We Are The Ants was excellent!! The story was really well written and covered just about everything from suicide/depression to pregnancy and loss. I really liked how it was a queer story but coming out and acceptance wasn’t necessarily the main plot line. It went much deeper than that and highlighted the struggles of an already out gay teenager after losing his boyfriend and surviving while on a severe downward mental spiral. The emotions were raw and the thoughts/feeling of the main character, Henry, felt real. This poor kid had a very full plate. From being the laughing stock of school, victim of constant physical and mental bullying, manipulated into a secret physical relationship with one of his bullies, holding his family together, dealing with his abusive brother, coping alongside his mentally abusive mother, while also questioning his relationship statues with his new friend Diego. Not to mention being abducted by aliens every once in a while and given the responsibility of deciding whether planet earth is worth saving. Henry biggest flaw was being concerned with how he affects those around him that he never looked into himself, but Diego helped me realize that. Being in his shoes, I’m not so sure I would have been too eager to save the world either.

My favorite aspect of the novel was the character transformations throughout. Each character was written in a way that they slowly peeled away each layer and reveled their true selves. I especially liked Charlies transformation throughout the course of the novel. My only issue with this novel was that last chapter. It was just... Ok. I’m not sure what ending I was looking for exactly but something different would have been nice- more closure I think.

Overall, this was a really good book. Jam packed with emotion, coping mechanisms, finding love & accepting what we think we deserve, self worth, some pretty awesome quotes, and last but not least...Aliens.