We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

We All Looked Up

by Tommy Wallach

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

Before Ardor, 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.

Reviewed by abigailjohnson on

2 of 5 stars

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Like 2013's TUMBLE & FALL by Alexandra Coutts, WE ALL LOOKED UP is a contemporary YA novel that follows a group of teens during the weeks before an asteroid destroys the planet. The books have an identical premise, multiple POV's, and similar characters. If you liked one, you'll probably like the other. Unfortunately, I didn't care for T&F and the same held true for WALU.

The problem I seem to have with books like this is that they really aren't about 'the premise.' It's not about an asteroid, it's about a girl who embraced a false reputation when her dad got sick, another who longs to break free from the impossible expectations set by her parents to pursue a singing career, an athlete struggling to find the meaning of life, and a laid back slacker who...wants everyone to chill out. Okay, fine. If any of those stories/characters intrigue you, pick up this book. Personally, I wasn't grabbed by any of them. I found them to be fairly generic and cliche. And while the writing was fine, it wasn't strong enough to elevate these tired tropes to anything memorable.

Ultimately, this book left me bored and longing for John Green or Maggie Stiefvater to take on an end of the world premise.

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  • Started reading
  • 22 September, 2014: Finished reading
  • 22 September, 2014: Reviewed