We All Looked Up

Then this is the book for you. So far beyond most YA, it's like the difference between the plot force of the asteroid hurtling towards the earth in this novel and a whiffle ball tossed at your ankle by a crabby toddler. So full of life and joy and loss and longing that it will invigorate any thoughtful reader of any age - I am 48 and consider myself lucky to live in a universe shared with Tommy Wallach. Wow. This guy is a major talent and I can't wait to get my eyeballs on everything else he's written!Set in present day Seattle, this is the story of 4 teenagers from the same high school (but from very different layers of the social strata), who along with everyone else in earth have learned there's about a 66% chance the planet will be destroyed in 6 weeks by an asteroid (or a meteor?) named Ardor. Which has a way of making everybody question their most basic assumptions about life, even and especially teenagers. Now that "the future" has all but disappeared, what will they do in the time remaining? Does anything matter at all anymore, or does every single thing matter more with each passing minute in the countdown to the most likely end of the world?I loved the characters, the dialogue, the story, and maybe most of all I loved how this novel made me think about my own life, loved ones, and our weirdly durable but incredibly fragile world - even changed the way I read the news in these volatile days of extreme partisanship. Thank you Tommy Wallach!

Bought this for my 13yo and this is his review:We All Looked Up is a story not of catastrophe or violence though there is much of it nonetheless. This book is a story of figuring out how you want to be seen. It talks about shedding all labels and coming together as a group or as it says in the book, a karass. All different people are represented but in the end, faced with major catastrophe, they all share the bond of friendship and as people. There are no labels anymore, just one collective group of people who strive to live their lives, however short they may be, together and as a people — a collective whole. A family of outsiders in a world where everyone is now an outsider. Written from all of the characters’ points of view, this books is chock full of heart, humor, and love.Explicit content in the book. Not for under 11yo.

I had high hopes for this book as an option for my high school students' spring reading choice. I was sorely disappointed and only finished it because I can't leave books unfinished. The author seemed to try so hard to create non-cliche characters that the characters ended up, oddly enough, being cliche. I could have seen past that if the carpe diem message I anticipated had been stronger but the lesson was really lost in the details and minutia of the hectic and jumbled storyline. I have quite a bit of leeway from administration and parents when using materials with some inappropriate aspects. However, this novel was ridden with excessive drug use, alcohol use, and promiscuity that added nothing to the character and plot development. Honestly, I feel as if this book would have been insulting to my students.

This is my favorite book, next to the Perks of Being a Wallflower. I've given it to many of my friends, who all also loved it. It's a book for highschoolers, and it's fiction. Obviously. So if you don't want that, don't post a negative comment later. This book was wonderful, and had real social interaction and showed teenagers as real people instead of the "head over heels like omg" type of teen. It explores dreams and goals, and what would happen if we all found out the world was coming to an end. Speaking of end, the ending is the best part.

This isn't your typical apocalyptic fiction. Wallach has taken a group of average high schoolers and set their ordinary teenage struggles against the backdrop of a slowly pending apocalypse. What do you do when an asteroid is on a collision course with the earth and has the potential to wipe out all life? What are your priorities when there may no longer be a future? He addresses these questions through a typically angsty group of teens drawn to change what they can as the asteroid approaches. It was a dark, intriguing read that somehow still managed to be beautiful and hopeful. Just about everyone can probably see bits their teenage self in one of the characters - each of whom is nicely developed. The book was a page turner from beginning to end.

We All Looked Up is my favorite read of 2015 so far. I am a fan of realistic novels with strong plots and well-drawn, relatable characters (I'm not that unusual here), and oh boy did I love this book. I love how the characters are far, far from perfect and make plenty of realistic mistakes. Sometimes I feel like multiple POV novels don't work, but that's because it's a hard trick to pull off, and Wallach pulls it off beautifully. This book was funny, sad, thought-provoking, and interesting.

Four high school seniors who couldn't be more different are suddenly thrust into each other's lives when they are no longer worrying about college applications or life after graduation, but about just living when an asteroid is headed straight for Earth. They come to need each other more than they will realize, and the reader needs them too. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA literature, as well as anyone looking for a great story of love, life, and friendship. 5/5 stars.

While I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this read, as I watched a group of teenagers face their impending doom, I understood the variety of feelings and range of crazed actions by all. By the end, the truth is that the asteroid killing everyone is not what really matters...if you seem the answer to that, you will be disappointed.

I bought this book on the strength of a brief skim over the description. At the beginning, I regretted that decision, but as I delved deeper into the pages I started to fall in love with this book! I found that it took a little bit of time for the book to take off and for me to actually get into it, but that was likely because, initially, I found it very difficult to relate to the characters. But as time passed, I grew very fond of all four main characters and the supporting characters too (some of them at least, I can't say I was all that fond of Golden or Bobo!). The characters made a real change from the usual characters I read about, so it was very refreshing to get to know them. I thought their personalities were wonderfully developed and I enjoyed seeing how they grew from the start to the end.I will admit, this book was a little terrifying at points. It asked lots of big questions and I still don't know what I would do if I was in a situation where I had only two months to live! I'd never even thought about what could happen if such an event were to happen!I really loved the ending, I thought it was very fitting (though I did shed a tear or two). It was frustrating initially, but after I had calmed down I came to really appreciate the ending; it left a lot to the imagination, which I liked. <3All in all, a good read! It's not one of my absolute favourites, but I enjoyed it nevertheless! And the accompanying album is pretty great too and worth a listen after you've finished the book!

Got it for mother/daughter book club. My daughter read it first and loved it. But when I read it I felt whilst it started out well enough and introduced the characters to make me want to read more, it then lost the plot a bit and focussed too much on unnecessary swearing, sex references, drugs and general unsavouriness. It didn't add to the story. A missed opportunity.

Drama, drama and more drama. I felt at times there was unnecessary drama and that it was all a little over the top. I get it - the world was ending (or was it) and no understand that its that unknown that led to everything in this book even happening but once of twice during the book I just wasn't getting it and that let it down for me. A worth while thought invoking emotional read though.

Absolutely amazing book that really makes you think, i feel like this could be a good book for any age and it's a rollercoatser of a book and keeps you hanging on to every word. Definately would recommend. Very cheap and good quality as well for the price .

Because if I'd never read it, then I'd get to read it again for the first time. A beautiful book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading and the ending was perfect. Engaging characters and a creative way of telling a story. Excellent!