We all know the power of words. Anyone from athletes to the illiterate has in some way been moved by them, and they aren’t always from a page. Words could originate from coaches giving you the final pep talk before a tense game at a state championship to your mother or father telling you how proud they are of you and to “keep it up!” when your grades are good. Everyone can/has been moved by some sort of work fact or fiction, read or spoken.
In this series I will be discussing books that some citizens want school boards to ban. It’ll be your decision at the end of each of these reviews to determine whether YOU believe this book should stay shelved.
The book We Are The Ants, by Shaun David Hutchinson, is a complex but relatable story with many layers of sadness, confusion, and self-reflection. It consists of 451 pages, and it was considerably easy to read, and it went by fast. The book takes place in a sleepy town in Florida with high school student Henry Denton in the lowest place someone can be. Ever since the suicide of his late boyfriend Jesse, things haven’t really felt the same. Along with struggling with his loss, he is getting bullied, and his grades are slipping. No one at home seemed to notice him anymore. Worst of all, aliens have been abducting and torturing him, without reason, for months. One night the aliens give him a button and explain that in 144 days the world will end, and Henry has the power to stop it if he just presses it.
This book contains sexual, physical, and mental abuse, suicide, bullying, and other disturbing things some may not be able to handle. My personal favorite part of the book is when Henry asked Jesse’s mother whether or not she’d save the world. When she inevitably said yes, Henry asked why. To this she said, “Because Jesse believed that life wasn’t worth living, and I refuse to prove him right.” This was a very powerful quote in my opinion. It shows that even though her own flesh and blood has passed that she will keep living to prove to him that there’s something worth living for. It is a very powerful message for all of us.
Some Americans have tried to ban this book for many reasons including suicide, rape, and sexuality. To date, they ultimately failed. I believe this book is a great work to read and I would suggest it to anyone who enjoys relatable, witty, and hard-hitting books with a touch of sci-fi. So, ask yourself, do you think this book should stay shelved?
