This book was pain and hope in one.
Synopsis
Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button.
Only he isn’t sure he wants to.
After all, life hasn’t been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year.
Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him.
But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.
Plot
It was confusing at first. I delved in this book not knowing much. The first chapters gave a huge science fiction vibes with a combination of contemporary romance. It was a coming-of-age story with heavy themes. The aftermath of a suicide is a major part of the story so trigger warning on that (as well as rape, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm), if you are uncomfortable reading about these topics, please avoid this book.
We Are The Ants is such a tear-jerker. It’s about bullying, being alienated because of being an outcast. Despite that, the book gave a hopeful message that everyone matters and that everything will eventually get what they deserve. Cliché as it sounds but I did feel it reading this book, that I belong.
Writing
This book has elements of science fiction and I just strongly believe that is well-researched. Throughout the story, the character was thinking a lot about the end of the world. He made detailed assumptions on how the world with end, each one I find thought provoking. How the writer wrote the dialogues was something I also appreciate because it was such straightforward and I find it authentic.
Overall
I gave this book 4 stars! There are questions left unanswered at the end. I find it lacking at some areas. I wish there were more but it just ended. Regardless, I still enjoyed reading the book. It has dynamics of family and friendship. The romance, it was just okay. This book was pain and hope in one.
Allen The Page Turner 