King - Everybody Sees the Ants

In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright 2011 by A.S. King

Excerpt from Reality Boy copyright 2013 by A.S. King

Cover image Pando Hall/Getty Images

Cover design by Liz Casal

Cover 2012 Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

Little, Brown and Company

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017

www.lb-teens.com

First ebook edition: October 2011

Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

ISBN 978-0-316-19181-4

For more about this book and author, visit Bookish.com

DO YOURSELF A HUGE FAVOR AND READ THIS BOOK!

JAMES PATTERSON,

BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE MAXIMUM RIDE AND WITCH & WIZARD SERIES

A 2012 YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults title

Blending magic and realism, this is a subtly written, profoundly honest novel about a kid falling through the cracks and pulling himself back up. Booklist, starred review

King remarkably channels fifteen-year-old Lucky, creating one of the most believable teen male characters in young adult fiction. VOYA, starred review

A smart, funny, and passionate novel that embodies the idea that It Gets Betterwhen you take action. Publishers Weekly, starred review

Kings heartfelt tale easily blends realism and fantasy. A haunting but at times funny tale about what it means to want to take ones life, but rising above it so that living becomes the better option. SLJ, starred review

Kings themes of torture, physical and emotional imprisonment, and bullying connect in satisfying ways in this improbably witty and heartwarming story. The Horn Book, starred review

Compelling food for thought about the things we can control and the things we cant, and how that distinction ultimately determines the need for action. The Bulletin, starred review

A resonant, uplifting story about not just getting through, but powering through, the tough times. Kirkus Reviews

A.S. King is a dynamic author, and a force to be reckoned with! E LLEN H OPKINS , New York Times bestselling author of Crank and Burned

Boldly creative, incredibly unique, and altogether real and relevant. Packed full of quirky characters, every last one of whom jumps off the page with authenticity, Everybody Sees the Ants is a book I will readand loveover and over again. J ENNIFER B ROWN , author of Hate List and Bitter End

A psychological thriller full of magic and realism and hard-won truth. It is funny and serious all at once in a way that only a great, enduring book can be. F RANCISCO X. S TORK , author of Marcelo in the Real World

A fully realized, ambitious, and powerful novel that demonstrates [Kings] huge talent, heart, and compassion. A.S. King has become one of our bravest, smartest, and finest storytellers. Printz Honor recipient T ERRY T RUEMAN , author of Stuck in Neutral

Both imaginative and utterly real. Its depiction of the woes of the slightly offbeat teen is spot-on. A must-read! A LEX F LINN , bestselling author of Beastly

A tough, realistic novel about kids helping themselves to grow up because the grown-ups have refused to. Lucky Linderman is not a hero, and thats the point; hes got a right to be here, as who he is and what he is, and he learns to claim that right, and it changes everything. Its the simplest kind of story there isand those are often the best. Printz Honor recipient J OHN B ARNES , author of Tales of the Madman Underground

Whip smart and emotionally touching. A great read. G AIL G ILES , author of Dark Song and What Happened to Cass McBride?

Awesome. Hilarious. Brutal. The book Chuck Norris would have written if hed actually been smart and funny when he was seventeen. S EAN B EAUDOIN , author of You Killed Wesley Payne

From the first line, A.S. Kings unique voice is loud and so clear. Her compelling characters find themselves in incredible and yet oh-so-believable situations, and its one wild ride. I loved Everybody Sees the Ants. H OLLY G OLDBERG S LOAN , author of Ill Be There

For everybody
who sees the ants.

Who can stop the tears?

Robert Nesta Marley

All I did was ask a stupid question.

Six months ago I was assigned the standard second-semester freshman social studies project at Freddy High: Create a survey, evaluate data, graph data, express conclusion in a two-hundred-word paper. This was an easy A. I thought up my question and printed out 120 copies.

The question was: If you were going to commit suicide, what method would you choose?

This was a common conversation topic between Nader (shotgun in the mouth), Danny (jump in front of a speeding truck) and me (inhaling car fumes), and wed been joking about it for months during seventh-period study hall. I never saw anything bad in it. That kind of stuff made Nader laugh. And Nader laughing at my jokes meant maybe I could get through high school with less shrapnel.

When I told the principal that day that it was a joke between Danny, Nader and me, he rolled his eyes and told me that Danny and Nader were not having social problems at Freddy High.

But you, Mr. Linderman, are.

Apparently, Evelyn Schwartz went blabbing to the guidance counselor about my questionnaire. She said it was morbid and creepy. (Evelyn Schwartz has a T-shirt that says HE DIED FOR ME with a picture of a dead guy nailed to a cross on it. Oh, the irony.) I really dont think its that morbid of a thing to ask. Im pretty sure everybody has thought about it at one time or another. My whole plan was to make a few cool pie charts or bar graphs, you knowto show off my Microsoft Excel skills with labels such as SLIT WRISTS, OVERDOSE and FIREARMS. Anyway, just because a person talks about suicide does not make it a cry for help. Even if the kids a little bit short or unpopular compared to his so-called friends.