Name: Lacy W's review of We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
Item: We All Looked Up
Rating: 4
Author: Lacy W

Tommy Wallach

'This generation's The Stand. . . at once troubling, uplifting, scary and heart-wrenching' Andrew Smith, author of Grasshopper Jungle Before, 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 the asteroid 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

masha

   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.

Lacy W

Well, this was a great book besides that ending, which I shall mention later. It got a lot more deep then I thought it was going to be, considering it's about four teenagers. These teenagers get crazily philosophical with long paragraphs about the meaning of life and death. But I suppose that is bound to happen considering the end of the world is happening for them. I just wish those long paragraphs had gotten broken up into more manageable paragraphs. 

What I really liked about this book is that there are four POVs and they all overlap in someway. I liked that because when one event happened that involved two of them, you got to hear from both sides of the story. Not a lot of books can pull that off and this one did it well. It didn't seem repetitive to me, which is good because otherwise that would have ruined the whole book. 

As much as I liked the characters, I found that I couldn't bond with them all per se. I think each of them was very unique but at the same time, very cliche. We have Peter, who is the jock who is trying to be more than that. There is Eliza, a photographer and the slut of the school. Andy is the burnout going nowhere but he has a heart of gold. Lastly, there is Anita, whose parents demand she succeed and get into Ivy League schools but all she wants to do is sing. Each brought something to the table in terms of the plot but they felt very cliched at times. 

I think that is what stopped me from giving this book a full five stars. I liked the characters but couldn't connect with them. I was also really incredibly disappointed with the ending. (view spoiler)[ I'm one of those people that hates open ended endings. I like things to be wrapped up in a neat little bow.  (hide spoiler)]. But I think this book brings out a good point, which is to live each day as if it was your last. You legit never know when the end is coming so tell that human you love them and pet your dog extra because by tomorrow, you could be gone. Simple as that.

'This generation's The Stand . . . at once troubling, uplifting, scary and heart-wrenching' Andrew Smith, author of Grasshopper Jungle Before, 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 the asteroid 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.

I actually found this book very well written, with such beautifully complex characters and artful storytelling. I just didn't feel like it was a particularly pleasant experience reading about humans going crazy and the world  getting incredibly fucked up, plot-wise.

I actually found this book very well written, with such beautifully complex characters and artful storytelling. I just didn't feel like it was a particularly pleasant experience reading about humans going crazy and the world getting incredibly fucked up, plot-wise.

Emelie

Nicole Dykeman

I picked up this book because I really liked the concept. The world is ending in two months - what would everybody do? 

I'm only giving it three stars, though, because while I enjoyed it, I wouldn't call it memorable. I didn't really LIKE any of the characters. They were all just okay. Peter was probably my favorite. But I thought Andy and Eliza could be a bit whiny at times, and I didn't really get Anita's whole character arc. 

If you can get your hands on this at a library or something, without spending money, I would say you should read it. Otherwise, it's not really worth it.

Anna Brunner

im so scared of male authors that write female characters like this

jess

very good writing, first of all. usually i find it hard to read third person - the characters are too distant - but this one had all the smoothness and flow of third person and the intimacy of first person. the stories were connected well and rarely did i get confused about whose POV i was reading from. and the characters were all so real. the characters were definitely one of the strong points.

one star, though, for the vague as heck ending that is driving me nuts as well as the love square.

Debbi

I love love love Tommy's writing but I don't know, I didn't really like this novel as much as I thought I would.

Sean Valencia Monte

I was excited to read this book because I was expecting “2012” end of the world vibes. Well uh I was wrong… it felt like a walmart version of “they both die at the end.” Had a bit of issues with this book. (3 Star Rating for me is below average). There were hints of racist and transphobic comments in the book. After reading some of the other reviews, it made sense. Wouldn’t recommend reading this. AND, I didn’t like some parts of the writing style. There was this section where it was all dialogue and it didnt specify who was saying what so it was a bit confusing.

Michelle García

This was incredibly dissapointing, and it makes me mad because I feel like it had so much potential. I loved the concept, 4 teenagers trying to make the best of their last few weeks on Earth before a meteor crashed but it simply didn't do it for me. The writing could be very boring at best if not cringy at worst. I never felt anything deep for any of the characters. It was kinda sad but just that.

Steysha

You didn’t win the game of life by losing the least. That would be one of those—what were they called again?—Pyrrhic victories. Real winning was having the most to lose, even if it meant you might lose it all. Even though it meant you would lose it all, sooner or later.
And so they waited, together, for whatever was coming next.




Oh, it's not a book, it's a life hack. Imagine that you all are going to die soon. What would you do? Would you live on, as if nothing unprecedented happened, or would you say fuck off to everything and go after your dream? One thing can be said for sure, our already hectic world would turn into chaos, and Tommy Wallach describes in detail the psychology of people in a similar situation.

The story is told from 4 POVs. Normally, I don`t like when we have so many of them, as it's a bit confusing, but, in this case, it felt very organic. All four characters are completely different people who have little in common:

Star basketball player Peter - he has a good family, the best girl in the school and a secure future. But one incident makes him wonder whether he wants to spend all his life on throwing balls or to retain a trace? Aren`t he capable of something more? Can`t he, just a boy, make a world better? I liked the non-standard description of Peter: he is a jock, and usually they are described as stupid. He also does not possess a brilliant mind, but his goodness and chastity can only be envied. Maybe it's because he is religious. I was impressed by how sincerely he wanted to do something important for the world, and though it's small things, they did a great good. Low bow to you, Peter, and Mr. Wallach for such a versatile character.

Next comes Eliza - a daredevil girl. They say you do not define your reputation, it defines you. After a school incident, Eliza confers a status of a slut, and, being a smart girl, decides not to bury her head in the sand, but to exploit the situation. Instead of ridicule from classmates, she receives the admiration and popularity. I warn you, this book is not for slutshamers. It`s not a novelty for this girl to sleep with the first comer, but why not, if she can afford it? Eliza`s life is hard, her mother fled to another country with her new fancy man, and her father is terminally ill. When the shit goes down, she finds relief in photography.


  People have always said that photography is an attempt to capture something fleeting. And suddenly everything is fleeting. It’s like Ardor is this special tone of light we’ve never had before, and it’s shining down and infusing every single object and person on the planet. I just want to document that light, before it’s gone.


She honestly and openly takes the world as it is: the panic and chaos that reigns after the announcement that all mankind will soon die. Eliza becomes somewhat of a celebrity, thanks to her blog, where she shares her photos and news with the readers. For example, the announcement party of the Party at the End of the World.



Next is Anita - she has a rich family, she is a straight A-student, and generally a good girl. But no matter how sweet her life seems – it`s all an illusion. Her family loves her only for her success, they don`t accept failures. Anita lives their dream - she doesn`t want to go to Princeton , her soul craves to sing. But her father won`t hear about it – it`s not prestigious. Of all the characters, I liked her most – she`s sensible, intelligent, responsible. But also funny, sometimes desperate and definitely loyal. 

And, finally, Andy – a varmint, a sloven and a bone-lazy fellow. He can be characterized by one quote:


  If only everything in life could be like that—effortless… If only you could get up when you wanted and eat some Cinnamon Toast Crunch and play some music and smoke a bowl and drive to school whenever and maybe take a class if you felt like it, if you were actually interested in it, and then just chill with your friends the rest of the time.


Andy doesn`t give a shit. Thoughts about future make him uncomfortable; he prefers to live the moment and do everything he wants. His parents also doesn`t seem to care about him, so he knows very little about limitations. All he thinks about are parties, weed, drinks and music. He has his own band, but it`s not particularly popular. As bad as it sounds, Andy is a good guy – he`s just a bit lost. He lives as best as he can under the influence of his friends-bandits. But deep down, he just wants someone to notice him.

And so would they live, if not for apocalypses. There is an asteroid that flies to the Earth, and 66.6% that all mankind will soon die.



Naturally, after such news you can`t live the way you did before. The only thing that bothers you, it's to to have a full life until it's all over. But people are divided into two types: those who only begin to fulfill their dreams and seek happiness, and those who have lost all common sense and stopped caring. The streets are full of chaos - there are no more boundaries, do what you want, because what's stopping you? We still all going to die soon.


  Those who have much to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous. Well, a lot of people in the world have just started thinking that they don’t have anything left to lose, and it’s our job to protect you from them. I don’t want to scare you, but history tells us that whenever there’s panic, there’s death. It’s the way of the world.


This book is not about the apocalypse, but about human psychology. It just served as a factor that opened our true essence. I remember 2012 and the Mayan calendar, when we, too, were supposed to die. The only thing that saved us from the situation described in the book, is that very few of us believed in Armageddon. But even then, the news constantly reported on how people began to go crazy. Tommy Wallach was able to exactly convey the animalistic essence of humans - without embellishment. And that`s what I loved the most in this book.

The ending only confirmed my thoughts - I really hoped it would be just like that. Summing up, I can say that it`s psychologically plausible philosophical novel that has versatile characters you can`t not fall in love with. And yes, I have to mention the cover - I like it very much: it`s simple and at the same time fully shows what this story is about.

I hope to hear soon the news about next Tommy Wallach`s book, he definitely became one of my favorite authors.


  You don’t wanna go out of this world with regrets. If there’s some-
thing you want to do, you do it. You take this life by the balls and you tell it that you existed.

lauren carla

3.5 actual rating. this book ran so that the film Don’t Look Up could walk (yes I meant it that way). I was really liking the story but then the miscommunication trope happened (never a good thing) and lasted for too long. I also didn’t like what the author chose to do with one of the characters near the end of the story 🙃 other than that, andy and anita reminded me of nate and bronwyn from One of Us is Lying lol

Carys Tee

Very 'Breakfast Club' esque with a twist. Definitely worth the read

Elnaz Sadeghi 

I would give this book 10 stars if I could! I didn’t want it to end. Please read this book!!!!!!!

Sofia Blomqvist Rytters

laura

We all Looked up: Review I really loved this book. It is basically what happens when you learn the world can come to an end in 12 weeks. I loved the intensity of this book and also how many different characters thoughts that we got. We had five main characters 2 boys and 2 girls and they are all so different but this experience allowed them to in  a sense become friends. I also liked how this book really examined what would happen to the outside world if this was really going on and it felt really real to and it was intense read. I think that the characters and the realtonships that they developed really stood out to me. It is different take on end of the the wold story. I loved it a lot. I really loved a strong ending and this was left so wide open that I really wanted to know how the book ended but i understand that could have come across as rather cliche. I still wanted to know if they lived or died but I overall really loved the book.
 
What did you think of the ending if you read it?
 
Here is my vide review of this novel and Simon verse the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Abigail F

“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. You read them, and suddenly you’re a little less alone in this world.”

When I first picked this book up at Barnes & Noble, I was intrigued by the image of kids chilling in a field, staring at the sky on the cover. Who are they? What is their story? And why are they all staring at the sky? Basically, I judged this book by the cover and decided I liked it instantly, giving the story high expectations to live up to.

Spoiler alert: It did.

We All Looked Up follows the story of four high school seniors as they realize it is not graduation they need to worry about, but the end of the world. An asteroid, affectionately called Ardor, is set to hit Earth in 8 weeks, ending life as they know it. This gives them two months to really live.

While this sounds like it could just be another apocalyptic story filled with high school drama and teen angst, it is so much more than that. Wallach takes stereotypes—the jock, the slut, the slacker, and the nerd—and turns them into three dimensional characters with insecurities, desires, and fears. The characters quickly change from stock characters to relatable people that readers can easily find a bit of themselves in. While multiple point of view stories can become a volley of going back and forth between different stories, Wallach does an excellent job of weaving the change of POVs together in way that makes the story seem continuous without giving all the characters the same monotonous tone. 

This story is not without its shortcomings. Although Wallach was able to create multidimensional characters, he does fall into the trope of having a lopsided love triangle—unfortunately, an overused device in books. Despite this flaw (that sadly spans the length of the book), this novel is still a great read that leads readers to ponder philosophical questions on existentialism. 

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach could have crashed and burned like the Ardor is set to crash into the Earth, however it takes on big questions in a non-cheesy, cliché way that intrigues readers from the first page.

Elle

I can't say this book did much for me. There were good parts but nothing that made it special to me. I didn't really connect to the characters either but it was still a decent read.

Nikki Fowler 

Well, I had kinda high hopes or expectations for this book because of the whole premise of the book, but it fell flat for me. I think this book was too long tbh, it dragged so much. At the started of the book, I really liked the characters and seeing how they were all different, but by the end, they were all boring. Also, nothing really happened plot wise. It basically was about these four teenagers trying to figure what to do with themselves when the end of the world is about to end.
Didn't enjoy this book at all.

Elad Schulman

Eh. The beginning of the book was a lot better than the end. I just didn't like the direction in which this book went, and at times, I felt like the characters didn't fit the personas that were given to them.

Sheena

It's really a 3.5.

A Breakfast Club during the end of the world. The Jock, the "slut" (hate that word, but there ya go), the slacker and the over achiever are brought together in the 66.6% possibility that an asteroid will collide with the Earth.

Together they discover who they really are in the two short months before their world ends, or a new one begins.

I enjoyed the characters, I also enjoyed the writing style, it truly is a beautifully written book and I honestly was shocked at the fate of one of the four teens. But I just couldn't get my head around some of the events that occurred before the end. Maybe you can't understand what will happen when you get a 4 minute warning, until you actually have one.

That aside, this was addictive. I finished it in less than a day. If you're wanting an easy to read book that features likeable characters and a plot based around "what-if", give it a read.

Kate

'We all looked up' was gripping, funny, devastating, romantic and in some ways, far from what I expected. I found this a really thought provoking read and enjoyed it a lot. Although I'm still not 100% decided on how I feel about the ending. :')

masha &
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Reviews

Join the club

masha &We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Reviews

Join the club

masha &
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach