We All Looked Up
You can find this, and other reviews, on my blog. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. With We All Looked Up, I continued my streak of not really reading blurbs properly. Despite being right there, I managed to miss the whole “asteroid” part, and when it was first mentioned, my reaction was “WHOA where did THAT come from!?”.
Luckily I’ve never let a silly old thing like confusion get in the way, and I proceeded to love the stuffing out of this book. It is dark and nasty. But it’s also beautiful and honest. It’s kinda like someone dumped The Breakfast Club into the middle of the apocalypse.
I really enjoyed all of the main characters, especially Andy and Anita. I loved how each of them found a way to be more than the roles pre-asteroid society had cast them in and had the chance to become themselves, with all the great stuff and poor choices thrown in. They are real people!
Tommy Wallach’s writing doesn’t pull many punches. He will take your feelings and he will stomp on them. And you will thank him for it, because he does it so beautifully. Moving between POVs is seamless while preserving each person’s unique voice. More than once, I had to stop reading for a little bit (a very little bit, I demolished the whole book in a day) because a scene either hit a bit too close to home, or was such an awful situation that I needed a moment.
And then it ended. I like my endings to be drawn in the sand. Wrapped up neatly with a bow on top. Something that clearly states, “here we are, we’re done now.” But like most things in this book, it was not neat and tidy. And you know what? I loved Wallach for it. Not only can I not see it ending any other way, I don’t want it to end any other way.
Basically this book is awesome and you should go buy it right now.
