Elsewhere: A Novel

At the beginning, the heroine, age 15, is hit by a car and dies. The story is what happens to her next as she learns about the afterlife and adapts to it.This is YA fantasy, a relaxing change of pace. No real-world struggles and challenges. Just the easy stuff -- redefining death and life and what it all might mean.The plot is silly, with death as a portal to a fantasy world. Relax and enjoy light-hearted treatment of serious matters. Don't blame a candy bar for not being a steak."A teenage girl's whole life is a collection of odds and ends..." p. 3"Someone somewhere once told Liz that she should never, under any circumstances, open a door ni a dream." p. 13"At random (for she now believes in the power of randomness as only the suddenly deceased can)... p. 66"Dead... is little more than a state of mind." p. 86"But how do you know?""I know... because I choose to believe it is so." p. 261

It’s a really interesting idea. It gives you something to think about. It was definitely better than I was expecting.

I needed a change from the type novels I've been reading (mysteries and crime thrillers) and this did the trick. As a mature adult, I thoroughly enjoyed the innocence of this story. It was both lighthearted and thought provoking. Well done, Ms. Zevin!

Ok, so imagine that you're almost 16... and then you die.And then you wake up on an ocean liner, and you keep trying to figure out where you are, and how you can get back to your life. And when you realize that you're dead, suddenly the life you've left behind doesn't seem as bad as it did when you were almost 16 and still alive. The ocean liner is moving inevitably towards an unknown shore...Turns out, you end up in Elsewhere. A perfectly nice place to be, but still, you're dead and separated from the people you love. At least, that's how Lizzie sees it. She never got a chance to go to prom, or get her driver's license, or fall in love, and now she's separated from everything she knows and everyone she loves. She's dead, and she's stuck in Elsewhere.Slowly, Lizzie starts to let go of the obsessive need to revisit the life and people she left behind. She starts to embrace living, even though she's dead. She makes new friends, she experiences love, and all of it means more than what she experienced in life, because now that she's dead, she knows just how fleeting it all is. She learns to appreciate the life she has and the people (and dogs) she loves in Elsewhere. She does a lot of growing up, even though she's also moving backwards. You'll have to read the book to understand what that means.No matter what, it is comforting to imagine that we all pass through Elsewhere eventually. And it is also comforting to imagine that none of the love, none of the laughter, none of the happiness is ever wasted just because it eventually comes to an end. In fact, sometimes Elsewhere is even better than Earth, because you know exactly how much time you have left, and you try to never waste a single moment.As Lizzie learns, it all depends on how you look at it, after all. And after reading this book, I'm taking a second, or even a third look at what it means to be born and to die, and what might be possible in between.Great premise. Very plainly written, but there was a lot of whimsy, too. (Talking dogs, anyone?) This was young adult fiction, but definitely the best type of young adult fiction that any adult would also enjoy.

I plan to read this novel shortly.

SummaryElizabeth Hall is dead. She died when her bicycle was hit by a cab, a senseless accident, and when she awakes, she finds herself on a boat taking her to Elsewhere—the afterlife. Elsewhere is a society similar to our own, except that here everyone ages backwards and once they become a baby, they will be sent back to earth. Most people in Elsewhere have had lived their lives, but Liz died when she was fifteen. As she copes with the sudden loss, she must grapple with creating a new “life” in Elsewhere. But is there a point to “living” when you’re already dead?ReviewI first found out about Elsewhere when the title appeared on Goodreads list of YA books with dead protagonists. I wanted to read Elsewhere, because the idea of a society of people aging backwards intrigued me, and while most books about dead protagonists featured ghosts, this one attempted to build an afterlife.Elsewhere is a good book to read when you’re sad. The book has a languid and distant melancholy to it. This is to be expected; the book deals with death. There is grief and loss and mourning. And that, I feel, is the strongest part of the book. Liz’s grieving process is vivid and real. When she arrives at Elsewhere, she is not eager to explore this new land; rather, she sinks into a depression and gets stuck mourning the life she lost.I feel like Liz never fully comes out of that depression. Even as she acclimatizes to her new “life” in Elsewhere, there is a lingering sadness that permeates the novel. In some ways, this has to do with the style of writing. The prose is simple, matter-of-fact, and not terribly descriptive. Anything that might elicit emotion is glossed over. As a result, the sadness is never too sad, but the happiness is not all that happy, either. In fact, everything is such an even keel of lukewarm, I started to feel like I was reading about a person coping with a low-key but persistent case of clinical depression.Part of the trouble, for me, was Elsewhere itself. Now, I write fantasy, so I’m picky with world-building, and here there were some noticeable holes. You’d think that building the Afterlife would require the author to grapple with spiritual or metaphysical issues, but these are barely addressed. The question of God is brought up briefly and shoved into a corner. There is no Judgment, but neither are their saints or murderers. There are laws, but no consequences for breaking them; jobs, but they don’t seem to matter; money, but no real sense of an economy. For that matter, whether people have bodies or not is rather murky. Everyone speaks English, and there doesn’t seem to be any subcultures.Basically, Elsewhere is middle-class America with a few retro references and some magical elements tossed in. Now, as a fantasy writer, I find it a little disappointing to have the whole afterlife to play with and make it so mundane. You’d expect the Afterlife to be, if not perfect, then at least different. You wouldn’t think that there would be snappish bureaucrats or gift shops filled with the same kitschy junk found everywhere.But this all plays into the theme of the book. Life—and death—is what it is. It will never be perfect; it will always be temporary; it will never really change; and the best you can hope for is to find little moments of happiness along the way. I personally read Elsewhere as a way of coping with the crushing disappointment of existence. Dreams are shattered, and then you move on.The characters are likable and relatable. I liked Liz. I related to Liz. But the more I read, the more it struck me how passive she was. It seemed like everything just happened to her. Friendship happened, family happened, a job happened, and eventually love happened. The romance annoyed me at first, because it seemed so easy and simple, and I was jealous. But then, as I watched the love story play out, it seemed sort of… passionless. Like everything else in the novel.I had no trouble reading Elsewhere; in fact, once Liz arrived, I found it went rather quickly. It was not strongly plotted, but there were enough things happening to keep my attention right until the end. Although emotions were dampened, I still felt moved. It was a good novel, and for certain people—perhaps, those dealing with grief or depression—it may even be poignant. I, however, prefer a little more hope and passion in my fantasy novels.

I’d say this book can be enjoyed by children. Enjoyed might not be the right word but I read it when I was younger and thought the concepts and the plot insightful. Recently reread and a retired friend felt the same way. A timeless, lighthearted yet moving story that’s easy to get through without too much heartache.

At first I have to admit, I thought what am I reading, what a strange book, but as you read on you will see a very light hearted read with brilliant characters and very weird story line, it turns everything upside down what you believe about the afterlife. I have recently lost my Dad and was recommended this book to help me , at first I was skeptical by some reviews and have to say I didn't know what to think of it when I read it. But having said that, it's absolutely brilliant very unique take on a taboo subject, no one really knows what afterlife is like the author has written what she believes heaven to be. I recommend this book, but take it for what it is a light hearted fun way at looking at heaven, if you are easily offended read with an open mind. Because at first I was shocked , but I kept reading and I have to say I loved it in the end, I will read it again and again. The author has a fantastic talent and writing style, I will DEFINATELY be reading more work from her in the future. I will never forget this book, that when you know you have found a good author,I will recommend this book to everyone. Possibly a classic in later years, but may not suit everyone. Give it a go, a very unique book indeed.

This book is a sentimental one for me as it was a favourite back when it was published in 2005. It was one of those stories I used to revisit when I needed a read I could rely on, and I just had to reread it now, more than a decade later, when the book jumped back into my brain.I still adore this story, which focuses on Liz, a fifteen-year-old girl who is killed in a hit and run and wakes up to find herself on a boat to the afterlife. The notion of life after death is a heavy one but Zevin manages to lighten it without trivialising it. The book doesn't take itself too seriously, but it also doesn't gloss over the emotions that Liz is facing when she learns that in the afterlife, she will age backwards until she's reborn. For a nearly-sixteen-year-old, that's pretty devastating as she hasn't done most of the things she wanted to do with her life and now she has to live it in reverse.I may have read this story countless times before and I may be a little old to reread a YA I devoured when I was 9, but I still cried. This is still a special book with a wonderful message of hope, and the best version of any kind of afterlife that I've ever read.

I've read this book so many times and I still love it so much. I don't think I'll ever stop, it'sbeen read so amny times it may fall apart soon and I'll have to buy a new copy.Its one of those books I loved so much that I've bought copies for friends because I know they'lllove it too, but I can't bare to part with my own copy!Liz, I really loved her, one reviewer said that the writing was too simple for her and compared it toThe Lobely Bones. How rediculous. Firstly Liz is a young girl and so to use complex language like thatof an adult would have made no sense and really wouldn't have worked. You have to stay true to acharacter for them to be believable, and I thought this character was. Secondly The Lovely Bones andElsewhere may both be about young girls experiencing the afterlife but that is where any similarity ends.Different authors, set in different times. How could you compare them. If you always compare new booksto a different book you'll always be disappointed.Judging this book on its own merits and making no comparisons it really is excellent. I love the simplisticwriting, it worked for the character, especially as she got younger. To me it felt like she died twice. Once for realand then again as she got younger and younger in Elsewhere, losing all the things she'd learnt. Getting ready to bereborn. I loved this interpretation of the afterlife. Its something that can be written about in so many waysand I love reading about other peoples ideas of visions for what it may be like and Gabrielle Zevins is trulyunique and very enjoyable to read. Highly recommended by me.

I'm 13 and just getting back into reading again. After reading 'Nobody's Girl', by Sarra Manning and the 'Diary of A Chav' series by Grace Dent, I fancied a change of style.This was the perfect choice!It may come across as creepy or strange to some people, but I can assure you that it is nothing of the sort! It starts of with the main character, Liz - who is 15 years old. She has been hit by a car and has died, but doesn't realise this until she cannot wake up from her 'dream'. She lives an amazing afterlife in a place called Elsewhere, where animals can speak and dead people age backwards! After getting off the boat leading her to Elsewhere, Liz meets her grandmother, Betty, who she never got to meet on Earth as she died from breast cancer bedore Liz was born. Liz lives with her Grandmother and at first struggles to adjust to this odd way of life.A truly fascinating story! Once you get about half way through the story, I guarantee you won't want to stop reading. The ending is so gripping and covers really interesting concepts about what really happens after death.I highly recommend Elsewhere to anyone seeking a book they can really sink their teeth into!