The book Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman is about a boy named Antsy who finds out that his best friend, Gunnar, is going to die of Pulmonary Monoxic Systemia in six months. Antsy decides to collect symbolic months for Gunnar. He starts a program where people can donate months of their life to Gunnar. After a while, even the principal and school superintendents want to donate months. The school holds a rally in honor of Gunnar. Antsy asks to raise 2,000 years for Gunnar. They already had 1,998 years. They got some people to donate up to a total of one year. Then, Antsy’s dad, a restaurant owner, is in the crowd at the rally stressing out over his restaurant because business is not at its peak. It’s at the very bottom. He wants to get back to the restaurant, so he quickly donates a year, but immediately has a heart attack from the stress. While he is rushed to the hospital, Antsy rushes into Gunnar’s house and demands Gunnar for the months back. Gunnar says his dad had been gambling and still is, and he found the months and burned out of rage. Therefore, Antsy doesn’t have any months to give to his dad so that he has a better chance of surviving the heart attack. Antsy then finds out from Gunnar that he is going to Sweden with his mother and his sister because his parents are getting divorced. His father survives the surgery and becomes healthy again. All the kids at school want their lives back since Antsy’s dad got a heart attack right after he donated a year of his life. Antsy says he can’t give them back because they no longer exist, but he gives everyone a year of his own life. Finally, Antsy’s dad’s restaurant starts to boom after a celebrity eats there. Antsy’s dad has less stress, Gunnar doesn’t die, and Antsy’s life returns to normal. I, personally, loved this book. The heart attack was so sudden. It was an Aha moment. It was not only an Aha moment for Antsy, though, it was one for me as well. I was planning to take a break from reading the book after that chapter, but after the heart attack part, I couldn’t put the book down. Those twists really keep the reader engaged. That was one of the numerous strengths of the book. However, it had a weakness. Only one, though. It was the first sentence of the book. It didn’t hook me in. The exact words were, “It was all my idea” (Shusterman 1). Sure, it gives the reader something to ponder about, but it’s not as exciting as dialogue or action would have been. Overall, though, Antsy Does Time was an intriguing story.
I, personally, loved this book. The heart attack was so sudden. It was an Aha moment. It was not only an Aha moment for Antsy, though, it was one for me as well. I was planning to take a break from reading the book after that chapter, but after the heart attack part, I couldn’t put the book down. Those twists really keep the reader engaged. That was one of the numerous strengths of the book. However, it had a weakness. Only one, though. It was the first sentence of the book. It didn’t hook me in. The exact words were, “It was all my idea” (Shusterman 1). Sure, it gives the reader something to ponder about, but it’s not as exciting as dialogue or action would have been. Overall, though, Antsy Does Time was an intriguing story.