a review (to recommend or not?)

WE ARE THE ANTS

WE ARE THE ANTS by Shaun David Hutchinson

Goodreads' rating: 4.21

Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button.

Only he isn't sure he wants to.

After all, life hasn't been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer's. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend's suicide last year.

Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him.

But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it...or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.

my review

This is a book where I constantly feel curious. I always have questions. What if... Why is it... How come they... I was keen to know the answers that I finished reading it in a day.

I feel down, frustrated, anxious, and suprisingly mad for and to the characters. It's been a long time since I felt angry because of a book so I applaud Shaun for that. When I said I was angry, I meant it. Though I wish I didn't.

- english
- easy to read
- toxic relationships, depression, bullying, school and family problems
- lgbtq
- maddening, heartbreaking, touching
- aliens
- highly highly recommend
- powerful book (it can change your life)
- 4/5

(Just a friendly reminder: There are violent scenes that may be quite disturbing to some of you)

SPOILER QUOTES

"I saw the world from the stars' point of view, and it looked unbearably lonely."

"We drive fast and party hard, study for exams that don't mean dick in the grand scheme of the cosmos." (one of my favourite quote)

"I have a thousand amazing memories of Jesse, but his suicide is leaking into those recollections, poisoning our past."

"I hate it. Not history—history's pretty cool—just the way they cram two thousand years of human civilization into a five-month class." - Zooey

He didn't kill himself because of a single overwhelming problem he died from a thousand tiny wounds.

"They were the picture of a perfect family. I suppose even perfect pictures fade."

"Depression isn't a war you win. It's a battle you fight every day. You never get to stop, never get to rest. It's one bloody fray after another. Jesse got worn down and didn't think he could fight anymore."

"I'm only trying to get to know your boyfriend, sweetheart."
"He's not my boyfriend."
Diego blushed. "We're just friends—"
"That make out," Charlie added.

Don't you get it, Henry? I love you. I love you so much, and I know this is all a big joke to you because the world is ending and you don't think any of this matters, but when it comes to you, it always matters."

What if I don't give a shit about the world?"
"I'd say that's pretty fucking sad."
"Why?"
"Because the world is so beautiful.

"Mrs. Franklin?"
She sighed. "Yes, Henry?"
"If you knew the world was going to end, but you had the power to stop it, would you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Jesse believed that life wasn't worth liv ing, and I refuse to prove him right." (Fave quote)