Everybody Sees the Ants

King, A. (2011). Everybody sees the ants. NY: Little, Brown, and Company.

Lucky Linderman has been abused by a bully, Nader McMillan, since third grade.  Nader has also bullied and assaulted a classmate, Charlotte, on several occasions.   The bullying resolution and dreams about his grandfather are the core of the story line.  The haunting dilemmas are dreams of Lucky’s name sake and paternal grandfather, Harry “Lucky” Linderman, a Viet Nam MIA/POW and his dysfunctional parents.  Each chapter has the dream “visits” with his grandfather, where Lucky attempts to “save” his grandfather throughout many of the dreams.  The ants are throughout the book and seem to represent small, vulnerable characters conjured up to support Lucky, an only child who is small, immature and vulnerable (especially to the bully).  After an incident with Nadar at the pool, Lucky and his mom go to Arizona to visit family for a few weeks.  During his visit in Arizona, Lucky meets Ginna, a beautiful 17 year old girl.  They become friends and she helps improve his confidence.  After the trip, Lucky communicates more effectively with his parents and begins a more adult-like relationship with them.  Lucky decides to confront Nader and tell him he will report him to the police if he bullies him or others again.  Nader relents and Lucky feels a sense of relief and maturity after confronting him.  Lucky seems to be set free during his last dream, where his grandfather happily enters a prepared grave.

Everybody Sees the Ants is serious with quips of humor.  With the believable characters and dialogue, young adult readers will find themselves identifying with or feeling empathetic. Bullying is a theme throughout the book.  This is King's third young adult novel.  She is a Printz award winner for her second novel, Please Ignore Vera Dietz.  Here is a book trailer for Everbody Sees the Ants.