Look Both Ways is a middle-grade novel that follows a group of students from Latimer Middle School in ten different yet interconnected stories. The narratives take place in a single day comprising of reoccurring scenarios and incidents that tie the tales together. The characters are middle school students taking detours on their way home as they tackle their individual problems whether dire or trivial. The common motif in the tales is the school bus falling from the sky which turns out to be more of a metaphor than a literal tragic event.
Reynolds addresses serious themes such as death, parental illness, and bullying while including light subject matters of hygiene, love, and comradeship. The novel entails multiple perspectives to offer a more universal treatment as opposed to young adult novels that focus on a sole subject. As such it blends issues with altering severities that may hound a middle-grade child in order to be more inclusive. In the first narrative, there is a mix of a lighthearted debate about boogers and a grave situation in which Jasmine has just had complications with sickle cell anemia.
The novel also delves into current social issues around homophobia with the story of Bryson and his friend Ty who is faulted for kissing another boy. As well as shared trauma, for instance, the bully group Low Cuts composed of kids with parents suffering from cancer, thereupon, united in displaying kindness. Moreover, the focus is placed on victims of bullying, familial loss, and traumatic ordeals such as dog bites or tragic accidents. Case in point: Pia lost her sister and is grief-stricken, Fatima grapples with her anxieties about possible eventualities, and Canton Post copes with the trauma of her mother’s accident.
All in all, the novel is as poignant as it is humorous, for instance, the tale on hygiene where Gregory is ambushed by his friends about his body odor. Through this, the author subverts the trope of pain and tragedy common in this genre by incorporating comedy and tenderness in life. Kirkus Reviews wrote, “Reynolds’ gift for capturing the voices and humanity of urban teens is on full display...Brims with humor, pathos, and the heroic struggle to grow up.”
