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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley
They were told that the asteroid would be there in two months, that it could miss but it could hit. They were defined by labels - the athlete, the outcast, the slacker and the overachiever. But now they have a choice, continue with life and wait for the asteroid to hit, or take this chance to leave old labels behind and really live. They chose the latter.
I got something from We All Looked Up that I completely did not expect, it was not some shallow contemporary romance, nor some far fetched science fiction novel, but something completely different. It was a great mix between the contemporary fiction and science fiction and it was realistic and believable. It was emotional and raw and truthful. The prose was beautiful and it is a fantastically written book.
There are 4 changing POVs and while it does seem like it a lot, each character had very distinct voices and personalities. I liked Anita a lot, I am pretty positive she was my favourite. She had always been the overachiever and she had all these expectations of her to do really well in school, but all she really wanted to do is sing but her family looked down on it. Eliza was another favourite. She had one kiss with Peter and her whole reputation was ruined, while Peter remained unscathed. She had a love for photography as well and she felt like she needed to document the world going to hell. Peter was an average character for me. I liked him enough and I felt like he really cared for his sister and the ending saddened me, but he was not a favourite. I did not like Andy at all, and I only tolerated his POV, hence the 4 star rating.
The story itself was entertaining and unexpected and dark in places, which was surprising. I felt like We All Looked Uplost me in the middle a bit and I felt like there was not much happening, but I never got completely bored, which is a positive.
Overall, We All Looked Up is entertaining read which is honest and dark. I would recommend.
They were told that the asteroid would be there in two months, that it could miss but it could hit. They were defined by labels - the athlete, the outcast, the slacker and the overachiever. But now they have a choice, continue with life and wait for the asteroid to hit, or take this chance to leave old labels behind and really live. They chose the latter.
I got something from We All Looked Up that I completely did not expect, it was not some shallow contemporary romance, nor some far fetched science fiction novel, but something completely different. It was a great mix between the contemporary fiction and science fiction and it was realistic and believable. It was emotional and raw and truthful. The prose was beautiful and it is a fantastically written book.
There are 4 changing POVs and while it does seem like it a lot, each character had very distinct voices and personalities. I liked Anita a lot, I am pretty positive she was my favourite. She had always been the overachiever and she had all these expectations of her to do really well in school, but all she really wanted to do is sing but her family looked down on it. Eliza was another favourite. She had one kiss with Peter and her whole reputation was ruined, while Peter remained unscathed. She had a love for photography as well and she felt like she needed to document the world going to hell. Peter was an average character for me. I liked him enough and I felt like he really cared for his sister and the ending saddened me, but he was not a favourite. I did not like Andy at all, and I only tolerated his POV, hence the 4 star rating.
The story itself was entertaining and unexpected and dark in places, which was surprising. I felt like We All Looked Uplost me in the middle a bit and I felt like there was not much happening, but I never got completely bored, which is a positive.
Overall, We All Looked Up is entertaining read which is honest and dark. I would recommend.
3.5 stars. I really wanted to like this book. The concept was intriguing enough that i started reading it many months ago. I couldn’t get past a few chapters. I then gave it another chance and although i liked some parts, i pretty much pushed myself to finish the book because it just wasn’t that great. Great idea, not so great execution. The book itself felt dragged on and didn’t pick up my attention until the last 100 or so pages when chaos really ensued. I actually really enjoyed those pages and they made me reconsider the 3 stars. Aside from the great ending, the first 200 ish pages were kind of bland. Maybe it’s just me, but i felt like this was a “meh” read. I really really loved the idea and it almost felt similar to ‘All We Have Is Now’ by Lisa Schröder.
So good! One of the best ya books I've ever read on life, death, growth, acceptance, and finding out who you are. Some of the insights the characters have, the introspection... Breath taking and mind blowing. I have to recommend this to adults as well. I couldn't put it down, not just because the story was good but because the characters made me think... And think hard. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy. You will love it. It is so good.
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is def a YA novel, the writing is steeped in modern slang and references. It has a Breakfast Club meets Rules of Attraction meets Fight Club type feeling to it following a group of varied individuals (the straight A student, the artist, the jock, the fuck up, etc) as they navigate the final days on earth before an asteroid destroys the planet. The asteroid is basically is just the inciting incident and acts kind of like the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg over the Valley of Ashes in Great Gatsby judging silently observing the decisions of the main characters in their final days. I did like the book, but wanted a bit more from it. It’s very superficial in the story and nothing surprising happens. I was wanting a bit more especially from Andy, Bobo, and Misery (especially in the last scene in the Independent). Does have a few poignant quotes about the fleeting nature of humans, but really wanted more meat on the bones.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Empezó como una buena idea. Creía que iría sobre unos adolescentes descubriendo el carpe diem, dejando de lado los prejuicios y las expectativas; algo más introspectivo sobre la juventud y los últimos días de la Tierra.
Encontré eso al principio, pero se difumina muchísimo conforme avanzan las páginas. Clichés, romances que no se creen nada, personajes planos que dejan de preocuparse por cosas importantes para centrarse en el "amor" y el sexo, escenas absurdas y conflictos aún más absurdos...
Una pena porque esperaba encontrar lo que suelo buscar en historias apocalípticas, que es ver la reacción de la humanidad y las reflexiones internas sobre el fin del mundo y la vida, pero se convirtió en un libro más sobre adolescentes haciendo cosas "rebeldes" que, a veces (muy de vez en cuando), se rayaban con un asteroide.
Lo salva que es una lectura ágil y con una pluma interesante, pero la trama y los personajes flaquean muchísimo.
Encontré eso al principio, pero se difumina muchísimo conforme avanzan las páginas. Clichés, romances que no se creen nada, personajes planos que dejan de preocuparse por cosas importantes para centrarse en el "amor" y el sexo, escenas absurdas y conflictos aún más absurdos...
Una pena porque esperaba encontrar lo que suelo buscar en historias apocalípticas, que es ver la reacción de la humanidad y las reflexiones internas sobre el fin del mundo y la vida, pero se convirtió en un libro más sobre adolescentes haciendo cosas "rebeldes" que, a veces (muy de vez en cuando), se rayaban con un asteroide.
Lo salva que es una lectura ágil y con una pluma interesante, pero la trama y los personajes flaquean muchísimo.
dark
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Look up in the sky... It's not a bird; it's Ardor.
It took me 70 DAYS to finish this book, mostly because my attention span is tryna compete with my height (spoiler: we all won't be needing to look up), and so I'll review this with honesty based on my recalled experience.
This novel got me feeling down, and oddly hopeful for good days to spring. Though it kinda made me realize that I may have outgrown this kind of writing or the YA genre (for now... maybe?); however, what it did best for me was it made me feel somehow of a confidant to my younger self, who, like the characters of the story, had a lot of questions in life and death, aspirations, troubles, and doubts, and everything that goes in between. It kinda gave me a bit of closure and made me realize that it's okay to feel things, fear something that is greater than us or is inevitable or uncontrollable, and worry less about them ('cause whatever it is, it's not worth it).
It took me 70 DAYS to finish this book, mostly because my attention span is tryna compete with my height (spoiler: we all won't be needing to look up), and so I'll review this with honesty based on my recalled experience.
This novel got me feeling down, and oddly hopeful for good days to spring. Though it kinda made me realize that I may have outgrown this kind of writing or the YA genre (for now... maybe?); however, what it did best for me was it made me feel somehow of a confidant to my younger self, who, like the characters of the story, had a lot of questions in life and death, aspirations, troubles, and doubts, and everything that goes in between. It kinda gave me a bit of closure and made me realize that it's okay to feel things, fear something that is greater than us or is inevitable or uncontrollable, and worry less about them ('cause whatever it is, it's not worth it).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Cursing, Torture
Minor: Murder
Surprisingly well-written for a book with 5 main characters BUT I felt it missed the mark, BARELY.
Eh, this entire book was one cliché after another.
Meet our four protagonists:
- Star quarterback with a vapid cheerleader girlfriend and a scholarship to play football at a good college.
- Conceited artsy girl who only takes black and white photographs because it 'feels more authentic'. Claims she sometimes 'dreams in black and white'. This girl also sleeps around because she thinks that's the only way to make friends or make boys happy or something? She's called a slut by basically every character, anyway.
- Skater slacker pothead with the world's biggest drug-dealing jackass for a best friend.
- Overachieving girl with overbearing parents and a secret passion that said parents don't want her to pursue.
And I'm not sure I want to continue reviewing this book. Nothing happened that was surprising. It dragged for the first third and I kept having to force myself to pick it back up. The novel kept attempting to make me like purely unlikable characters (Andy, Peter, Eliza, Bobo), and squandered the only vaguely decent characters it did have (Anita, the volunteer kitchen people, Kevin). The first chapter (from Peter) was so cringe-worthy due to dated slang that it took me a while to give the book another go.
I understand they probably couldn't hide it but why did the world leaders just fully announce that there was a strong possibility the asteroid would crash into earth? As if they didn't know it was going to cause rioting and destruction? (Also, naming the president as being Obama instead of just saying 'the president' pointlessly dated this novel.)
It was just so predictable.
Meet our four protagonists:
- Star quarterback with a vapid cheerleader girlfriend and a scholarship to play football at a good college.
- Conceited artsy girl who only takes black and white photographs because it 'feels more authentic'. Claims she sometimes 'dreams in black and white'. This girl also sleeps around because she thinks that's the only way to make friends or make boys happy or something? She's called a slut by basically every character, anyway.
- Skater slacker pothead with the world's biggest drug-dealing jackass for a best friend.
- Overachieving girl with overbearing parents and a secret passion that said parents don't want her to pursue.
And I'm not sure I want to continue reviewing this book. Nothing happened that was surprising. It dragged for the first third and I kept having to force myself to pick it back up. The novel kept attempting to make me like purely unlikable characters (Andy, Peter, Eliza, Bobo), and squandered the only vaguely decent characters it did have (Anita, the volunteer kitchen people, Kevin). The first chapter (from Peter) was so cringe-worthy due to dated slang that it took me a while to give the book another go.
I understand they probably couldn't hide it but why did the world leaders just fully announce that there was a strong possibility the asteroid would crash into earth? As if they didn't know it was going to cause rioting and destruction? (Also, naming the president as being Obama instead of just saying 'the president' pointlessly dated this novel.)
It was just so predictable.