Review: We Are the Ants

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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The moment I read this line, I knew right of the bat that it's my favorite quote from this book: "Milk shakes make the world seem less shitty." - Zooey Denton nee Hawthorne :)

To be completely honest, three-quarters into this book, I'm considering giving this a 3-star rating. Only because I'm a snob and I felt duped into reading a YA novel, when I wanted it so badly to be a mature sci-fi. But who am I kidding, the last quarter of this book gave me all the right feels, and slowed the world down. My favorite character is Audrey. Sure, I like Henry because of his sarcasm, but Audrey is the smart girl with spunk. She's not as interesting and multi-faceted as Henry Denton, but this girl knows she has flaws, acknowledges it, and is an amazing friend.

I thoroughly enjoyed Henry's doomsday scenarios. They fascinated me endlessly. My mind turned them over, deciding the likelihood of each happening, giving me goosebumps. Among them, my favorites are The Meteor, because as much as this is cliche, the way Hutchinson recounted it was so eerie; Minds Eye, not because I think it's likely (it's absurd, even) but it dawned on me how that's already happening in a more subtle way; and Bees, because it scared me how life on Earth was tethered so precariously on the fate of a species.

The more I get to think about it, I really liked this book. Sure, it gets really hard to handle. Henry's depression practically bled through the pages and it was starting to be demoralizing. The thing is, even though the sadness weighs down on me heavily, Hutchinson held me in beautiful prose. I never got bored or turned off, because I was too captivated with the way Henry translates his thoughts into something so lyrical and profound. There are parts of the book that are funny, in a way that sneaks up on you, simply because you wouldn't expect it given their situation. Bravo to Hutchinson, but I'd like to take a break from something as sad for a while. My heart feeds on sunshine and positivity.

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Other favorite lines from this book:

I loved how the sun and salt spray perfused my skin, filling me with the memory of light. God surely meant for humans to live like that. He hadn't intended for us to wither into desiccated husks in front of brightly lit screen that leeched away our summer days one meme at a time.

That's the problem with memories: you can visit them, but you can't live in them.

The farther we are from someone, the further we live in their past.

We may not get to choose how we die, but we can choose how we live.

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