Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Read by Kirby Heyborne

I loved this author's Please Ignore Vera Dietz. And I read Ask the Passengers and gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, even though I wasn't too thrilled with the whole talking-to-airline-passengers thread. For some reason, this 2011 title fell through the cracks for me, so I wanted to make sure I listened to the audiobook. I'm so glad I did!

Lucky Linderman is a high school kid who has been picked on his whole life by the school bully. The bully rarely gets in trouble though, and even the guidance counselors give some sorry excuse for the bully's behavior.  Getting his face shoved into a sidewalk is the last straw for Lucky's parents.  Lucky and his mother spend some time at her brother's in the desert heat, and the break is good for all involved.  Lucky meets some new friends, learns to respect himself, and learns that everyone has his/her secrets.

When I read the above paragraph, I feel like I'm making this book into some sappy after school special.  It isn't. It's a well written story.  I was anxious for the book to continue every time I got back into my car.  I wanted to yell at the characters and smack them around a bit.  It was AWESOME. Lucky is the kind of kid who I see in the library all the time--even at my community college.  Maybe librarians are just drawn to kids like Lucky--the ones that need a little bit of attention to kick butt in the real world.