We Are the Ants: Shaun David Hutchinson

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Zum Ende hin war es mir zwar ein wenig zu viel Drama (jeder hat ein trauriges Geheimnis, allen passiert etwas Schlimmes, es gibt eine versuchte Vergewaltigung), aber zu diesem Zeitpunkt hatte ich mich schon so in das Buch verliebt, dass mir das ganz egal war. We may not get to choose how we die, but we can choose how we live. The universe may forget us, but it doesn’t matter. Because we are the ants, and we’ll keep marching on."

What do Diego’s paintings reveal about his past and his emotional state? Is there another way that Henry could have learned so much about Diego? Does Diego’s painting of Henry capture who he is? If so, how?

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Vacuum ants and either empty the bag immediately or add cornstarch to the bag. When you've eliminated the ants you can see, wipe up the area with warm, soapy water to eliminate the chemical trail they've left for other ants in their colony to follow. With such a serious decision to make, readers might think it would be a good idea to keep Henry happy. That brings us to the second anchoring point that appears throughout the novel, the suicide of Jesse. Henry loved his boyfriend and believes that he, Henry, was responsible for his boyfriend's death. Henry is bullied in school both for his belief in aliens (Space Boy) and for his openly homosexual relationship that he had enjoyed with Jesse. One of the biggest bullies is a very rich high school athlete, Marcus. This appears quite strange because Marcus and Space Boy are in a covert homosexual relationship that developed as Henry tried to find a substitute friend to fill the void resulting from Jesse's suicide. The many, many incidents of school bullying center more on the alien factor than the homosexual one. Secondly: The Genre Expectation Scale. This is a young adult novel, in that the main character is a fifteen year old boy, dealing with highschool, family, relationships and the pain of figuring out what kind of human being he is. But it easily surpasses any expectation I would have for the “Juvenile--fiction” Genre. It is well written and poignant without being pretentious. It is able to be dark without having to turn off the lights and nihilistic in a way that doesn’t actually reach hopelessness. It is a well crafted, well thought out, and well edited novel.

The character interactions in the book are brilliant as they engage in dialogues defining their relationships. Henry mentions that he loves his brother, Charlie, because he has to but as far as daily life, Henry despises his brother. As the novel progresses, Henry finds that he didn't really know much about Charlie. Henry engages in dialogues with Nana despite her frequent mental absences when she is not sure who he is. Henry's advice to his mother on life choices is ironic and is the one point where I had to almost suspend belief. How can a person this young make such great, deeply philosophical observations? I found myself using a highlighter frequently as Henry made observations that were stunning philosophically stated with such simplicity. Jesse isn’t able to conquer his demons, and chooses to end his life. Find out if there is a suicide hotline or some sort of peer counseling group in your area with which you can volunteer. Henry's character is actually very hilarious and charming, but there is also sadness and guilt in him which makes him question his existence and if the world should be saved or not.

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We may not get to choose how we die, but we can choose how we live. The universe may forget us, but it doesn't matter. Because we are the ants, and we'll keep marching on.”