We Are the Ants
Book description
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
From the “author to watch” (Kirkus Reviews) of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes an “equal parts sarcastic and profound” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving.…
Why read it?
2 authors picked We Are the Ants as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This is a YA novel, but it deals with adult themes like suicide, crumbling families, and mortality.
It’s also drop-dead funny, with a smartass, teenage narrator you’ll alternately want to hug or slap silly. He believes he’s been abducted by aliens and given the choice of either saving the world or destroying it, and he only has a few months to decide. I love the witty dialog and the genuine, complex relationships, but what especially drew me to this story is the love story between the narrator and his new boyfriend.
I wish I’d had a book like this to…
From Bart's list on wiseass narrators and dysfunctional families.
This was a book I actually put off reading for a long time precisely because I knew it would destroy me. It centers around a science fiction allegory for depression that the main character, Henry, must navigate alongside his grief over losing his boyfriend to suicide a year before. Every character is multi-layered and complicated in such a realistically flawed way; there wasn’t anyone who didn’t have something going on or their own demons to face, which I absolutely loved. I read this book after going through one of the worst depressive periods of my life, when I couldn’t think…
From Caitlin's list on character-driven stories to give you all the feels.
Want books like We Are the Ants?
Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like We Are the Ants.
Browse books like We Are the Ants
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in grief, gay teenagers, and major depressive disorder?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about grief, gay teenagers, and major depressive disorder.