Children's booksChildren's booksWe All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach - review
'This is a thinking book. By that I mean I started to think. About my life'Picture this.
The world is about to end. You're a teenager. What do you do? Sing? Run away? Start a party? All great options. You can do anything. Everyone is letting go anyways. What's stopping you from doing what you want to do?
'We All Looked Up' is a book about life and love. The book is about some teenagers who are living life to the fullest in the wake of the coming asteroid. The teens are coming to terms with the truth of their humanity. Loving and living to the maximum.
All in wait for the end of the world. Or is it?
This is a thinking book. By that I mean I started to think. About my life. Why? Books like We All Looked Up put life in perspective. They put eternity in perspective. I know it's a fact the world will end. This planet can't last forever. It's a fact. But what isn't a fact is HOW the world will end. An asteroid as in WALU? A plague? A chemical explosion? You don't know. You might never know. The world could end right. Now.
Oh. Looks like I'm still here.
Makes me always wonder about my life. About my world. Is it worth it? And that's why I like and dislike thinking books. I'd rather not examine my life sometimes.
The characters are okay. Not the most stunning. (I'm brought back to The Way We Bared Our Souls… Those were some amazing characters.) Anita is just okay. Her desire to break free is interesting. I think she's interesting. At first. I like that she isn't Caucasian. She's African American. And I think that's great. A little diversity! I like that she seems so perfect on the outside. Then she wants to cry and sing and laugh. And essentially be human. Which is fantastic. But then she meets Andy. And Anita's fantastic character kinda spirals. I don't like the change. I like her spirit. Her bravery. But being with Andy? Not something I like.
Eliza is interesting. Not totally interesting. But interesting enough. I think her past is what makes the girl. Her slut label. And what she did to embrace it. (Or tried to make it look like she was embracing it.) I think that's great. And her photography; she's an artist. Almost all the characters are (except Peter). Then the romance hits. And I groan.
Peter is… meh. I agree with Andy. He's a cookie cutter jock. I don't think that is good. He's too perfect. I know he has flaws. But nothing is exposed. He seems to be quite perfect. And he doesn't develop much. He is a good brother, or tries to be. Which I think is important. He just doesn't seem to fit in with the other characters. Sure, he dumps Stacey, but what else does he do? Cook and clean at Friendly Forks? Anything else? I don't think he did much.
I think Andy is one of the best characters as he has a backstory. Character. Personality. He's a good character. A very good character. His personality was fascinating. He is a slacker. But with music? A magician. He is a best friend. But he flaked. (On Bobo's attempt. But I'm happy he flaked.) He's kind. But not obviously. Emotional without being a wreck. Cocky. Bravely cocky. (If that makes sense.) I like Andy. I truly do. I might not ever befriend him. But I would warily watch him to see what craziness he does next.
The plot is a bit dull. It isn't the most interesting story. There isn't much to it. Not much action. A bit more drama. The Stacey slut thing (even if that happened before the book). The world ending itself. The party. The loss of normality. Misery. I feel like there could have been more plot. More action. Maybe if there was something about the riots. Not just photos. Maybe starting one. Not the tear gas riot. Something else. I'm not sure what.
The romance… ugh.
Why does everyone have to pair off? Seriously. I can't even see why. It's the end of the world. Why pair up? Why not just… not? You don't need love in your last days. Just live. You don't need to have sex one last time. You need family. Friends.
Anyways. There wasn't chemistry. And there was no rhyme or reason for any of them. There might be a reason for Anita and Andy. The love of music. Bonding over that. Nothing else, though. What did they do together to have a basis for a relationship? And Peter and Eliza is worse. Why? There is history. But no chemistry. No reason to kiss again. Why? What's the reason?
I don't think there is one.
The ending… I can't say what I think. The ending has a lot happening. I'll say one thing. Poor Peter.
The weird action scenes. Misery and Peter. Bobo and Golden. All the things that happened. It was too much. There was so little action before. Then this… boatload of plot. It was too much. For a book with little anything, the ending was too much.
The last chapters were good. The party. How many people came. Anita singing. Yeah. That was good. They were satisfactory. It suited the premise. It was a thoughtful ending. Something that would make you ponder. It might not be how I would leave this world. But it's pretty goddamn awesome.
I don't think the book itself was amazing. It's what the book represented. The end. The last days. The rush of love. Heartbeat. Friendship. Fate. Mercy. Misery. Insanity.
The topics this book gives rise to spark a fire in my heart. And that's why I like it. Or I might not like it at all.
There are two things I want to bring to your attention. Two scenes in this book that I love. What they represent is fantastic.
"The best books, they don't talk about things you never thought about before. They talk about things you'd always thought about, but that you didn't think anyone else had thought about." (Page 11) I love books. Obviously. The best books. Truly. I appreciate this line. It made me think. Ponder.
And the philosophy/Todd/world building scene. I love that. It's actually a great idea. It's a nice idea. The worlds are built by others. And the asteroid. Indeed. That's a great idea.
Rating:
3.5/5
Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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