Antsy Does Time

Although Antsy Does Time is the companion to The Schwa Was Here, it stands alone without difficulty. In fact, it's even better than the first book. Neal Shusterman takes the idea of giving a month of your life to another person, and allows it develop in believable but totally unexpected ways. Although the book touches upon serious themes, almost every chapter contained something to make me laugh out loud: certain scenes, situations (my favorite: Antsy and his friend use way too much weedkiller in order to turn their backyard into a dustbowl for a school project), lines, or just Antsy's strange thought processes. My sister is also reading it, and she too has been laughing her head off. ADT is written in 1st person, from the point of view of a 14 year-old boy. Antsy and his friends are fully developed, likable characters who are fun to read about, no matter what they're doing. Thanks to Neal Shusterman, what they're doing tends to be both hilarious and thought-provoking.

It is difficult to write a great book with interesting characters that evolve. It's even harder to write a sequel in which the same characters show us something new and continue to grow. However, Shusterman does just that in Antsy Does Time. Shusterman takes the ever-relatable teenage angst and mixes in some death, divorce, love, and heartbreak. Gunner informs his friend Antsy that he has only 6 months to live because of a rare disease. Antsy does what any good friend would do: he donates a month of his life to Gunner and inexplicably starts a trend. Antsy feels like a hero until he discovers Gunner's deception and then events start to spiral out of control. Check out Shusterman's other books. He covers a wide variety of topics and styles and is one of the best YA authors working these days. You can pick up any of his books and will always have a good read.

Antsy says of Gunner "I admire a guy who uses what he's got," and I have to say the same for Neal Shusterman who has really made the most of his incredible talent to treat serious issues with humor and depth in "Antsy Does Time." I laughed and cried over his treatment of the concept of living on borrowed time.

In this companion to Shusterman's award-winning The Schwa Was Here, the author returns to the life of Antsy, a Brooklyn 8th grader whose family runs a French-Italian fusion restaurant where he is expected to help out. Told in the first person, with a great sense of humor, the story revolves around Antsy and his Swedish classmate Gunnar. When Gunnar tells Antsy he has only 6 months to live, Antsy inadvertently starts a school-wide campaign to donate a month of your own life to extend Gunnar's. Things are further complicated when it turns out Antsy is falling for Gunnar's gorgeous older sister, Gunnar's father has lost his job and is gambling away the family money, and Gunnar isn't really dying after all. This novel is very funny, with plenty of quirky characters and situations, yet still very believable. The author skillfully mixes humor with series situations such as possible death, compulsive gambling, and divorce. Perfect for middle-school boys or girls.

Antsy Bonano and his pal are watching a struggle with a runaway parade balloon when Antsy finds out his friend has only six months to live. Antsy gives him a month of his life to help out - and crazy misadventures affect both of them in this fun story of fantasy and high spirits.