lucky (and/or his classmate Courtney). At one point or another, they have probable felt like him or someone else that Nader attacks in the book. Nader is the epitome of bullies and his ruthlessness in the book are scary and will remind anyone of the bullies of their past.
The way the book was set up was intriguing- jumping between Lucky's symbolic dreams and his all too real life. Also using the Ants as symbolism for demons was beautiful and something I will never forget and use often. I also loved how flawed everyone was in the book- so very realistic. And, of course, I enjoyed the history woven into the story making the reader think about the affects of war mostly in light of the wars that the US are part of presently.
Lucky has the weight of so much on his shoulders- his father is absent, his mother escapes life, his grandfather is a POW/MIA, his grandmother who raised him has passed away and a classmate has made his life a living hell for 8 years. He has begun to wither away and only finds himself completely in dreams he has of saving his grandfather.
After one very rough encounter with his bully, Lucky's mother takes him away on a 3 week vacation to visit his uncle in Arizona, once again trying to escape the problem. However, this time, her escape ends up being just what Lucky needs. How much longer can he fight in his dreams but not in real life?
Any student who has ever been bullied will definitely connect with Lucky (and/or his classmate Courtney). At one point or another, they have probable felt like him or someone else that Nader attacks in the book. Nader is the epitome of bullies and his ruthlessness in the book are scary and will remind anyone of the bullies of their past.
The way the book was set up was intriguing- jumping between Lucky's symbolic dreams and his all too real life. Also using the Ants as symbolism for demons was beautiful and something I will never forget and use often. I also loved how flawed everyone was in the book- so very realistic. And, of course, I enjoyed the history woven into the story making the reader think about the affects of war mostly in light of the wars that the US are part of presently.
brandypainter's review
4.0
Originally posted at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King is a bizarre book. It is in fact one of those books I normally don't finish. Or if I do I'm annoyed that I did. Not this time. Nope. Despite the highly bizarre and inexplicable weirdness that sometimes doesn't make any sense I ate it up as if it were made of dark chocolate with flecks of hot peppers inside. I can't say I was completely satisfied at the end but the experience was delightfully strange.
The line between dreams and reality in this book is incredibly vague. Lucky can fall asleep anywhere, particularly if he is stressed, and go into the dream world in which he experiences all kind of adventures with is POW MIA grandfather in Vietnam. He awakes and is always left with some memento from the dream. He has a box under his bed full of them. Then there are the ants. They show up when Lucky is having his face smashed into concrete by Nader at the pool. They then follow him everywhere. The Greek chorus in the play of Lucky's life. They comment. They pantomime. They amuse. So bizarre. This sort of surrealism is usually too much for me. What made the difference this time?
Lucky did.
And his mom, Ginny, Jodie, Charlotte, his dad, even his uncle. This book has characters. Oh does it ever.
Through these characters there are many themes being explored. Suicide, bullying, exploitation, the idea of a dysfunctional family, mental illness, the crimes of war, the crimes of high school. The characters are what make the book though and every single theme is funneled through their lives in such a way that they are never what the book about. The book is about Lucky. One teenage boy who is trying to survive high school long enough to experience his first kiss. A boy who has been pushed to the edge but is learning how to pull himself back from it. To keep his balance. He won my heart in every way. Even with all the strange.
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King is a bizarre book. It is in fact one of those books I normally don't finish. Or if I do I'm annoyed that I did. Not this time. Nope. Despite the highly bizarre and inexplicable weirdness that sometimes doesn't make any sense I ate it up as if it were made of dark chocolate with flecks of hot peppers inside. I can't say I was completely satisfied at the end but the experience was delightfully strange.
The line between dreams and reality in this book is incredibly vague. Lucky can fall asleep anywhere, particularly if he is stressed, and go into the dream world in which he experiences all kind of adventures with is POW MIA grandfather in Vietnam. He awakes and is always left with some memento from the dream. He has a box under his bed full of them. Then there are the ants. They show up when Lucky is having his face smashed into concrete by Nader at the pool. They then follow him everywhere. The Greek chorus in the play of Lucky's life. They comment. They pantomime. They amuse. So bizarre. This sort of surrealism is usually too much for me. What made the difference this time?
Lucky did.
And his mom, Ginny, Jodie, Charlotte, his dad, even his uncle. This book has characters. Oh does it ever.
Through these characters there are many themes being explored. Suicide, bullying, exploitation, the idea of a dysfunctional family, mental illness, the crimes of war, the crimes of high school. The characters are what make the book though and every single theme is funneled through their lives in such a way that they are never what the book about. The book is about Lucky. One teenage boy who is trying to survive high school long enough to experience his first kiss. A boy who has been pushed to the edge but is learning how to pull himself back from it. To keep his balance. He won my heart in every way. Even with all the strange.
geak96_'s review
5.0
Everybody Sees The Ants. Es la historia de Lucky Linderman un chico común y corriente de tan solo 15 años que ha sufrido acoso por parte de Nader McMillan, ¿Los motivos de McMillan? Incomprensibles, solo porque se le ha antojado y ya.
Al inicio todo es un tanto raro, OPERATION DON’T SMILE EVER-FRESHMAN YEAR. Es lo primero con lo que nos encontramos, seguido por “All I did was ask a stupid question” ¿Cuál? Se estarán preguntando, “If you were going to commit suicide, what method would you choose?” Que manera de introducirnos. Pero claro no nos vayamos a enloquecer con esto.
En realidad la historia no comienza ahí, tenemos unos primeros capítulos para conocer un poco a Lucky y sus padres y uno que otro personaje de la historia, y quizás también un poco de como nació el tormento de Lucky con Nader McMillan . La historia toma fluidez y da banderazo de salida a partir de que la madre de Lucky decide llevarlo a Arizona donde vive su hermano y su esposa. Ahí es donde nuestra historia realmente da inicio.
El libro es una montaña rusa de emociones, con fragmentos en el presente que nos ayudaran a comprender como se encuentra y su situación actual con su familia y su estabilidad emocional, y flashbacks de nuestro personaje principal que nos irán dando a conocer varios motivos para querer clavar la cabeza de McMillan en un agujero, con muchos hormigas talvez.
Y sin olvidar los sueños de Lucky, esos que nos transportan a un lugar muy lejos de Arizona y Nader McMillan, nuestro personaje nos lleva con su abuelo Harry a la guerra, de donde él nunca regreso. Lucky mantiene estos sueños desde pequeño cuando su abuela le encomienda la misión de salvarlo. Conforme avanza el libro comprenderemos un poco más de estos y de porque Lucky no quiere despertar de ellos.
¿Y las hormigas? ¿Qué tienen que ver estos insectos en la vida de Lucky? O incluso, ¿Pueden estas estar en la nuestra? Las hormigas representan muchas cosas para el protagonista, son seres brutalmente honestos con él, son el reflejo de problemas y angustias.
“If there are people who don’t see'em, I’d say we outnumber them a million to one.”
Así que, en general el libro me ha encantado, es fuerte, directo y muy real. No hay personajes fantásticos, ni mundos alternos llenos de tecnología avanzada. La historia es honesta, creíble y ciertamente apasionante. El estilo de A.S. King es sin duda impresionante.
No hay momento en el que quieras dejar el libro en paz.
Si eres como yo, un tanto sensible, es probable que quieras ayudar al personaje principal o incluso tomarte dos segundos para respirar y parar esas lágrimas que amenazan con salir.
Es la clase de libro que todos deberían leer. Si quieres un contemporáneo real, esto lo indicado para ti.
“I want to tell him that he really doesn’t know me. That I’m not very social. That mostly I read books and keep to myself.”
adambwriter's review against another edition
3.0
I could easily give this one a 4+ if not for the cliched fat antagonist (prejudice? Fat-phobia?), which I no longer have any tolerance for. I’m sick of it. Other than that, a great book. An important theme, as they always are with King.
rosalind14's review
4.0
4.5.
I never know how to rate A.S. King's books. She writes on a whole different level than a lot of other young adult authors both in terms of prose and plot/themes, but something-- it could be the lack of action-- keeps me from the five-star rating. What I do like about her books are the characters. They are not particularly interesting or likable at first glance, but that's because they're so realistic and honest, and we're not used to reading about people we come across in real life, the kind of people we wouldn't normally give a second glance to. Quick summary of Everybody Sees the Ants: Lucky Linderman has a squid for a mother and a turtle for a father, and has been terrorized by the same bully since 2nd grade; he's also been visiting his grandfather, who disappeared years ago in the Vietnam War, in the jungles of Laos-- in his dreams. Then he goes to visit his mother's brother and his crazy Aunt Jodi in Arizona and meets a ninja girl. (See why A.S. King is so amazing? Who else could combine all of those seemingly random elements into a book, and a good one at that?) I loved the title of the book and the whole ant thing. Anyway, I gave this book four stars because her first book, Dust of 100 Dogs, got five, and I enjoyed it better on the whole.
I never know how to rate A.S. King's books. She writes on a whole different level than a lot of other young adult authors both in terms of prose and plot/themes, but something-- it could be the lack of action-- keeps me from the five-star rating. What I do like about her books are the characters. They are not particularly interesting or likable at first glance, but that's because they're so realistic and honest, and we're not used to reading about people we come across in real life, the kind of people we wouldn't normally give a second glance to. Quick summary of Everybody Sees the Ants: Lucky Linderman has a squid for a mother and a turtle for a father, and has been terrorized by the same bully since 2nd grade; he's also been visiting his grandfather, who disappeared years ago in the Vietnam War, in the jungles of Laos-- in his dreams. Then he goes to visit his mother's brother and his crazy Aunt Jodi in Arizona and meets a ninja girl. (See why A.S. King is so amazing? Who else could combine all of those seemingly random elements into a book, and a good one at that?) I loved the title of the book and the whole ant thing. Anyway, I gave this book four stars because her first book, Dust of 100 Dogs, got five, and I enjoyed it better on the whole.
jgilge's review
4.0
This book was so much better than the other book I read by this author. I loved everything about it. This is a great story about becoming yourself, growing up, and standing up for yourself. I loved how real it felt, the characters could have been people I knew in real life. It was a bit slow, but overall amazing.
jim_bar's review against another edition
5.0
This one felt a bit too real for me. As a "woulda, coulda, shoulda" sort of reflection novel, I loved it. The family dynamics were familiar as was the bullying, unfortunately. It was almost scary.
I wish I would've been able to read this in high school, but it came out a bit too late. Just to have a character I could identify this much with would've done wonders for me, I think.
Anyway, for the review. I enjoyed the writing style in this novel very much. I was fully invested in all of the characters introduced. Though some were a bit over the top, it simply added to the entertainment value and still somehow managed to be relatable. No spoilers, but the church stuff? Big yes. I've seen it happen. I know these people.
There was a gut punch halfway through the novel that hurt. Like, it left a bruise in the shape of Alaska on my stomach. Luckily, the novel bounced back. Sucky things still happened, but it all just felt believable.
I really have no other complaints. For what it's worth, I'm not a big fan of military plots, and I didn't even mind those segments either. All-around great book, but the gut punch dropped it a bit. I genuinely didn't think it was necessary.
I wish I would've been able to read this in high school, but it came out a bit too late. Just to have a character I could identify this much with would've done wonders for me, I think.
Anyway, for the review. I enjoyed the writing style in this novel very much. I was fully invested in all of the characters introduced. Though some were a bit over the top, it simply added to the entertainment value and still somehow managed to be relatable. No spoilers, but the church stuff? Big yes. I've seen it happen. I know these people.
There was a gut punch halfway through the novel that hurt. Like, it left a bruise in the shape of Alaska on my stomach.
Spoiler
Dave. I was so happy for Lucky to have Dave in his life, and when the revelation came out about him, it hurt. I worried that this would fall into an "all men suck" plot when it was looking amazing up until that point.I really have no other complaints. For what it's worth, I'm not a big fan of military plots, and I didn't even mind those segments either. All-around great book, but the gut punch dropped it a bit. I genuinely didn't think it was necessary.