Look Both Ways Themes

Through its 10 stories detailing 10 different middle school students’ walks home from Latimer Middle School, Look Both Ways highlights the importance of not making assumptions about people—or, as the collection’s title suggests, in looking at things (or people) “both ways,” from multiple angles. In many of the stories, kids initially seem to be one thing—such as “at-risk,” a comedian, or doomed to end up in jail—but the stories quickly discredit, or add more depth…

In Look Both Ways, 10 short stories detail what happens as 10 different kids or groups of kids walk home from Latimer Middle School. The walk home from school, the collection suggests, is a unique time of day for these kids: it’s the one time of day when the kids are mostly independent. While at school the kids must obey the whims of teachers, principals, and overbearing hall monitors—and while getting home after the…

Though many stories in Look Both Ways highlight how joyful childhood can be, it also pays close attention to the fact that children often feel powerless and afraid, and it shows how fear can rule children’s lives. This is most prevalent in “Satchmo’s Master Plan,” in which Satchmo—who’s terrified of dogs after being bitten a few years ago—devises an absurd, multi-step plan to evade a neighbor’s new dog who, he believes, will obviously…

Bullying in some form or another shows up in many stories in Look Both Ways, and the collection makes it clear how damaging bullying can be. Overt and violent bullying comes to the forefront in two stories, “Skitter Hitter” and “Call of Duty.” The stories show how kids bully others to exert control and to make themselves look cool: Marcus bullies Stevie in “Skitter Hitter” to gain power and make other kids fear him…