King, A.S. (2011). Everybody sees the ants. Little, Brown Books.
Summary
Lucky's life is tough. His grandfather never came back from the war and his father never got over it. His mother avoids their dysfunctional life by never being around, constantly swimming. His uncle is addicting to women while his aunt is addicted to pills. And Lucky, well, Lucky has been bullied constantly since he was seven years old. How does he deal with it all? By escaping to his dreams. In his dreams, Lucky can be free, he can be a hero, he can go on adventures.
A Teacher's Perspective
I feel like despite the strangeness of the 'dreams' in this book, everyone can find a bit of "Lucky" to relate to in this novel. Every character is complex and their situations are so well written that they're believable. It's hard to see Lucky go through everything that he does, but it's also written in a way that makes you want to keep reading. Students in the older grades, as this is a bit much to read, may find this book complex but satisfying in knowing that everyone struggles, everyone has battles they go through, and everyone has their own way of coping with said struggles.
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There is a really good audio file available from ReadWriteThink that has the author discussing this novel. It can be found here.
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