Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

4 reviews

sppixie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It's really difficult to listen to the main character's inner thoughts and dialogue. He is sometimes logical, sometimes jumps to conclusions, sometimes totally irrational, etc. Perhaps this was intended to get into the mind of a character his age; however, I found it really annoying and was prone to whiplash.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Dementia, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Classism, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Homophobia, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Child death

Minor: Outing, Miscarriage, Addiction, Self harm, and Vomit

lovelymisanthrope's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I picked this up as a buddy read with a friend.
"We Are the Ants" follows a teenager named Henry. Over the past few years Henry has been abducted by aliens. On one of his most recent abductions, the aliens have told him that Earth will blow up in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button. But the world has not been kind to Henry, and with some much sickness and heartbreak, why should he push the button?
I think if I had picked this up five years ago, I would have loved it, unfortunately, this book just did not have that punch I was expecting. The plot, themes, and mannerisms of the main character really reminded me of "Going Bovine" by: Libba Bray, and once I had that in my head, I just could not enjoy the story because it did not feel original too me.
I respect what this book did, and I think the themes and topics discussed are important and done so in a profound way. One of the big topics is suicide. Henry had someone very close to him commit suicide and it has really haunted him ever since. I have not seen a ton of media highlighting how suicide impacts those left behind, and how they work through their feelings of grief and arrive at a state of acceptance. This book shows Henry going through his process to get through this dark time, and it highlights how other characters who were impacted by this death have to deal with their grief in their own ways.
I would recommend this book to a young adult looking for a book that packs a punch and makes you question what makes life worth living. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Blood, Violence, and Sexual harassment

davidbythebay's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am crying. Wow. I was a little skeptical based on the premise, but it did intrigue me enough to read this. I am so glad I did. This book sums up life in the best way: we keep marching on even if we don't have the answers and we can never get them. This was amazing, BUT check the trigger warnings! 

I was so enthralled by this, I lost track of time while reading. It was an immensely entertaining and sometimes sad book that brought sad tears and happy tears to my eyes. Beautifully written, this took a teenager's point of view but made him mature, yet adolescent. Henry was not a child and he was not an adult caught in a child's body. As Henry is gay, like many LGBTQ+ people, he has grown up and matured early so that he can combat the bullying and dangers of this world. His situation has provided even more instances by which he has had to grow up far too fast. I can't tell you how many times I've been told or my LGBTQ+ friends have been told how mature we are for our ages. It comes with the territory I guess. But having this mature teenaged perspective is dead on perfect. 

I am absolutely going to read more by this author given how wonderful this book is. 


⚠️ TW: violence, physical violence, abuse, parental abandonment, bullying, depression, suicide and suicidal ideation, sexual assault, pregnancy, miscarriage, loss, grief, neglectful parent, memory loss, talk of sexual situations (not in detail). ⚠️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Child abuse

rachelwierick's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Everyone in this book sucks. Audrey is the only character with half a brain. The only reason I stuck with this book was because it had an intriguing premise, but it ended up being really disappointing. I’m glad this was a library book and I didn’t spend any money on it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship