Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated
We Are the Ants
Shaun David Hutchinson
The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is very intense with mature or graphic material. Its HootRating code, VE, means very intense content, mostly emotional.
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About This Book
What if you found out the fate of the whole world depended on you? Imagine Henry, grappling with heartbreak and heavy feelings, suddenly facing a mysterious choice—save the planet or let it end. But can he make that call when his own life feels so tangled and uncertain?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This young adult novel follows Henry as he navigates grief, depression, and family struggles after the loss of his boyfriend. It explores heavy themes like mental health, addiction, and mortality, with some intense scenes including stalking, substance abuse, and traumatic events. Recommended for mature teens due to its emotional depth and sensitive content.
Why we rated We Are the Ants VE (Very Intense)
We Are the Ants is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 464 pages. Upper Grades (Ages 13+) is the typical interest range for this book — readers in that age band have the maturity and attention span suited to the story, separate from whether they can decode the words.
We rate We Are the Ants as VE (Very Intense, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Very Intense" range — very intense or graphic content — peril, violence, trauma, or mature themes treated head-on. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril, social complexity, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.
Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Stalking, Addiction, Alcohol Abuse, Drug Use, Death, Claustrophobia, Vomiting, Injury.
Thematically, We Are the Ants explores depression & mental illness, grief & bereavement, dating & relationships, social themes, and juvenile fiction — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about depression & mental illness, grief & bereavement, dating & relationships.
Maybe not for
- ! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
- ! Children younger than 13 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.
- ! Children currently coping with grief — the themes may hit close to home.
- ! Readers whose emotional readiness lags behind their decoding skills — this book's intensity outruns its reading level, a classic reading-level-vs-content mismatch.
For Parents
Content Intensity
VE · Very Intense · EmotionalReading the HootRating code: the first letter is the content intensity (C = Gentle · L = Mild · M = Moderate · I = Intense · V = Very Intense); the second, when there is one, is the kind of content that drives it (E = Emotional · P = Physical · S = Social · T = Thematic). Reading level and age range are rated separately. How we rate
Graphic or sustained depictions of trauma, violence, or mature content.
Content Flags
Was our "Very Intense" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781481449632
- Pages
- 464
- Publisher
- Simon and Schuster
- Published
- January 19, 2016
- Type
- Fiction