“Question: How could you look the end of the world in the face and not go crazy? Answer: You couldn’t. Instead, he presents these ideas in a way that is equal parts weird, heartfelt, and insightful. One of the brilliant things about Wallach’s book is that it embraces many ideas from religion, philosophy, from the minds of great writers to the minds of his characters, both despicable and flourishing. It’s reflective, it’s alarming, but it’s also deeply rooted in philosophy – and not just one philosophy, but many. It’s questions like these that characterize and make We All Looked Up a special read. The question is, is it worth it to win small battles even if you know it’s a Pyrrhic victory? Do love, art, music matter in the face of imminent death? It’s a brilliant way to tie together the many philosophies of the book because the four teens – and the rest of the world, are all battling a Pyrrhic victory in these last few weeks of their lives. One of the biggest themes in this book is the Pyrrhic victory. “They’d been learning about the phrase “Pyrrhic victory,” which came from Roman times and meant that you’d won something, like a battle, but in order to win, you had to lose so much that you really hadn’t won at all.”

And Anita, who serves on the student council with Peter, is trying to break away from her Miss Perfect life to follow her dreams of becoming a jazz singer. Meanwhile, school slacker and joker Andy has been in love with Eliza for years, and sees Ardor as a way to finally have sex with her. Peter has a history with Eliza, a photographer who has been labelled the school slut, and who is dealing with her father’s imminent death from cancer. Peter is a jock and student council leader who is already questioning himself before hearing about Ardor. We All Looked Up is about four teens who are dealing with the impending death of not just themselves, but their planet and their species, by way of the asteroid Ardor. As these four seniors-along with the rest of the planet-wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career-the future can wait. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle-and her reputation-and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. They always say that high school is the best time of your life. Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

They all looked up book