Book Club Review: We All Looked Up

Bookworms, assemble! Here is the winning review for last month’s Student Edge Book Club title, We All Looked Up, written by member Georgie Carroll.

Imagine being right on the cusp of graduation, getting excited for the rest of your life and everything that comes next, and then suddenly the unthinkable happens.

There's an asteroid. It's heading towards earth. Nobody knows whether humanity will make it. For Peter, Eliza, Andy, Anita and their friends, family and classmates, this becomes the terrifying reality in Tommy Wallach's brilliant novel We All Looked Up.

As society begins to disintegrate with fears of the end of the world, we follow the teens as they deal with not only the end of their school years, but the potential end of everything they know. Each has a different coping mechanism, and as the countdown intensifies, they begin to question the very nature of their own identities. After all, it's hard to worry about university when there's an asteroid looming.

Wallach perfectly embodies each of the teens as the novel changes perspectives in each chapter, and you’ll find yourself wanting to rush through each part just to follow what happens to each of them.

We All Looked Up is a fantastic insight into identity, growing up, pack mentality and the very concept of "the end of the world". As you read and get closer and closer to the day of impact, you feel as if you're right there with the characters, anxiously awaiting just what will come next.

There’s the usual drama, romance and Big Questions that can be found in most Young Adult novels set during high school, but the addition of looming potential destruction adds a layer of nuance that sets We All Looked Up apart from many others in its genre.

One of the things I loved most about Wallach's novel is the ambiguity of the ending. I won't give anything away, but you'll want to make sure you get a friend to read the novel as well so you have someone to discuss everything with.

We All Looked Up is an ingenious YA novel for fans of the contemporary genre. While there is the threat of the end of days, the novel serves more as one of growing up and facing your fears - whether that be a giant asteroid, or figuring out just what you're doing post-school.

It’s not just a novel for teenagers, either. Anyone who has ever been a teenager, worried about life, the future, or even the end of the world will be able to relate to the struggles, situations and triumphs found within Wallach’s story. Don’t let the asteroid put you off – We All Looked Up is a must read.

4/5

With the Student Edge Book Club, you can get 10% off the monthly title from Booktopia. Check out next month’s novel here. Then, send in your review to go in the running for a $200 book bundle from Simon & Schuster. Congrats to this month’s winner, Georgie.

Photo: Simon & Schuster.