Review By Gabrielle

Quirky, funny, and touching, Looking Up is a wonderful story for school aged kiddos.

Favourite Quote:

“You know you’re a square peg in a round world when you find you’re the only person at the birthday party defending the pinata.”

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Living alone with her mother in a poorer part of town, Saint—a girl drawn to medieval knights, lost causes, and the protection of birthday piñatas—sees the neighborhood she has always known and loved disappearing around old homes being torn down and replaced by fancy condos and coffee shops. But when her favorite creaky old toy store is demolished, she knows she must act.

Enlisting the help of Daniel “Chance” McGibbons, a quiet, round-faced boy who lives across the street (and whose house also faces the wrecking ball), Saint hatches a plan to save what is left of her beloved hometown.

I loved everything about this book. It is completely delightful in every way. I found myself sucked in from the very first page and I couldn’t put it down. I laughed out loud so many times but also found myself moved by the story at others.

Saint is wonderful. Weird in the very best way, kiddos who find themselves on the outskirts of the popular kid groups will find it easy to relate to her. She has weird hobbies like collecting figures of knights in a very specific position, and staging elaborate scenes with them and dinosaurs. Of course the dinosaurs always die of natural causes like failing to wash behind their ears. She is awkward in social situations and has a hard time making friends, but she has a great big heart and much to share. Saint has some very big feelings, and through the book, she learns better ways of dealing with them. She is also smart, and I liked how she was able to observe what was happening in her town and take action.

There are also a lot of other characters to love in this book like Muffins, the grumpy man who works at the toy store, and Mrs. Trifaldi, the old lady who believes babybel cheese should be made square.

Small illustrations throughout help break up the text for kiddos who benefit from that, or just to simply appreciate. I loved how simple the illustrations were and I felt they added a nice touch to my enjoyment of the story.

Suitable for ages 8-12, I highly recommend Looking Up.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.