Everybody Sees the Ants
King, A. S. (2011). Everybody see the ants. NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Summary
Lucky Linderman must be the
unluckiest person ever-ironic that is name is “Lucky”! His mother is in total
denial of how dysfunctional her family is, so she spends a lot of time at the
pool to avoid the problems. His father is distant because he never got over his
father not returning from the Vietnam War and to top all of that off, he is
viciously being bullied by Nader McMillian.
Lucky is suffering from a great
deal of stress. The bullying is relentless and cruel. He has thoughts of
suicide that he denies even exist. His parent’s inability to deal or react to
his dilemma only frustrate him. To escape his reality, Lucky dreams often of
his Granddad Harry trapped in the jungles of Laos. In Laos, he is always the
hero and can be whoever he wants to be.
He also encounters these ants that function as his thoughts and
feelings. In the end, his dreams relieve what really happened to his Granddad
Harry and the love he has for his father.
Reflection
This
novel touched on a lot of serious issues. The effects of bullying are and can
be emotionally, physically mentally draining. It not happened appropriately, it
can lead to devastating consequences. It magnifies how difficult it is as a
parent to relate to, protect and be present for your children. If not handled,
appropriately, it can lead to distant and lots of misunderstandings. These
unhealthy issues can lead to abuse of one’s self. Lucky chose to escape his
reality through dreams. This novel does a good of bridging those gaps.
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The following books are by the author.
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