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

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.

Superb touching, captivating story with big ideas

Where does We Are the Ants rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 10. It instantly grabs you and makes you care about the main character. That's a rare quality which some established authors fail to do.

What did you like best about this story?

The way it is written. Mr Hutchinson has a beautiful turn of phrase, never over writes, gives us just enough to make a passionate other worldly story about, ocassionally, pedestrian things.

What about Gibson Frazier’s performance did you like?

Very good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes. I failed but I powered through it in two days.

Any additional comments?

Mr Hutchinson please make more books available on audible.

Got boring and an ending that didn’t make the book worth it

Started off good and I thought I would relate. Nothing happens in the end with the aliens and we are left to guess at what or what did not happen. Henry even finds himself second guessing of the aliens even exist. The end message just wasn’t inspiring, we are the ants so we keep marching on. Idk how that message is supposed to inspire or comfort, beyond giving a very simple reason to not press our own button.

i cried

i loved it, it's 4:53am and i finished it with 1 minute breaks often but i loved it and couldnt stop. The author makes it an incredible story with the main character life of how nothing matters and it gives you a new perspective.

Tedious and Predictable

I genuinely enjoy the work of Shaun David Hutchinson and have purchased and read pretty much most of what is available. I will continue to read his novels because they seem heartfelt and Mr. Hutchinson has a satisfying grasp of the English language. He uses words in a way that allows the reader to form a clear picture in his/her mind of what is happening in each scene.

That said, for me (and this may be just me) the story was predictable. It was fairly easy to see where things were headed and to understand why it was happening. The incessant whining of the protagonist and constant referral to the same incident ad nauseam was such that I cringed every time it was brought up...which was pretty much every single chapter. I just wanted to scream “OK I get it!” I was hoping at some point there would be more to the story than just a public service message to seek treatment for PTSD. There were so many additional pieces of the story which could have been explored which would have allowed the other characters to be more than one-dimensional.

The story in its current form would be better as a short story, or expanded to include more character development for those in the protagonist’s orbit.

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!!

An amazing tale of coming of age and mind

Where does We Are the Ants rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best psychological analysis of how we handle or hide from problems in life. It even shows that there are much more important things to worry about such as family, fiends and those you love caring compared to the bullies teasing your for being gay and you should not destroy yourself caring about other's opinion when it just kills you inside to never come out or staying in a relationship that forces you to. This book can be recommended to many young LGBT teens as the message you get between the lines is clear...indirectly.

It is also a fun story.

Any additional comments?

Best line; "I wish the aliens would stop taking my pants."

about family

I wasn't sure about this book looking at the synopsis. I'm glad I have it a chance . It's about struggling with loss. it's about family and all the things that affect it I think. it's about how life is always moving...or at least that's what I thought ... narrator was good

Very good

The subtle underlying subject shocked me very much! Came in for a end of the world scenario and was happily surprised how it turned out.

Eh.

It's a slog, the ending is the best part of the book but not quite worth the time it takes to get there. I don't want to say it's a bad book, but it's not particularly compelling. I think the author had a wonderful message bogged down by repetitive writing and story arcs where characters grew through telling rather than showing.

probably a better coffee conversation starter rather than a book.