Rashika, The Book Owl

***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

If you like confusing books where you’re never sure about what is actually going on, We are the Ants is for you. This is an incredibly well-written book that will tell you a lot of things that might or might not be true. The real mystery is trying to figure out what the fuck is up with Henry Denton.

Henry Denton is not the perfect male lead. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people didn’t like him at all. But I DID. Henry Denton is SO imperfect he is real. He has been given the choice of saving all humanity but he doesn’t want to. He doesn't think humanity is worth it. He doesn’t think HE is worth it. Henry Denton has suffered through many horrible things in his short life time and they have all made him believe that he is the one at fault, and the reason why all bad things happen. Which we know isn’t true, but he doesn’t. When his boyfriend killed himself, he cut himself off from his friend(s) and he continues to be bullied at school. He is a social pariah, constantly mocked and bullied and it is HEART BREAKING. And he doesn’t just magically wake up one day and realize that he is deserving. It is a long process and at times, we aren’t even sure Henry will get there. His character development is stunning and I loved watching him, with the help of various awesomesauce people, come to realize his own worth.

One of my other favorite things about this book are all the other characters. Hutchinson does a great job with making them imperfectly perfect. There is no right and wrong with his characters. He will make you feel bad for the vicious bully, for the mean brother, for everyone. And really, there is a fine line between good and bad and most people aren’t either.  They are that fine line.

The relationships in this book are also amazing and I loved watching them develop. I loved seeing Henry interact with his brother and watching their relationship morph into something amazing over the course of the book. I loved seeing Henry reach out to Audrey and watching them built their relationship from the ruins and most of all I LOVED DIEGO AND HENRY.

So yes, there are a lot of things to love about this amazing book. It’s A BIG BOOK (at 464 pages) but I read it in 3.5 hours so it’s also a very fast read. It sucks you in and makes you want to know more about the aliens (because aliens) and you want to know more about Henry and there is just so much about this book that is great. Including Henry’s grandma who is awesomesauce.

If you’re still not sure about this book, I am not sure anything I can say will help because I have run out of words (and my rambling is mostly incoherent) and will fail to do this book justice. All I can say is that We Are the Ants is an amazing book. It can be angsty in ways that might make you uncomfortable but hey, sometimes books make you uncomfortable and you still love them.

Note that I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review