A. S. King (1) (1970–)

Reminiscent of Footloose, in a little town dominated by a truckload of nitpicking rules from one influential and smug woman -- think the HOA from hell, with a curfew and bans on the sale junk food, the celebration of Halloween, and house colors other than white -- some sixth graders start to push back when they find that someone has taken a black magic marker to cross out certain sentences in their copies of Jane Yolen's Holocaust novel, The Devil's Arithmetic (which I read last month in show more preparation for reading this book).

The protagonist has some personal issues to deal with too: divorced parents, an anxious best friend, a father circling a mental health crisis, and a smart and cute girl he'd like to take to the upcoming dance.

I thought all the story elements came together quite well, and I love the activism to protect First Amendment rights. It's a very timely book, what with dipshits like "Don't Say Gay" DeSantis trying to control what people can read and teach. show less

I love AS King in general— she does a tremendous job at telling stories and at adding in the surreal elements that exist sometimes in our understanding of the world. It speaks to our intuition and to our suspicions about things that feel true but may not be.
Anyway. Loved this book. Loved Mac and his friends and his supportive family in a town of unreasonable rules. I love his grandad and how they yell out the things that they are afraid of and ashamed of. I love that they meditate and show more protest together. I love that Mac reminds people often and fervently of other viewpoints and perspectives— that he tries to center Native people and Black people in a place with a majority White context. I love that he and Marci have crushes on each other but decide that they’d rather wait to be romantic when they are older and just enjoy being friends, not least because it helps maintain their friendship with anxious, ace/aro Denis. I love the kindness that the whole family brings to the world. The grace. I love that Jane Yolen is the hero at the center of the book in her way — her books are amazing and I’ve met her, one summer I cleaned her house and she is exactly as cool as everyone suspects. I love that the holocaust is at the center of this book as well, and yet not the focus of the story. I love the weird and horrible surreal dad behavior, and how Mac is working through anger and disappointment and is succeeding. It’s a great book. Don’t treat kids like they don’t know what is going on. Tell them the truth. Respect people. What better messages are there than that? show less

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book.

Wow. Pick the Lock by A.S. King is brilliant. In fact, I think it's my best read so far this year by a wide margin. The format of the book is innovative, alternating between home movie scenes with commentary, regular storytelling, and scenes from the main character's punk-rock opera. The story itself is bizarre, riveting, and terrible at the same time. It does deal with a lot of domestic abuse, but the difficult topics are morphed into a show more compelling social commentary through the metaphor of the System of tubes to which Jane's mother is confined. Each character is interesting and has their own backstory and personality. I feel like I could easily read a whole book about Milorad and Brutus in particular.

As a survivor myself, I loved how this book eases you into understanding the path to accepting abuse without leaving. It also shows how the most severe separations from what is acceptable can occur right in front of people (such as the many fans of Mina or Jane's classmates) without anything being recognized or addressed.

The only negative that I have about this book is I HATE the cover. It doesn't do the story justice at all in my opinion, and I would never have chosen this book just by looking at it.

Writing: 5
Characters: 5
Plot: 5
Setting: 5
Enjoyment: 5 show less

Lucky Linderman doesn't have a whole lot going for him. His chef father would rather spend time at his fancy restaurant than with his family, his mom escapes reality by embracing her inner squid at the pool, his grandmother who practically raised him died of cancer when he was 7, and his POW/MIA grandfather (whose nickname became Lucky's namesake) has kept an uncanny presence in the Linderman family since captured by the Viet Cong circa 1972. His problems follow him to school where Nader show more McMillan has taunted and abused him since grade school. Now Lucky's idea of a joke survey has landed him in the psychologist's office and provoked Nader's really bad side. A horrific instance of bullying sends Lucky and his mother to Tempe, Arizona, for some much-needed R&R, where he has heart-to-hearts with his grandfather, makes friends with a gorgeous model, and hangs out with a bunch of martini-drinking, limbo-playing, cheering and swearing ants. How will he be able to face his demons, within and without, when he returns home?

There are so many reasons to love this book. It is darkly humorous with the arrival of a colony of ants acting as Lucky's peanut gallery and has hints of magical realism when Lucky gets souvenirs from his dreams. There are the details of guerrilla warfare deep in the jungles of Vietnam and crushes on beautiful girls. Most prominent, though, is A.S. King's profound message and treatment of bullying as a very real and everyday form of torture. It encompasses more than just Nader giving Lucky a wound the shape of Ohio on his face, but how it can radiate into every stage of life. King doesn't solve every answer to this difficult problem, but she infuses her story with so much realistic wisdom and strength that it should be put in every person's hands who has ever dealt with a bully. Everybody Sees the Ants is a tremendous catalyst for reflection and discussion. This is hands-down one of the top-3 best books I have read this year...it might even be my favorite. show less