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The Ant Colony

by Jenny Valentine

Interest age: 12 to 13
Reading age: 9+

Published by HarperCollins Children's Books, 2009

  • Coming-of-age
  • Funny

About this book

Sam, a teenager, has left his home in the remote countryside to seek anonymity in London. Bohemia keeps her alcohol- and drug-dependent mother out of major trouble as she drifts between boyfriends.

Isabel, old and apparently confused, actually oversees the lives of all those living in the run-down flats, and befriends both young people.

Sam and Bo reveal their pasts in alternate chapters, each gradually facing the dysfunctional relationships and traumatic incidents which have triggered their current unlikely friendship.

Funny, shocking and gripping, this thought-provoking novel addresses many societal issues.

Valentine's novels are noted for her depiction of unexpected intergenerational relationships, a theme which she expands here to involve major characters aged from seven to over seventy.

About the author

Jenny Valentine worked in a wholefood shop in Primrose Hill for 15 years where she met many extraordinary people – including the inspiration for character Violet Park – and sold more organic loaves than there are words in her first novel. She studied English Literature at Goldsmith’s College, which almost put her off reading but not quite.

Finding Violet Park, winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, was published in January 2007, followed by Broken Soup in January 2008. The Ant Colony, published in March 2009, is her third teen novel. Jenny is married to a singer/songwriter and has two children. She lives in Hay-on-Wye, where she runs another wholefood shop, hoping to find the inspiration for many more novels. 

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