We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

Wildcard ~ July

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My opinion in three sentences:

This was an incredible, deep and soul-searching read, that tore me to pieces, tossed them to the wind and then stitched them back together again in the right (but slightly different) way. Hutchinson grappled with some complex yet prevalent contemporary themes with his usual grace and demands for introspection on the reader’s behalf. An obscure plotline, a great band of characters and a feel-good ending – some might even say it’s better than The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley!

(Without spoiling anything) the best bit:

Some books take complex themes and handle them well, with great sensitivity and clear research, but Hutchinson goes above and beyond even that. He makes the reader live them, thrusting them into a complex relationship with them on both a mental and emotional level. There’s no real words to describe how changing Hutchinson’s writing can be – it’s just something you have to experience.

A warning for the book:

It’s not just our protagonist, Henry, who’s going to undergo some severe introspection and character development. The reader certainly gets swept along. I was not only touched on a personal level, but completely moved. I was shook and changed by the end, but in the best of ways – it was completely revolutionary reading. You’ll come out feeling like an ant, but in a completely different understanding of what it means to be an ant than you had at the very beginning. We are the ants.

Recommend for fans of:

• I Was Here by Gayle Forman
• When We Collided by Emery Lord
• What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera