Here are 100 books that Everybody Sees the Ants fans have personally recommended if you like
Everybody Sees the Ants.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
During my fifth year teaching 7th grade, I found myself repeating the same lessons as prior years, participating in the same club events, marching in the same parades, etc. My students would inevitably reach the end of the school year and move on, while I was forever frozen in 7th grade. Herein my fascination with time loops was born. Over a decade later, I’m now happily teaching high school English while moonlighting as a writer of stories featuring temporal anomalies and time travel. I hope to spread my wings into dystopians and fractured fairy tales in the future, but until then…I may or may not have 22 clocks in my house.
Before I Fall is Mean Girls meets Groundhog Day, with the popular and pretty protagonist, Sam, forced to relive February 12th (her beloved “Cupid’s Day”) over and over. In the beginning, I had no love for Sam and was appalled by her and her friend’s nasty behavior, but Sam’s character growth throughout the novel is inspirational. The time-turning in the novel is handled flawlessly with repeated events never growing dull, and each new loop offering another layer to Sam’s redemption. Admittedly the book didn’t end the way I wanted (I’m a fan of fairy tale endings, even if unrealistic), but watching Sam evolve from a shallow mean girl to a beautiful soul was a moving experience and made the book worth the read.
A bestselling summer read as heartbreaking as The Lovely Bones and as gripping as Jenny Downham's Before I Die.
**Now a major Netflix movie starring Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley*
'Gossip Girl meets Groundhog Day' Grazia
'Tender, funny and raw' Marie Claire
'A clever, funny, insightful and utterly addictive novel' Daily Mail
'Compelling and poignant, a truly memorable read' Closer
They say 'live every day as if it's your last' - but you never actually think it's going to be. At least I didn't. The thing is, you don't get to know when it happens. You don't…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Aside from my brief stint as a bossy know-it-all when I was little, I have always been that quiet girl no one notices. In high school, it took me at least ten minutes and five tries to get myself to wish my desk partner a happy birthday. I spent a lot of my adolescence trying to find myself, so I understand what it’s like to feel lost. My greatest wish is for my book to help at least one person feel how these books helped me.
This book is one of the first to teach me how wonderfully odd people can be. Jandy Nelson’s ability to write about lovable, flawed people who see the world differently gave me the courage to take pride in my peculiarity.
With memorable characters and strong familial relationships, this book is one of my go-to recommendations for anyone wondering if there is space for the strange.
Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize
Winner of the 2015 Michael L. Printz Award
Winner of a 2015 Stonewall Honor
"This is the big one - the BLAZING story of once inseparable twins whose lives are torn apart by tragedy." Entertainment Weekly
From the critically acclaimed author of The Sky Is Every where, a radiant novel that will leave you laughing and crying - all at once. For fans of John Green, Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver.
Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close - until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they…
I am less interested in what happens than in how and why—to me, that’s where the real suspense is. As a writer, I’m always bickering with traditional plot structures, which I love for their comfort and familiarity and then turn against when a story becomes too obedient to them. As a reader…well, sometimes I flip to the end to see where we’re going so I can slow down and enjoy the journey more. Anytime we think we know what’s going to happen is an opportunity for suspense, and challenges and rebellions to those familiar story arcs can be twists in their own right.
I was wrung out after finishing this book and immediately looked around for someone else who’d read it. I needed a shoulder to cry on. If Endless Love is about lives undone by teenagers driven insane by love and lust, then this book is its counterpoint: two teenage outsiders whose love and understanding help them survive.
There’s awfulness in Eleanor’s life, but there’s also exchanging comics and listening to Joy Division with Park on a shared walkman on the school bus. I loved these characters completely and rooted for them with everything I had.
'Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love, but what it's like to be young and in love with a book' John Green, author of The Fault in our Stars
Eleanor is the new girl in town, and she's never felt more alone. All mismatched clothes, mad red hair and chaotic home life, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.
Then she takes the seat on the bus next to Park. Quiet, careful and - in Eleanor's eyes - impossibly cool, Park's worked out that flying under the radar is the best way to…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
In my high school creative writing class, my teacher once said that good writing was a bit like looking at a star. If you look directly at it, it gets a little fuzzy and hard to see. But if you look just off to the side, the star becomes vivid and clear. That, to me, is exactly the power of spooky stories for young readers. We all deal with monsters, to varying degrees, throughout our lives. Even kids. But if we look at it just off to the side, through the angle of a fun, spooky story, those monsters suddenly become much more comprehensible. More faceable. More beatable.
It’s been said by smarter people than me how writing horror for kids isn’t about scaring them, it’s about showing them how brave they are.
A Monster Calls is the perfect illustration of that. The scariness and the spookiness are a stand-in for the real-life horrors that this kid is facing. Kids deal with a lot, and this book is the perfect example of how to survive when the worst happens.
The artwork too—wow! I wish I could get some of this artwork to hang on my walls. Absolutely gorgeous book.
The bestselling novel and major film about love, loss and hope from the twice Carnegie Medal-winning Patrick Ness.
Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking…
I’m a middle grade author, and I believe so much in the power of books to help broker conversations between kids and the adults in their lives, especially if those conversations are about things that are often tricky and tough to talk about. I love how middle grade fiction will fearlessly tackle these difficult topics, but does so well with heart and humor.
This is a beautiful and intense book! Jennifer Chan has disappeared, and our protagonist, Mallory, isn’t sure if she’s responsible for Jennifer’s disappearance…or if the aliens Jennifer is obsessed with are. It has a great high concept hook paired with Tae Keller’s gorgeous writing that incisively looks at bullying and the consequences of our actions. I also love the structure that toggles us between the present and past and builds suspense.
In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal for When You Trap a Tiger, Tae Keller offers a gripping and emotional story about a girl who is alienated by her friends . . . for believing in aliens.
Sometimes middle school can make you feel like you're totally alone in the universe...but what if we aren't alone at all?
Thanks to her best friend, Reagan, Mallory Moss knows the rules of middle school. The most important one? You have to fit in to survive. But then Jennifer Chan moves in across the street, and that rule doesn't seem to…
Too many women experience trauma and a lot of these rely on fiction as a means of escape. The more realistic, flawed, diverse characters we have in books, the more real women feel heard and accepted. Life after trauma can be bumpy and unpredictable, especially when it comes to romance and relationships. Allowing readers to explore this in a safe space is not only great storytelling, but meaningful.
This candid story follows a rape victim navigate life when she is not believed, offering a tragic view on how victims can be treated. The plot follows the case of a missing girl, highlighting how the female main character’s injustice isn’t just damaging for her, but has far greater consequences.
One line that really struck me in this book was “how do I know he is safe?”, which as a fellow survivor really resonates with me. The writing is raw and the characters painfully believable, all in a page-turning plot that will stick with you long after the last page.
The sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything-friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy's only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
Don’t Mess with Coleman Stoops is a semi-autobiographical account of my own experiences in middle school. As an adult, I am still dealing with the echoes of trauma I felt when I was eleven and twelve years old. Now that I’m also a father, I believe that it is up to the adults in a child’s life to contradict much of the “kids can be so cruel” aspects of growing up in America. Coleman isn’t just me; he is every kid at one time or another. Even the bullies of the world get bullied themselves. Kindness and compassion are two lessons that never cease to be important.
I used to be husky. I had weight problems when I was in middle school and jr. high. To be able to read stories like this as an adult gives me hope for the children of newer generations. Kids who get to meet Ellie and travel through her traumatic experiences will understand that they are not alone.
Bullying and shaming (for whatever reason) are traditions that need to be thrown out. As writers, educators, and parents work hard to protect their kids and teach them right from wrong, it is critical to have examples in books and shows that help kids walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Both Ellie (from Starfish) and Coleman (from Don’t Mess with Coleman Stoops) achieve this.
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules - like "no making waves," "avoid eating in public," and "don't move so fast that your body jiggles." And she's found her safe space - her swimming pool - where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It's also where she can get away from her pushy…
For the last 14 years, I've written books that aim to tackle the most pressing worries for parents and educators – and to understand and connect with kids better. It’s a sad fact that research continues to show that our kids are not as happy as they might be, often due to feeling overwhelmed by academic pressures at school, and growing up in a more ‘stressed’ society. So, as a parent and a parenting journalist, I believe it’s never been more important to understand how the world looks to them – and give both parents and kids evidence-based tools to help them navigate this. I aim to make my books enlightening, readable, and practical.
This book was another eye-opener. Educator Rachel Simmons lifted the lid on how not all meanness and bullying among children is overt, obvious, or easily spotted. She decodes relational aggression between young people - a kind of stealth attack, using words and exclusion, and techniques like seat-saving, gossip, and silent treatment. This kind of behaviour can be particularly painful for young people to understand or process because it is so hard to name. But in this book, Simmons put her finger on it, so it can be understood and recognized. It means that when young people experience it, they will not feel so hurt and singled out by it.
Rooted in the extensive expertise she has developed since "Odd Girl Out" was first published as well as up-to-date research, Simmons offers a new chapter on technology, including a focus on cyber bullying and what parents and teachers can do to deal with the problem, as well as advice to girls on how to avoid drama online. Working directly from her experiences with schools and families over the past decade, she also brings us new classroom initiatives and step-by-step suggestions for parents. With illuminating, timely additions, this definitive resource is now even more relevant, still shining a powerful spotlight on…
I always used food to cope with painful feelings, and I developed Binge Eating Disorder as a child. As an adult, I was in therapy to deal with traumatic stuff, and I lost 100 pounds. I finished therapy with a whole new set of tools with which to navigate the world, but I still regained the weight and started hating myself again. I said, “Whoa. Time-out. I am worthy of love. That has not changed, so why do I hate myself again?” That is what I explore in Big Fat Disaster: what is our worth, and why should that worth depend on what we look like?
Jennifer Mathieu writes fearlessly; in this book, she exposes the real nature of slut-shaming and bullying, but more importantly, she reveals what it is to see a person as “other”; to reduce them to nothing more than words on a bathroom wall. I desire to build empathy for others through my writing, and The Truth about Alice holds up a mirror to those who denigrate others, in this case, Alice, for personal fulfillment.
From the author of Moxie, soon to be a major Netflix production
Fans of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY will love this powerful book about stereotypes, secrets and standing up for gender equality, from the author of Zoella Book Club book MOXIE.
There are all sorts of rumours about Alice Franklin. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumours start to spiral out of control blaming Alice for Brandon's death.
In this remarkable novel, four Healy High students - the party girl, the car accident survivor, the ex best friend and the boy next door - tell…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
When I was younger, I never quite felt like I fit in, and I was never good at expressing my feelings or verbally communicating when I was going through difficult moments. Writing was my outlet when I was struggling with painful situations or overwhelming emotions—grief, loss, insecurity, fear. I know how important it is to have strong friendships and safe spaces where you can be your authentic and sometimes messy self. It’s okay to not be okay. In my writing, I hope to express to readers that they are not alone, and can overcome challenging situations.
Sugar and Spitehas magic, strong friendships, and imperfect, yet relatable characters—all the things I enjoy in a novel.Not only did I enjoy learning about the many facets of the Filipino culture; I appreciated the layered messaging. Bullying is a difficult topic to tackle, and this novel addresses it in a way that caused me to think about the challenging people and difficult relationships in my life. This is such a sweet story dealing with issues I know readers can identify with—loss, jealousy, insecurities, and ultimately acceptance.
Jolina can't take Claudine's bullying any longer! The taunts and teasing are too much. Though Jolina knows she's still in training to use her grandfather's arbularyo magic, she sneaks into his potions lab to get her revenge. Jolina brews a batch of gayuma, a powerful love potion.
And it works. The love potion conquers Claudine's hateful nature. In fact, Claudine doesn't just stop bullying Jolina -- now she wants to be Jolina's BFF, and does everything and anything Jolina asks.
But magic comes with a cost, and bad intentions beget…
