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A review by samanthampg
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
2.0
First of all I was super excited to read this book, it sounded like the kind of philosophical read that I needed in my life, an inescapable end of the world, a bunch of lost teenagers trying to make sense of it all. It seemed to be something that I could thoroughly and happily enjoy - until I actually read it.
The description of the book suggests that these four stereotyped teens are going to try and reinvent themselves from their stereotypes as the end of the world draws. In a Breakfast Club meets the apocolypse sort of way but it doesn't really do that for me. While they moved away from the defining boxes within their high school, they allowed these labels to transition into different areas of their lives. I understand that it's not so easy to give up the bases of who you are as a person, but the story revolved less around them trying to free themselves of these chains and more about hooking up with each other before the world ended.
Next was the writing style. While I appreciate the interowoven seeds of deep philosphical thought that Wallach wrote, I was thrown off by the amount of times I found myself rolling my eyes at how I was being MANSPLAINED. It wasn't just the male characters that did it - everybody was over explaining everything. While I think the author did a good job of telling the story in a non-confusing manner that flowed, I was unimpressed by the sheer amount of basic explanation I was being fed.
Unfortunately I would not read this books again.
The description of the book suggests that these four stereotyped teens are going to try and reinvent themselves from their stereotypes as the end of the world draws. In a Breakfast Club meets the apocolypse sort of way but it doesn't really do that for me. While they moved away from the defining boxes within their high school, they allowed these labels to transition into different areas of their lives. I understand that it's not so easy to give up the bases of who you are as a person, but the story revolved less around them trying to free themselves of these chains and more about hooking up with each other before the world ended.
Next was the writing style. While I appreciate the interowoven seeds of deep philosphical thought that Wallach wrote, I was thrown off by the amount of times I found myself rolling my eyes at how I was being MANSPLAINED. It wasn't just the male characters that did it - everybody was over explaining everything. While I think the author did a good job of telling the story in a non-confusing manner that flowed, I was unimpressed by the sheer amount of basic explanation I was being fed.
Unfortunately I would not read this books again.