Betty captures the essence of rural Maine and how people who live there deal with financial and emotional adversity as they affect tweens and teens better than anyone. It's on par with the skill Gerry Boyle has to capture those realities for adults.
In this book, readers follow Harvard and his five year old brother Roger during the summer they, and their grieving father come to Kettle Hole, Maine where Dad grew up. Their father, a pediatrician, is still frozen by guilt and sadness following his mistake that led to the death of a five month old infant in his care.
Once back in Kettle Hole, they rent the home of eleven year old Neveah and her dad who are struggling with medical bills left from her mom's death from cancer. They live in the barn so they can rent out the house to help whittle down the bills.
What ensues includes the ants featured in the title, a growing friendship between Harvard and Neveah, her illness, plenty of ant information very skillfully woven into the narrative, tons of humanity and a discovery by Harvard (one which long time Mainers are likely to realize early on), and that welcome feeling one finds when returning to a childhood place. It's well worth having in any library. ( )