YA LGBT Books discussion

*We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

*I had several people strongly recommend this one. It was also a nominee for the Goodreads Choice awards, so I thought I'd give it a try.

There are a few things Henry Denton knows, and a few things he doesn’t.

Henry knows that his mom is struggling to keep the family together, and coping by chain-smoking cigarettes. He knows that his older brother is a college dropout with a pregnant girlfriend. He knows that he is slowly losing his grandmother to Alzheimer’s. And he knows that his boyfriend committed suicide last year.

What Henry doesn’t know is 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.

The question is whether Henry thinks the world is worth saving. That is, 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.

*Cautions: History of suicide in the blurb, plus (view spoiler)[self-harm, attempted sexual assault and bullying as trigger warnings (hide spoiler)] - angsty tone

*Dates planned: start/ finish TBA

*Participants: Kaje
Linda

[Enter Name Here] wrote: "
I think you should add...

Thanks I'll add those above. <3

Excellent. I was able to borrow from my library, so I'll start this after I finish my current read.

Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ wrote: "Excellent. I was able to borrow from my library, so I'll start this after I finish my current read."

Cool :)

I'm enjoying this so far - if that's the right word - but it is grim. Whoever decides to read it, make sure you're in the mood for some heavy angst.

This is very dark for much of the book. I'd say be careful if you have issues with depression and bullying.

I did enjoy it though. I looked at Shaun David Hutchinson's website, and the little graphic of him there perfectly encapsulates the mood of this book.

Thanks for the warning. I have this queued up to read, but it's worth knowing the tone.

Check out the little graphic on his webistie. It articulates the tone perfectly.

I finished this last night. I'm gonna have to noodle over this one to figure out how I feel about it. I certainly liked it much more than I did Reasons to Love a Nerd Like Me, which is more or less the same book, minus the aliens but including some unfortunate bully apologism. (I don't remember if there's on-page sex in Reasons to Love a Nerd Like Me, so don't know if it's appropriate for this group.)

Amazonaute wrote: "Check out the little graphic on his webistie. It articulates the tone perfectly."

Do you mean the header?

That guy sitting in the dark.

I just started it. So far it's good.

It's a great book. Just not cheerful. It triggered me and I couldn't read anything for a few days after I started it.

Yeah, I'm really having to think over my review and what I want to say and how I'm going to rate it. It was really good and atmospheric, but not something I would recommend to a young kid. At least, I'd want to make sure I was able to talk about it with my nieces and nephews of that age.

I have nothing whatsoever to do with children, and never have. But I'd be cautious about recommending this book to anyone sensitive to depression.

I actually read this the month it was *almost* BotM and really enjoyed it. While it dealt with some dark issues, I personally don't think it was terribly dark overall-- there was plenty of humor mixed in, and as far as I remember it was thematically pretty uplifting. I'd say it's fine for younger teens as long as they're reasonably mature, but it's definitely not a "kids' book."

I finally had time to finish this - the writing is very good, it's unusual, and several times doesn't go where I expected it to. The characters are nicely imperfect. It's imaginative.

I also would not recommend it as a good choice to read if you are prone to depression (although know yourself- some people with depression like reading about others) but it begins with a very evocative mindset of "why does it matter anyway? We'll all be dead eventually - why try, why bother, when life hurts so much?" Which is the black dog of depression, in the flesh - that flat darkness of pain without faith for a light at the end of it. It gets turned toward hope at the end - in the form of "We all might die at any time, but life matters precisely because we cannot know, and so we make the light now that we can, that will shine in the past and brighten our todays and might last beyond tomorrow..."

Trigger warnings also as listed above. But they are not deeply angsty moments and there is a lot of low key and black humor in this story.

There was one trope here that I'm not fond of: (view spoiler)[the MC who is so damaged by an event - in this case a boyfriend's suicide- and so lacking in self-worth that he is willing to be the secret sex-toy of someone who abuses and bullies him in public for being gay. I really, really wanted Henry to speak up sooner, or at least to step away faster. (hide spoiler)] But it was well-enough written that I could believe it, despite not liking it. Self-destructive choices are part of many teen lives.

The ending was a bit indeterminate, but positive. The secondary characters were good, and nuanced, and the family elements added a lot to the book. The brother did perhaps too much of a 180 to truly believe, but it wasn't impossible. The possibly-SciFi element was a low-key component, so this book would appeal to contemporary readers who don't like SciFi much.

I agree. The book depicts depression (well, my sort of depression) very well - the leaden omnipresence of it, and the lack of escape.

I personally think that Henry's narration might have colored the portrayal of Charlie's 180 a bit strongly; Charlie's changes seem to the reader more sudden than they might objectively have been because Henry is suddenly noticing them and completely changing his impression of who his brother is as a person (in addition to the prospect of parenthood being a bit impetus for Charlie to start making real, noticeable changes in his life).

Heyo everyone!! :)

Kaje wrote: "I finally had time to finish this - the writing is very good, it's unusual, and several times doesn't go where I expected it to. The characters are nicely imperfect. It's imaginative.

I also would..."

Oh wow, thanks for the heads up Kaje. I'll have to think about weather I really want to dive into this one on not.

Rylee wrote: "Heyo everyone!! :)"

Hi Alyx! :)

Bobby wrote: "I personally think that Henry's narration might have colored the portrayal of Charlie's 180 a bit strongly; Charlie's changes seem to the reader more sudden than they might objectively have been be..."

That's a good point, and I'd almost buy it except for the (view spoiler)[peeing on Henry's homework bit (hide spoiler)]. That's quite the turn around from being an utter jerk and bully to your kid brother.

Still, my brother certainly grew up pretty fast when he and his girlfriend got pregnant at about the same age as Charlie is here. It didn't happen nearly as quick as it did here though. It took a few years.

Yeah - If Charlie's bullying had been one notch lower, I'd probably have bought his turnaround better. He was horrible for a decade.

@ Jason - might not be for you. I know it rang bells for me that I wasn't crazy about, although it's a measure of the skill of the writer.

This didn't trigger me, but Henry's depressive thoughts ran a lot like mine do when I get to my low points. It was difficult to read at times, but worth it, at least for me.

As I've said before, make sure you're in a good head space before reading, or make sure you're able to put it down and walk away if it gets to be too much.

I am planning to read this book. How was it for those who've read it already?

I've been meaning to read this forever! It's actually one of the two reads for another group I'm in this month :)

This is my favourite book; I loved the way it was written, I loved and cared deeply about the characters, and the book just spoke to me on a personal level.
While for some people Henry's thoughts might be upsetting or unpleasant to read, to me it felt like someone was putting a lot of my thoughts in words.
The way in which many issues were approached were interesting, and there were so many scenes that I could just be reading over and over again.
I read the book in one day, which is worth pointing out, as I'm a very slow reader.

I recommend reading it, but it's important to keep in mind that there are some heavy things in there

Jeront - This was my top reads from last year and it'll likely stay with me awhile. I highly recommend it, but again with the caveat that you need to be aware of your own triggers.

Jeront wrote: "I am planning to read this book. How was it for those who've read it already?"

I liked it a lot - 4 stars from me, and I considered 5. Unusual and well-written, as long as the bleak start is okay with you. My review is here : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kaje wrote: "Jeront wrote: "I am planning to read this book. How was it for those who've read it already?"

I liked it a lot - 4 stars from me, and I considered 5. Unusual and well-written, as long as the bleak..."

Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ wrote: "Jeront - This was my top reads from last year and it'll likely stay with me awhile. I highly recommend it, but again with the caveat that you need to be aware of your own triggers."


Thank you. So this is actually a LGBTQ book friendly. I need to get a copy of this. I love the suicide word I read somewhere. :) Thanks.

This sounds interesting. I'm going to see my library has it

Yay for libraries - I just got hold of January's book at my library.

Just reread this and left a huuuuuuge review if y'all are okay with spoilers or have already read the book. It's one of my favorite books of all time and I'd love to talk about the book with y'all if someone is up for discussing it.
However! Before reading it pleeeeeease be careful as there are many super heavy topics that might set you off.

I really liked this one but I agree - particularly for depression, it's such a good depiction that it could be triggering IMO.

OMG, loved it!!! SUch a good, but sad book... ]

Kameron wrote: "OMG, loved it!!! SUch a good, but sad book... ]"

It is - and it feels very real despite the SciFi element in it.

Kaje wrote: "Kameron wrote: "OMG, loved it!!! Such a good, but sad book... ]"

It is - and it feels very real despite the SciFi element in it."

Yes, it makes me feel like I could get kidnapped by aliens! Lol!

:D Now that's writing skill.