We All Looked Up is a fiction piece written by Tommy Wallach which explains the deep underlinings of life of how most people don’t fulfill it because of their misunderstanding in what to appreciate and what’s important. The book makes the characters in the book and the reader answer hard questions for a teenager. Like, what would you do if the world was going to end? This is something everyone has thought of but never that seriously because it seems so improbable. But Wallach makes us think about this question and dive into it even deeper. What’s even important? Were not going to live forever. Is it worth it? These are the scary reality check moments that you’ll get reading this book.
The characters provide an almost cliche feel to the book. There’s Anita the goody-two-shoes who grew up perfect with rich parents but wants to break free. Eliza the more rebellious, socially unacceptable girl who does not have a good image in the eyes of parents. Peter, the perfect jock, whos looking for something different in his life. And Andy, the slacker who doesn’t seem to care about a thing but has something more to him. All these typical high school stereotypes coming together because of one event, the world ending. It’s really predictable but the way they interact and all become friends under one reason is quite interesting to follow. You could make a comparison to any other high school book or story but this one’s different, because it’s so dark. Most stories are meant to seem perfect but this one is full of chaos which I find refreshing.
For my review, I decently liked this book. I came in knowing nothing about it because it was recommended and loaned to me. But I wasn’t a fan of how “girly” it felt at times. I’m usually not a fiction person, I like reading about real things that have happened or are happening. But I gave this book a shot and was not disappointed with the thinking it made me do. Sometimes taking the pessimistic view on certain topics like a living, for example, can be interesting if you’re not afraid to think about it all. So for my purposes, it served itself. I really do think anyone can read this book and find something that they enjoy from it, but it also takes a certain taste to follow through with the whole book, for me, I kind of got exhausted by some of the themes and reoccurring ideas. It just felt a little long for 370 pages.
Overall very interesting book, I’ve never read something that encompasses the pessimistic view on life so well and in such a way that high schoolers can relate. As sort of mentioned earlier, this usually isn’t my style but if you interpret it in your own way you can have fun with the deeper meanings.