Henry is the narrator and protagonist of We Are the Ants. A junior in high school, Henry deals with deep internal and external conflicts at a young age. He’s been suffering through alien abductions since childhood, an external conflict that makes people ridicule him or believe he’s crazy. These abductions also leave Henry confused and disturbed. Henry also endures the pain of having an absent father and a boyfriend who died by suicide. Henry is lonely, depressed, and ostracized at school. Throughout the novel, Henry develops an appreciation of life through the founding and redeveloping of friendships. Henry is nihilistic but generous with his love, which ultimately saves him from succumbing to his depression. Henry is a gay teenager and is comfortable in his sexuality. He struggles to relate to his family, who are individually and as a unit going through major life changes. The novel focuses on Henry’s bildungsroman and tells the story of how Henry grows from pessimistic about the value of life to hopeful for the beauty of the human spirit.

Diego is Henry’s new friend. He’s recently moved to Florida from Colorado and immediately befriends Henry, a friendship that grows into a romantic relationship.