We Are the Ants

By: Shaun David Hutchinson

Narrated by: Gibson Frazier

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

From the "author to watch" (Kirkus Reviews) of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes a brand-new novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving.

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.

©2016 Shaun David Hutchinson (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

Amazing beyond doubt

This book was so amazing. I've read the book and I needed to hear the audio book for my driving adventures. This book has changed my life and I emailed the author to thank him for this amazing book! Forever love this!!

Bait and switch

First, I think if I had gone into this book understanding that it was a coming of age story, that dealt with bullying, dysfunctional families, suicide, gay relationships, Alzheimers, etc., I would have rated it 4 stars, because it does a good job in those areas and maintained my interest (in spite of some repetitiveness). Fortunately I like coming of age stories.

Secondly, I nearly abandoned the book early on because the first couple of chapters came across very juvenile, with a lot of focus on masterbation. As an over 60 female, I thought maybe I was not the audience for this book. I don't know why the author choose to start the book this way and it is not reflective of the rest of the book.

Disappointingly, the supposed premise of the book ("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."), plays a relatively minor role in the book, other than marking Henry for teasing by his peers. Do not go into this book expecting a rousing science fiction story.

Nietzsche's Philosophy

Nietzsche's Philosophy contemplates the meaning of values and their significance to human existence.
I believe the deeper meaning of this stories is derived from this philosophy.
Found pieces of myself in many of the characters and couldn’t help but cry at multiple points of the story. 5/5

A trivial feel-good story

The story is easy to follow, but not as deep as it pretends to be.

Loved it!!

I was actually surprised to find myself disappointed when it ended. I want to know about the lives of the characters after at least a little but I suppose that would undermine the lesson at the end of the book. Very amazing read.

Eye opening

I love the way it connected with me on my thoughts about life and what to expect out of it

Great Story - Horrible Main Character

As I read through the first half of this book, I will admit, It initially hooked me. The idea behind the story is great, and the execution behind it is done well as well. However, the main character slowly gnaws at you, bit by bit. You keep hoping his character will grow, will stop acting like a pubescent child. Don't get me wrong, the main character has plenty in his life to make him jaded, depressed, and uncaring, but it absolutely does not account for the character being outright stupid. The main character acts so immature, that it ruins the maturity of this story in its entirety.

We Are the Ants Review

Interesting concept. If you enjoy questioning whether or not existence means anything this book is for you. I went through periods where I felt like I couldn't stop listening & other times that seemed to drag a bit. Overall not bad, pretty philosophical & open for interpretation.

Absolutely stunning

The story, the narration, everything here is perfect. From halfway through I simply couldn’t stop listening. Definitely a favourite, and definitely a book I’ll read (listen to) again.

Evocative and moving

Which character – as performed by Gibson Frazier – was your favorite?

All the characters were well done, but I especially liked his portrayal of Diego.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Henry's science teacher recounted her high school years.

Any additional comments?

Sarcastic, funny, and poignant. Don't let the summary blurb fool you - this is less science fiction that it is a wrenching window into coming of age, being an outcast, the ugliness of teenagers, the pain of adolescence, mental health, and young love. Though the impetus for the narrator's (Henry Denton) consideration of whether or not life should go on on earth is his (real or imagined) abductions by aliens, the biggest way science fiction themes run through the book are intermittent chapters where Henry brainstorms the very many ways life on earth could end. I loved the book and it rang very true, there were no pat endings or easy solutions, but real growth by the characters and a lot of to consider. It made me relieved to have since grown out of the hell that high school could be, the vicissitudes of popularity and friendship, the dizzying highs and lows of emotion, the way everything felt urgent and unsure and permanent all at the same time. But it also managed to touch upon and recreate all those feelings, and remember when life seemed so achingly immediate and vivid, and for all the pain, the window into Henry and his friends, his family and one particularly knowing teacher, was a moving and worthwhile.