Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King

By:   A.S. King
Published by:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publish date:  October 3, 2011

Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

This year A.S. King has become one of my favorite YA authors.   I loved Reality Boy and Ask the Passengers.  Once again, I really liked Everybody Sees the Ants.   It tells the story of Lucky Linderman who has been bullied by Nader McMillan for years.  When it becomes too much for Lucky's mother, she takes Lucky to visit his aunt and uncle.  This trip becomes the turning point that the whole family needs.  Lucky's uncle helps him to start standing up for himself instead of his father's long held advice of ignoring the problem.  His aunt illuminates the fact that you can be crazy and still be ok.  While he's on vacation he also meets a hair model that will challenge what he knows about girls.

This was another really good book about YA social issues.  I definitely recommend it, however, there were some particulars in this book that I'm not sure that some younger readers would understand.  Lucky dreamed a lot about his dead grandfather and I think some maybe lower MG readers might have difficulty with that concept, so for that reason I would  recommend it for older readers.    Otherwise, I thought it had a really good message.