A review by chelsloukelly
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King

4.0

4/5: ‘Everybody Sees the Ants’ is a Young Adult, Magical-Realism Contemporary by A.S. King; Lucky Linderman is the recipient of Nadar McMillan’s relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far; he did not ask for his dysfunctional life. King is distinctive and smart, his 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. this is a very serious novel and it deals with very serious issues. The bullying that Lucky suffers is horrible and even though he says he is ok – making him not exactly the most reliable of narrators – it is clear that he is not. There is not only a degree of stress and fear but also of deep trauma. There are things he doesn’t say, not even to himself. He repeats that he is not suicidal and the mere fact that he repeats that constantly is quite telling. Above all though, there is Lucky’s frustration with his parents and their inability to stand up for him, not even a little bit. Although their parents obviously believe he is being bullied, their inaction or even the fact they won’t listen to him and discuss the problem is unsettling. The beautiful thing here though is the way that the author humanises these adult characters making it plain that bullying is something that befuddles everybody. His parents don’t act because they don’t love him or don’t care about Lucky, they don’t act because they don’t know what to do. This book explores the fact that there are no easy answers and no parenting manual – their most accessible suggestion is to get on with life and get through it until it gets better. Which brings us back to Lucky himself: he fully understands the idea that eventually it will get better – he can see that, and he believes that. Unfortunately, that does nothing to him now. He needs it to be better right now or else he won’t make it. Eventually, there is a realisation that sometimes there isn’t anything anyone else can do and all you have is yourself. With the help of new-found friends and even his family, Lucky finds the strength to stand up for himself the best way he can. The ending might be a bit too neat and perfect but is so full of the compassion and the warmth that the characters needed that I allowed myself to give a pass to some of the more problematic aspects (like for example, what happens to Nader). Plus, bonus points for incredible pieces of dialogue (the “asshole” one being a favourite). Overall, an excellent novel – Insightful!