Elsewhere
by Gabrielle Zevin
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.99 You Save: $5.00 (63%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Elsewhere
Book Review: "Elsewhere" takes you on a magical journey...elsewhere!
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone asks the question, "what happens when people die?" Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin will make you think twice on this subject. Reading this book was very addicting, and I nearly cried when I turned to the last page because I never wanted the story to end!
The author paints vivid pictures to help the reader feel like a part of the story. By using strong, descriptive words, I was allowed to imagine myself in Liz's shoes. For example, this was proven when Liz, who was killed in a bicycle accident, first goes to Elsewhere, the afterlife and watches her family from Observation Deck, or O.D., through binoculars because she misses them.
I noticed that the author likes to describe people surrounding the main character. I believe that the author does this so the readers can connect themselves with the characters in the book. The first time I read Elsewhere, I thought the author did this just to help readers "get to know characters", not connecting with them. The second time I read this, I realized that she actually connects with the characters by not only limiting the point of view for Liz only, but she shows her other friends' perspective, too.
One of the themes in Elsewhere is death. When Liz died, she's transported to Elsewhere and eventually learns to deal with the fact she died, and may never see her loved ones again. Liz realizes how she is an angel watching over Earth when she frequently goes to the O.D. I figured that Liz thought death is like a new beginning because she has a backwards life in Elsewhere. Her time there is like a human life on Earth, except she ages backwards, and Liz discovers that "a life lived forward isn't too much different from a life lived in reverse."
This book is hard to put down because of the brilliant descriptions, interesting themes, and makes you think about death and the afterlife. Elsewhere has something for everyone: some fiction, non-fiction, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction, this book has all. This is a beautiful book, woven and crafted straight from the heart. I now hope that the spiritual world is like Elsewhere, because someone I knew had recently moved on, and it is believed "she is O.K. in heaven." The idea of Elsewhere is a source of comfort for me whenever I am upset about her death. I hope that she's living her death like the one Liz does in Elsewhere, so she will be watching us from some kind of O.D., and knowing that we miss her a lot. The author takes a normally depressing subject, and turns it in to a hopeful book on this fifteen-year-old girl, which is hardly sad at all! If you enjoy any type of story, be sure to read this ten-star book!
Book Review: "Elsewhere" takes you on a magical journey...elsewhere!
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone asks the question, "what happens when people die?" Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin will make you think twice on this subject. Reading this book was very addicting, and I nearly cried when I turned to the last page because I never wanted the story to end!
The author paints vivid pictures to help the reader feel like a part of the story. By using strong, descriptive words, I was allowed to imagine myself in Liz's shoes. For example, this was proven when Liz, who was killed in a bicycle accident, first goes to Elsewhere, the afterlife and watches her family from Observation Deck, or O.D., through binoculars because she misses them.
I noticed that the author likes to describe people surrounding the main character. I believe that the author does this so the readers can connect themselves with the characters in the book. The first time I read Elsewhere, I thought the author did this just to help readers "get to know characters", not connecting with them. The second time I read this, I realized that she actually connects with the characters by not only limiting the point of view for Liz only, but she shows her other friends' perspective, too.
One of the themes in Elsewhere is death. When Liz died, she's transported to Elsewhere and eventually learns to deal with the fact she died, and may never see her loved ones again. Liz realizes how she is an angel watching over Earth when she frequently goes to the O.D. I figured that Liz thought death is like a new beginning because she has a backwards life in Elsewhere. Her time there is like a human life on Earth, except she ages backwards, and Liz discovers that "a life lived forward isn't too much different from a life lived in reverse."
This book is hard to put down because of the brilliant descriptions, interesting themes, and makes you think about death and the afterlife. Elsewhere has something for everyone: some fiction, non-fiction, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction, this book has all. This is a beautiful book, woven and crafted straight from the heart. I now hope that the spiritual world is like Elsewhere, because someone I knew had recently moved on, and it is believed "she is O.K. in heaven." The idea of Elsewhere is a source of comfort for me whenever I am upset about her death. I hope that she's living her death like the one Liz does in Elsewhere, so she will be watching us from some kind of O.D., and knowing that we miss her a lot. The author takes a normally depressing subject, and turns it in to a hopeful book on this fifteen-year-old girl, which is hardly sad at all! If you enjoy any type of story, be sure to read this ten-star book!
Book Review: Your Attention May Drift Elsewhere
Summary: 3 Stars
This YA title will probably earn 5 stars from girls, especially girls with Lurlene McDaniels-type affinities for the topic of death, because this novel is all about the living end (read: "the afterlife"). In truth, the whole concept of death being life in a mirror world is great, and ELSEWHERE kind of, sort of had me hooked at the get-go, but then it LET go as the chapters wore on.
Don't get me wrong. Author Gabrielle Zevin gets "A" for effort. Her earnest protagonist, Liz, is a likable 15-year-old who gets killed by a hit-and-run taxi cab driver. She "wakes up" on a cruiser heading for an alternate world that looks suspiciously like our world except you can't die there (because you already are) and the dogs talk (more than just "woof," I mean). Lizzie is upset because she missed the prom, misses her best friend Zooey, loves her mom, dad, and brother Alvy, and will never a.) get her Massachusetts driving license (a.k.a. "License To Kill," if you know anything about Massachusetts), b.) lose her virginity, and c.) grow big boobs (you know, all the real important stuff in life).
The catch about Elsewhere is that everyone ages backwards until, on their birthday, they are sent down a river to be reborn as another baby on Earth. The Buddhists are clapping, and it sure beats Hell (with all that smell of smoke), Heaven (with all those harps and angel feathers), or Nothing (with all that depressing "nothingness"), but still, it's a bit too sweet to swallow.
The side characters include Lizzie's grandmother Betty, who takes her in, a girl named Thandi who was shot in the head the same day Lizzie was hit, a drug-overdosed rock star named Curtis "Surely You" Jest, and a love interest named Owen who died at 26 but has "backed in" to being just two years Lizzie's senior. Oh. And the bad news is, all these living dead folk in Elsewhere can pump "eternims" (coinage of the realm) in a binocular-type set up to watch us living alive folk do things like wash dishes, scratch our elbows, and use the bathroom. (Yeesh.)
Not a lot happens in this book, and the large amount of dialogue and short, simple sentences begin to take their toll after awhile. Throw in a few unrealistic plot turns plus characters acting like you wouldn't expect them to act, and you see why some readers' attention might drift elsewhere. Nevertheless, the book's a gamer, quite unique, and recommended for girls of a sentimental drift. Otherwise, my advice is to look both ways before crossing the street...
Book Review: 10 Stars
Summary: 5 Stars
I am, and have always been, an avid reader. The number of books I've read has to number in the thousands. As a child I asked for a 2nd bookshelf in my room as a birthday present. So it isn't a small victory when I say this book shoots to the top of my list. I didn't read it persay, but listened to the unabridged CD Audio version on a drive from Prince Edward Island, Canada to Illinios. 26 hours in two days.
My mom bought it at a thrift store, listened to it and lent it to a friend. When the friend returned it, she brought it to PEI for me to listen on my long drive back. She said I HAD to listen to it b/c it is the best story and I will wish it goes on and on and on forever.
I shrugged off the recommendation, knowing I'd listen to it anyways just b/c the long car ride. I popped it in and Cassandra Morris did a BEAUTIFUL job of vocalizing the story and each character. I was hooked and HATED when I had to stop for gas, bathroom, or food breaks b/c it meant I'd have to stop listening, if only for a few minutes.
This is such a unique and beautiful story and my mom was absolutely right- you DO wish it goes on and on. There are so many storyline surprises that you wouldn't expect the author or characters to do and in the end you're just waiting for it to continue. I left the CD playing, in disbelief, as the company read all their copyright legal materials and told where it was recorded, etc. I just kept thinking "there's going to be ONE more chapter." I was so sad when there wasn't.
There were a few times I was teary-eyed and a lot of times I laughed out loud (good thing I was only travelling w/ a dog). It makes you appreciate life, look deeper into situations and relationships, and almost changes your outlook on life. The story will always hold a place in my heart and the way I think about things now. It really is a bittersweet tale that I'm truly glad to have read (listened to).
Next month we have another long car-ride (12 hours) and I'm going to be bringing this so I can re-visit it for a 2nd time and my boyfriend can hear it. I can't imagine anybody not loving this story, or at least being touched by it in SOME way.
Book Review: It makes you wonder...
Summary: 5 Stars
Liz is the average teen in every way. Waking up one day in a strange ship, the SS Nile, she assumes that it's all a dream. On the cruise for about a week, she finds it harder and harder to convince herself of that. Her room mate with the bullet hole in her head, the celebrity who died of an overdose, the boat full of old people; it all seems rather odd. One day she is called up to the Observation Deck, where she watches her funeral from coin-operated binoculars. Liz Hall is dead. As the boat docks, she meets her grandmother and quickly finds out where she is. Elsewhere, the land of the deceased, is almost exactly like earth.
Except you age backward.
This book was suggested to me by a friend. By reading the inside cover, I didn't have much hope for the book, but I'm glad I kept reading. This book was entertaining, funny, and sad. I couldn't put it down. The author, Gabrielle Zevin, has a distinctive style of writing that I find easy to read, but not too simple. Each character was believable, and easy to relate with.
The basic idea of the story is well planned out, and intriguing. Life after death can be a tricky subject to deal with, with all the various opinions in the world. Still, the author dealt with it nicely, not letting that distract too much from the plot, while it was a main detail. Elsewhere is almost believable as another life, and I could imagine being happy there as many of the characters were.
The only detail I was disappointed by was the relationship between Liz, Owen, and Emily. Owen, a young man Liz encountered while trying to make Contact with her family, falls in love with Liz after spending time with her and her grandmother. A few weeks into their relationship, Emily, Owen's wife, is due to arrive into Elsewhere. Owen leaves Liz for his wife as easily as if he'd never met her. It's hard to believe, especially after Emily decides to leave him for being too different than who she loved before.
Even with the few unlikely situations, the book was a delight to read, and I was entertained the whole time. If you want laughs, romance, and a new look at life, you should definitely try this book out.