Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Powerful, challenging tale of outsider fighting back.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS, Lucky Linderman's teachers think he might be suicidal, his parents are focused on their own problems, and the high school bully has it in for him. After he is physically assaulted at the local swimming pool, Lucky's mother takes him to stay in Arizona with her brother and sister-in-law. But even there, there's no escape there, as Lucky becomes friends with a troubled older girl and continues to dream of his long-lost grandfather stuck in the jungles of Vietnam.
Is It Any Good?
Written with emotional insight and cynical, surrealistic humor, this is a compelling and unique portrait of a victim who learns to stand up for himself and take control of his own destiny. There are no easy answers, though. Although she drops elements of fantasy into the narrative, A.S. King is careful to keep the psychological underpinnings of Lucky's hard-won transformation plausible -- and ultimately tremendously moving.
Everybody Sees the Ants made the 2102 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list compiled by the the Young Adult Library Services Association (a division of the American Library Association).
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how to deal with violent bullying. Whose responsibility is it to deal with high school students who verbally abuse and physically assault their classmates? What role should parents play?
Why do you think the school administrators react the way they do when Lucky distributes a questionnaire about suicide. What are some effective methods of dealing with the problem of teen suicide?
What has it meant to Lucky's family to have his grandfather still missing in action from the Vietnam War? How do you think families of POWs and MIAs from any war deal with their sadness or feelings of uncertainty?
During the Vietnam War, soliders were drafted through a lottery based on their birthdate. Today, we have an all-volunteer military. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two systems?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : October 11, 2011
- Number of pages : 288
- Last updated : September 17, 2015
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate