14 July, 2017

REVIEW: WE ARE THE ANTS by Shaun David Hutchinson

Title: We Are the Ants
Author: Shaun David Hutchinson
Series: -
Genres: YA, LGBT, Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release: January 19th, 2016
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 464

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BLURB: Henry Denton doesn’t know why the aliens chose to abduct him when he was thirteen, and he doesn’t know why they continue to steal him from his bed and take him aboard their ship. He doesn’t know why the world is going to end or why the aliens have offered him the opportunity to avert the impending disaster by pressing a big red button.

But they have. And they’ve only given him 144 days to make up his mind.

Since the suicide of his boyfriend, Jesse, Henry has been adrift. He’s become estranged from his best friend, started hooking up with his sworn enemy, and his family is oblivious to everything that’s going on around them. As far as Henry is concerned, a world without Jesse is a world he isn’t sure is worth saving. Until he meets Diego Vega, an artist with a secret past who forces Henry to question his beliefs, his place in the universe, and whether any of it really matters. But before Henry can save the world, he’s got to figure out how to save himself, and the aliens haven’t given him a button for that.

EXPECTATIONS: One of those books that I heard about from Twitter and Tumblr. They all liked it and were hyping it so I had naturally high expectations. Overall, I also liked it a lot.

THE WORLD: Our normal world but with... aliens that abduct people (?). It takes places in Calypso, USA.

CHARACTERS: The main character is Henry Denton. He lives in Calypso with his mother, his grandmother who has Alzheimer, and his older brother Charlie. Let's speak about those two characters... Henry is frequently abducted by aliens (he calls them Sluggers) and is constantly bullied both at High School and at home. Charlie is a big bully. He's such a sh*tty brother oh my he even told Henry that their dad left because of him! Henry is quite a sensitive person and constantly blames himself for all the bad things that happen around him. Other characters are Audrey who was Henry's friend before his boyfriend committed suicide, Zooey who is Charlie's girlfriend, and Diego Vega who is the new kid in town. Trust me when I say every single character has a specific issue they have to battle or work through. All these characters have heavy flaws.
Oh, and I can forget to say that the Sluggers told Henry the world is ending in 144 days and that he can save it by pressing a button. The book is about how Henry's life affects his decision about pressing or not pressing that button.

ROMANCE: Not going to lie. The romance is messy and imperfect and abusive and several things along those lines. Just a PSA. I wasn't a big fan of the romance overall.

GOOD: The message. I think the best thing about this book is the message and also the portrayal of the LGBT characters. Yes, there are several LGBT ones. I believe they were portrayed naturally and not fetishized (if there is anyone from the LGBT that does not agree with this please enlighten me, I didn't see any issues but if there are I'd like to be aware).

I also liked how everything resolved in the end. I think it was a quite realistic evolution.

BAD: I have one bad thing and that is, during 2-3 chapters the characters were unbearable. I just couldn't. I was so darn frustrated I wanted to go inside the book and throw them a chair to their faces. It was only during those 2-3 chapters and then the book went on pretty well and smoothly. I really liked it but THOSE CHAPTERS ARGH. I was so frustrated I didn't know if I wanted to help them or kill them ugh there was no in between.

Also... I don't really get what happened with the Sluggers in the end? It didn't say anything about it, right? Did I miss it?

OVERALL: 4 stars. I think it was a good book with a very clear and powerful message. I recommend it to everyone. Just a little TRIGGER WARNING for suicide mention/mental health/abusive relationships.



What do you think about WE ARE THE ANTS?



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