Antsy Does Time

Shusterman, N. (2008). Antsy does time. New York: Dutton Children's Books. Anthony Bonano better known as Antsy is a regular high school freshmen until he sees a balloon wrangler at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade die. Not only does he see a man fall to his death, but at that same moment his classmate Gunnar Ümalaut tells him he is dying of Pulmonary Monoxic Systemia and only has six months to live. Antsy decides to donate a month of his life to Gunnar and then all of a sudden everyone wants to donate months to Gunnar in order to lift his spirit in his time of illness and need. The only problem is that Gunnar is not really sick much less dying. Gunnar is facing a lot of family problems and instead of facing the situation he decides to proclaim that he is dying. When Antsy finds out the truth he must decide whether to come clean or allow Gunner to enjoy the attention he is getting from his classmates. This quick read is great for reluctant readers, who will enjoy the easy to follow plot of the story and can read the book quickly. Teachers can use this book to teach character traits and character analysis in an English Language Arts classroom.