"Those who have much to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous."
Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels: The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever. But then we all looked up and everything changed. They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. Two months to really live.
We All Looked Up is a book about the world coming to terms with the world.
I went into this book with high expectations. I've seen a lot of great reviews about how this book and how it breaks down barriers in high school. But, really I just thought it put some barriers up.
The book was pretty good I must say, with varied characters, well-fleshed-out issues, and an interesting setup. The ending didn't set properly with me I must say, but maybe it is just me. It definitely seems like a personal preference. Please don't take my rating to heart.
The book introduces us to four high school students: Peter; the most popular guy in school who is an athlete and dating the most popular girl. Anita; the perfect A - grade student with strict parents who are forcing her into an Ivy League education. Eliza; the girl with a bad reputation. Andy; the slacker. Wallach does a great job of hopping from one POV to the next. It never feels stilted. It's also interesting how intertwined yet different all their lives are.
As the book progresses we begin to see other sides of these characters and learn that their lives aren't so simple after all. They aren't high school cliches and actually have a lot more depth to them. Eliza is a talented photographer and has a bad reputation as a coping mechanism thanks to her mother abandoning her and her father on the brink of death. Anita is a talented singer who has been forbidden to sing by her parents and she is desperate to escape from their controlling clutches. Peter is bored with life and wants something more; something different. He is a Christian and loves to help out with charity. Andy is dealing with parents who aren't around much and a crappy best friend and is also a really talented musician/songwriter.
The best part of this book, by far, is the layers to these characters. I really connected with each and everyone of them. They aren't perfect, they all have flaws, but that only makes them more real and more relate able.
The ending was too open for me, I did not like how it left the door open for you to continue thinking about what you would do in a similar situation. I wanted to experience a more of a closure feeling for the characters.
We All Looked Up, is extremely thought provoking that makes you really consider what is important and what matters.
I give this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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