We Are the Ants

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson is a young adult science fiction novel that follows the coming-of-age story of Henry, a teenager whose life is in shambles. Hutchinson uses the first-person point-of-view of his protagonist to explore themes of family, grief, universal unknowns, and the development of identity.

Published in 2016, Hutchinson’s novel questions the value of human life while incorporating science fiction elements to portray the smallness of human existence in the face of our vast universe. We Are the Ants won critical acclaim by ALA, NYPL Best Books, and the Nutmeg Children’s Book Award, among other nominations and awards. Hutchinson is the author of 11 pieces of YA fiction.

Content Warning: This guide includes depictions of death by suicide, self-harm, depression, bullying, rape, and other forms of violence.

Plot Summary

Henry is a junior in high school who is enduring several problems. He’s been the victim of alien abductions for years, warping his sense of the world and causing his father to leave the family. Henry’s stories of abductions, which he no longer shares, are used as fodder for mockery and cruelty at school. Henry’s mother works shifts as a waitress, keeping her out of the house. His grandmother lives with them but is steadily growing more senile. His brother Charlie has dropped out of community college and gotten his girlfriend pregnant; Henry and Charlie have a fractured relationship. Henry’s boyfriend, Jesse, killed himself the year before.

Now Henry is presented with a new problem: The aliens, which he calls “the sluggers,” show him images of the Earth’s destruction. They give him a choice to save the planet by simply pressing a button. Henry’s constant abuse, loneliness, and pessimism make him believe that the world is better off destroyed. Henry figures that if he doesn’t let the Earth be destroyed, other threats, such as nuclear warfare, robots, and meteors, might just destroy the Earth anyway.

Henry starts hooking up with Marcus, a popular boy at school who bullies him in public but has sex with him in private. Henry’s resentment toward Marcus, his loneliness, his guilt over his father’s abandonment and Jesse’s suicide, and the tension in his family force Henry into a depression. He starts isolating himself at school and fails classes.

Henry starts questioning his secret relationship with Marcus as Marcus’s bullying escalates. Henry makes a new friend at school, a new kid named Diego. Additionally, he starts hanging out with Audrey again, a girl at school who had been Jesse’s best friend. Henry tentatively begins socializing again, while at home, the tension between him and his brother escalates.

Henry breaks things off with Marcus after Marcus humiliates him at a party. Marcus, angry over the breakup, escalates Henry’s bullying. Marcus and his friends dress up as aliens, mocking Henry for his alien abduction story from childhood. They tie Henry up in the showers, put an alien mask over him, and beat him up. The sheer violence of this act makes Henry’s already low self-esteem plummet. Though Diego and Audrey work hard at keeping their new friendships intact, Henry becomes more depressed with his life.

He notices that his mother is also in decline. His mother has so many things to worry about that she hasn’t had the chance to deal with the heartbreak of her husband leaving her and her children in different forms of disarray. But Henry starts seeing a change in Charlie, who gets a new job with his girlfriend’s father and starts to extend kindness toward Henry and the rest of the family.

Henry and Diego grow closer. Henry learns little about Diego’s past, but it is clear that Diego and his sister have escaped domestic abuse. Diego is an artist whose paintings impress Henry with their metaphors and beauty. Henry and Diego kiss— Diego likes Henry as more than a friend, but Henry is nervous about starting another relationship. He is resolved to let Earth be destroyed, but he’s also weary of trusting his own emotions and the emotions of others.

Meanwhile, Henry and Audrey’s relationship starts rebuilding through a confrontation of their resentments over Jesse’s death. Audrey admits that her guilt lies in knowing of Jesse’s suicidal ideation and self-abusive behaviors before his death by suicide. Audrey had spent months in an institution to explore and attend to her own psychological wellbeing.

Audrey helps Henry get rid of one of his bullies by secretly taping Marcus’s friend Adrian admitting to the attack on Henry in the showers. As Adrian gets expelled, Marcus seems more and more haggard, tired, and lost. Marcus admits to Henry that he had hoped that Henry would out him, so he didn’t have to do it himself.

Diego finally reveals the truth about his past. Diego defended his mother and himself against his abusive and drug-addicted father by breaking his father’s arms. Diego was incarcerated in juvenile prison for two years, then moved in with his older sister in Florida upon his release. Diego’s history of violence makes Henry nervous about his reliability, even though he and Diego have gotten closer emotionally and physically.

Henry begins rebuilding a relationship with his mother. He encourages her to leave her waitressing job and get a job as a chef, which she pursues. Henry and Diego break up because Henry can’t deal with starting a new relationship so soon after Jesse’s death.

When Marcus attempts to rape Henry at a school event, Henry finally advocates for himself and seeks help. Diego is arrested for attacking Marcus after the attempted rape. Henry’s mother helps Henry through suicidal ideation by checking him into an in-patient psychiatric clinic. Henry discovers the value of human life through his love for his family and friends. As Henry’s self-esteem grows, he learns that his future is full of the potential for happiness. Henry decides to press the red button, but the aliens do not abduct him.

On the eve of the supposed end of the world, Henry decides that no matter what happens to Earth or his life, he will appreciate his life and live in the moment.