Lucky Linderman is a fifteen year old boy who has been bullied by Nader McMillan since he was seven. When the evidence of bullying is physically represented with a facial injury, his mom decides to take him away for a few weeks and leave his dad to deal with it (he never does). While away, Lucky makes a new friend and finds a male father figure in his uncle that help to bolster his confidence to deal with the bully. This paired with some advice from his dead grandfather via dreams gives Lucky the confidence to stand up to the bully once and for all.
Everybody Sees the Ants is best suited for the high school aged student because of the language and some sexual references. The book approaches very serious topics like bullying and suicide by using a first-person narrator to really share the inner thoughts of the character. This allows the reader to explore the main character's fears, concerns, naïveté, and sense of humor. King made the antagonist of this story so villainous that readers won't want to leave the book for long for want of revenge being exacted on Nader.
King crafted an exceptional piece of young adult literature with Everybody Sees the Ants. Teens are provided insight into the bullied, the suicidal youth of America and explores the less talked about topic of parental bullying and control. Through Lucky's first person narration, they'll learn they are more like him than different. Lucky finally makes it through this terrible part of his life and appears to have the strength to do great things, which is very satisfying even though the story ends before the reader can see how the conversation between Lucky and his dad goes at the end of the book.
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