Lucky Linderman is anything but lucky. He has a mother who would rather live in the water and a father who he compares to a turtle, always retreating during times of danger. Add in being consistently bullied by Nader McMillan at school and the pool, it's no surprise that his happiest times are when he dreams of rescuing his grandfather, a POW from Vietnam who was never found.
Because of his "morbid" survey for part of a school assignment, and the follow through of teachers, counselors and other professionals who want to help him, and adding in the eventual final straw with Nader introducing his face to the concrete at the pool, Lucky's mother pulls him away from his Pennsylvania life to visit her brother and his wife in Arizona for a few weeks in the summer.
Lucky finds his aunt odd, but starts to enjoy spending time with his uncle, lifting weights and doing guy things. He's so much better than the turtle Father Lucky has back home.
Slowly things from the past come to light, and nothing is what it seems. With help from a beautiful Ninja girl and her friends, and of course his grandfather in dreams Lucky starts to put the pieces of his life together.
A.S. King writes a powerful book about bullying, family relationships, war and growing up. Lucky seems so normal, and so different at the same time. His life as a high school freshman was defined by one event that he thought was funny, and while that propels him forward, things really go deeper than that assignment.
Fans of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Looking for Alaska by John Green and Leverage by Joshua Cohen will find Everybody Sees the Ants to be an excellent and engaging read.
I'll see you @ the library!
Katie