High school seniors Peter, Anita, Andy and Eliza—aka the jock, Miss Perfect, the slacker and Miss Promiscuous—join forces in this apocalyptic debut. Peter is a popular basketball player dealing with feelings for Eliza, despite having a girlfriend. Anita seems to have the perfect life, including great grades, but has a lot to hide when it comes to her family life. Andy is skateboarding through high school, getting high and slacking off. And then there’s Eliza—beautiful, mysterious photographer Eliza. She too comes with her own baggage, including an estranged mother and dying father.
Told in alternating chapters between the four main characters, We All Looked Up takes the reader on a typical teen journey, but with a twist. Wallach transforms a high school drama into realistic science fiction, as we discover that Ardor, an asteroid, is scheduled to hit Earth (specifically Seattle, where our characters live) in eight weeks. With this threat looming, each teen must come to terms with their lives as they are now—and to make crucial decisions, despite not knowing if they will live to see the consequences.
Debut author Tommy Wallach successfully gets into the head of each character, nailing their individual attitudes, ideals about sex and abundant use of foul language and recreational drugs. Despite its slow-paced beginning, this exciting debut picks up speed the closer Ardor comes to the Earth. This book is recommended for older teens, but any reader may find a piece of themselves in these characters.
