Everyone Sees the Ants ~ A. S. King

Lucky Linderman lives in a dysfunctional family... A grandfather who was MIA in Vietnam, A father who has not gotten over it or how it lead to the death of his mother, A mother who swims as a way of dealing with stress ( I think she spends more time in the water than out!). His home life has made him into a bit of a loner and outcast and thus the target of a relentless and malicious bully. The adults in Lucky's life offer little to no help in dealing with the cruel acts and so retreats into a strange and cinematic world where he goes on rescue missions to find his grandfather, and listens to the advice of Jimminy Cricket-like ants, until things go too far. His mother comes up with the idea to go on an extended vacation with relatives in Arizona. This vacation turns out to be just what everyone needs as his dad is given an ultimatum to deal with his son's situation, mom has time to bond with her son, and Lucky finds that the world is a "messy" place where his relatives, and new friends are just as dysfunctional as his own family. He learns that everyone deals with life's stresses in their own way, while simultaneously figuring out what it means to love someone and let them in to his strange world.