Looking Up by Stephan Pastis | Book Review

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Disclosure here.

There was a girl named Saint who had an unusual trait. She could not harm anything that had a face on it. She loved knights and old things and was fond of saving birthday party piñatas. One day, at a birthday party, she met a boy named Daniel, who had a remarkably round face and loved to draw. Unfortunately, Daniel was soon to move away because some wealthy people, whom Saint referred to as “latte-sippers,” wanted to modernize the town. These people had already destroyed Saint’s favorite toy shop to make way for a new coffee shop. Saint did not like all the changes around her, so she decided to be brave, like a knight, and confront the “latte-sippers” head-on.

The book I read was a funny, fast-paced, and very moving story. I particularly enjoyed reading about Saint’s hair, which could take on many shapes. For instance, her hair looked like a box when she wore her cardboard knight helmet! This was quite amusing. While I appreciated Daniel’s character, he was too introverted for my liking. Despite Saint’s efforts to get him to open up, he remained guarded.

One of the things I loved most about this book was how it portrayed the typical behavior of children, such as being a spoiled brat and only caring about toys. However, I found the ending to be confusing.

The illustrations throughout the book were also very well done. I enjoyed how the people in the pictures had tiny eyes and mouths close together while their faces were giant! It was pretty comical.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quirky, comforting, fast-paced read.