The Ants Go Marching

At first I was put off by the language and masturbation jokes that fill the first few pages of We Are the Ants. Not because of the subject or the words but because I thought "this is approach has been done to death," thinking of Grasshopper Jungle and Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.
But I read some reviews and I kept on reading and I am so thankful that I did. The book ended up being so much more than that and as I wrote this, I can't tell you with any certainly if there was any more swearing and/or masturbation stories. I actually would wager that there wasn't, but I wouldn't bet my life on it, but yeah, I would ante up some cash.
Thing is, I got sucked right into the story because there is A LOT in this story.
Here is the question that faces our hero: if you could press a button and save the world from destruction, would you do it?
So many issues arise in this book and it is so real-life. I mean, I hope there aren't too many teens who are dealing with: a loved one's dementia and decisions surrounding her care, a long-absent father, a boyfriend who committed suicide, a still-born baby, bullying, rape, depression and alien abduction all at once.
There are adults who deal with all of that at once, yes, I know for sure, but a 16 year old? I hope not too many.
Still because I sadly do know people who have had these kinds of troubles and more heaped upon them at once (okay-not the alien one) the book is completely real-life believable.
Is this Printz-worthy? In my humble opinion, I definitely think so.