Shaun David Hutchinson

"That's what this was all about, after all. Making choices."

A great deal befalls narrator Henry in this book, as well as the various cast around him; life is neither a kind, orderly, nor predetermined arc. Perhaps the brutal parts are hyperbolic in their number compared to most people's lives, but these are things that we as readers have experienced or know of befalling others. While the story focuses on the adolescent main characters, it's noteworthy that the adults in the story are all show more coping variously with their own slings and arrows. At the end of the day, it's not about what happens but about what ones chooses to do thereafter and Henry at last arrives at that realization.

A fast, clean read and an unexpectedly satisfying experience, Hutchinson's book is a trail mix of irreverent prose, pop culture rhythms, adolescent angst and anger, cravings for affection, and some really mature thoughts about life, the universe, and everything. I'm really glad I came across this.

A final note: I picked up "we are the ants" because of its frequent appearance on Banned Book lists and can see how the same people that want to ban this consider Vonnegut and Heller pornographic without ever having read either. show less

Imagine you've been estranged from your best friend for a year when they burst back into your life in the form of a resurrected corpse on the night before their funeral. That's what happens to Dino when he decides to reluctantly fix July Cooper's makeup in the basement of his family's mortuary. Dino and July haven't spoken since their rift a year ago, but with only the two of them in on the secret of her zombie resurrection, they have no choice but to work through their baggage while they show more try to figure out what to do. This is a surprisingly deep coming-of-age story about coming out, friendship, apologies, empathy, and figuring out who you are. And all the while, one of the main characters is decomposing. show less

I'm not usually a fan of short story collections, but I really couldn't pass this one up, and I am glad that I didn't! This book contains seventeen different stories, all centered around one event - a student named Kirby Matheson walked into a school one day and killed five other students and a teacher before killing himself. Each person (actually one of the stories was told from the gun's perspective, which was super unique and interesting) is somehow touched by the tragedy - Kirby's show more sister, Kirby's friends, Kirby's former neighbor, the kid who used to live in Kirby's house before the Mathesons moved in, etc.

If you are a fan of linear stories, this is not the book for you. Some of the stories are set before the shooting, and some are set after, and there is no order to them. And if you NEED to know why Kirby decided to go into a pep rally with a gun, you may not enjoy this book either, because the reader is never told WHY. There is no story from Kirby's point of view. There is no story that says "I know that Kirby did this because of ______" (although a few different stories feature characters who believe that they might have been the cause, or at least led up to it).

I think the best thing about this book is that it portrays Kirby Matheson (who, like I said, never gives his own point of view) as a complex person. To some, he's a jerk; to others, he's a savior. To some, he is a friend; to others, he's an enemy. He kills random people he doesn't even know - Billie Palermo, for example, a recent transfer student who is also transgender - and doesn't kill people who have been unkind or downright cruel to him (he doesn't shoot Nate, a kid who beat him up and tormented him, but kills Nate's best friend in front of him). He tells one person to not come to school on the day of the shooting (she isn't aware of why until later) and deliberately sets up another girl to keep her away from the pep rally, and yet Kirby is also okay with his own sister being in the pep rally and potentially being in the path of his bullets.

I highly recommend this book. show less

This book was a remarkable journey. It was one of those books that I left a trail through ... turned down corners at places that contained perfect descriptions, thoughts I know I will want to go back to.

I read parts of this book aloud to my partner, sometimes because it was a funny line, sometimes because I had never read a more perfect description of a feeling, thought .... or that nasty internal voice.

Not only is this book beautifully written, but it is also honest and candid in a way show more that many memoirs don't quite manage. I wish I had been able to read a book like "Brave" when I was a teenager but I'm thankful that so many young people now have the option. Thank you, Shaun.

And yes, Shaun David Hutchinson, smoking menthol cigarettes is EXACTLY like sucking minty hornets through a fire hose. show less