March 26, 2015

Review: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach (March 24, 2015)
384 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: I received a free ARC at ALA Midwinter. This did not affect my honest review. Thanks Simon & Schuster!
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:
Goodreads Summary: Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

MY REVIEW

I had the hardest time getting through this book. In all honesty I can't pinpoint exactly why I had such a hard time getting into the story. Sure it was a little slow at first but that usually wouldn't affect my reading all that much. I think it was my own personal life that truly affected my reading and enjoyment of We All Looked Up. I was in a weird reading funk when I started this book AND I was also having a very stressful week. This type of heavier book probably shouldn't have been my reading choice at the time, but it was. I am sad to say that I can't go back in time and fix my mistake. Without further ado, here is my somewhat coherent but probably not very helpful review of We All Looked Up.

We All Looked Up had its boring moments, its spectacular moments, and its so-so moments. I did enjoy the book overall no matter how this review may come off.

We All Looked Up is a deeper book. It focuses on the idea of living in the moment. We see the characters try to figure out how they want to spend their final hours alive rather than trying to just survive the upcoming possible apocalypse. It started off slower for me but ended strong. I never did end up connecting with the characters in any deep way though, making this type of story harder for me to appreciate. When I finally finished reading the book I had to ask myself one question... Was it profound? Given the synopsis and the type of book I took this to be I thought that this was a very important question to ask myself after I finished reading. Sadly, I can't seem to answer the question. I can't make up my mind. Maybe that means it didn't have that big of an impact on me. I don't know.

Do I recommend that you give this book a read? Sure. I feel like I can't really be all that objective here. If you are curious about the book then I suggest you go ahead and give it a go. Once again I apologize for this very wishy washy review. I hope that if you choose to read We All Looked Up and love it.

8 comments:

  1. I've had similar situations as you did reading As We All Looked Up, and wondered how much my busy schedule was impacting how I felt about a book. You know it's bound to happen - we live in real life and stuff gets crazy!! Now, on to the book. I'm glad you mentioned it is a deeper book, because at first glance I was wondering about it. I'm sorry that you did not connect as well as you had wanted to with the characters. That makes it so hard for me to really *feel* the book too.

    Thanks for the honest and very thoughtful review, Kay!! :)

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad I am not alone. It is so hard for me to feel the book without connecting with the characters. I'm so glad you understood what I was trying to say!

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  2. Hmm. I was curious about this book but now I feel a little underwhelmed. I know it didn't quite work for you but do you think it is a me book? I can't tell how much of your experience was a product to your mood and how much was a product of the book itself

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    Replies
    1. I don't even know if I can answer this question! lol I think it is partially a you book. If you did read it I would love to see what you thought since I had such a hard time really connecting.

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  3. This is the first non-raving review I've seen, so I appreciate the varied perspective. It sounds interesting that it's focused more on desire than survival, did it have a sort of morbid undertone because of the whole impending doom theme?

    -Cristina @ Girl in the Pages

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    Replies
    1. It did kind of, yes. It wasn't what I was expecting, but not in a bad way.

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  4. I had a hard time with this book because I couldn't connect. I ike the concept and some points were done well i think just wasnt for me. I think many people may like it though. Its different and unique for sure.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one that had a hard time connecting! It is very unique and I am sure many will like it. :)

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