We Are the Ants
To be completely honest, We Are the Ants by Shawn David Hutchinson is the inspiration behind this entire blog. It was the first time I’d read a story where it was explained early on that the protagonist wasn’t heterosexual, and that it had nothing to do with the story. It got me into a sort of exploration of books of the same idea.
I read this book in one night. I stayed up ’till 6 a.m. (even though I had to be up at 11) because I couldn’t put it down. I cried, I laughed, and I fell head-over-heals for the characters in this book.
Henry Denton has a hard life. His boyfriend killed himself a year ago, he’s bullied at school, his mother is constantly on the verge of falling apart, his grandmother has Alzheimers, and he currently doesn’t have anyone to turn to. Not to mention, he periodically gets abducted by aliens. And when they give him 144 days to decide if the world should be saved, or burned to hell, Henry isn’t exactly sure which would be better.
This story feels very real to me. Henry is dealing with a lot, and seeing his struggles with mental illness and the abuse he is subjected to every day, I don’t blame him for wanting to watch the world burn. And sometimes, he’s completely convinced of that himself. But he meets Diego, a new boy in school who is mysterious and has a troubled past. But Diego wants to be his friend, and suddenly this grief-stricken loner has a friend to turn to.
As previously mentioned, this story has nothing to do with Henry being gay. It could be the exact same story if Henry were any other person. Even in school, he isn’t bullied for being gay (if I remember correctly), he’s bullied because he “claims” he’s abducted by aliens. They call him “Space Boy,” tease him about his experiences and physically push him around.
This story is about family, friendship, forgiveness, and learning to live with pain and grief. And it’s beautifully written and digs deep into the heart, because Henry (despite the fact he gets abducted by aliens once in a while) is just a normal teenage boy who’s been through more sadness and loss than anyone his age should have to face.
