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