Elsewhere
by Gabrielle Zevin
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Book Reviews of Elsewhere
Book Review: Serendipity Book Reviews on Elsewhere: Fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Liz wakes up on a cruise ship in what seems like a dream- but is really a boat taking her to Elsewhere, where everyone goes when they die. Liz is 15, and she realizes that she beens killed in a bicycle accident. On Elsewhere, she goes to live with a grandmother she's never met, who died of breast cancer while Liz's mom was pregnant with her.
On Elsewhere, it's usually warm with a slight breeze, te sun and stars shine brightly, and it's quiet and peaceful there, and no one gets sick or any older- in fact, you grow younger with the more time yuo spend there, and once you become a baby you float down the River back to Earth, to start a new life.
Want to see new paintings by Picasso? Read new works or Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and other famous writers of the past? Need someone to talk to about your problems? Swing by the Elswhere museum, library, or Marilyn Monroe's psychiatry office (not everyone does what they did on Earth, you know).
Liz misses her family, her friends, and generally her old life. She wants to get her driver's liscense, get married, have kids, get old with soemone she loves. But can she maybe grow up as she gets younger?
I absolutely loved this book. You HAVE to get a copy and read it! I know it's a little older, but it's something everyone needs to read. And it makes you think a lot too, about the people who have died that you would see again. Even animals go to Elsewhere too (Liz's job is helping the pets new to Elsewhere get settled), and you'd be able to see your pets, like Elizabeth did when she got younger. The book starts with her dog, Lucy, being narrated by someone after Liz has died. From that part on, it kept making me cry! I wanted to sob sooooo bad at the end, it was so sad. Don't read this if you're in a happy mood, I'm warning you!The best time to read it is in your room, during a gloomy rainstorm, I think.
The book really makes you think, and it really covers any and all questions you'd have about Elsewhere. Like, Where do people go after the reverse aging is complete? DO pets go to Elsewhere? And where's God in all this, anyways?
Book Review: Death on the SS Nile
Summary: 4 Stars
"Woman hold her head and cry;
Comforting her I was passing by.
She complained, then she cry"
(Lyrics from "Johnny Was" by Bob Marley)
Lizzie Hall thinks she's dreaming.
She's dreaming she's on a ship
And she's bald
And she has a room-mate named Thandiwe
And she's got stitches over her ear
And Thandi has a hole in her head
From a stray bullet
And then she starts to remember
She remembers heading for the mall
With a friend
To pick a dress for her friend for the prom
And she remembers her bicycle
And a taxicab
And a collision
And finally she realizes
That's she's really on a ship
To Elsewhere
Which is where you go
When your number comes up
And there ain't no heaven or hell -
Just Elsewhere
In this unique vision of the afterlife, the recently deceased find themselves aboard the SS Nile, bound for Elsewhere. The thing about Elsewhere is that it's just like "here", with houses and cars and jobs, except that people age backwards, getting younger every year.
"What happens when you hit the big zero?" you may ask.
Let's just say that in Elsewhere, recycling is the way to go, gently down the stream, without a paddle.
At first, fifteen year old Lizzie finds it hard to adjust to not being alive, but with the love and support of her now middle-aged grandmother, she is finally able to find her niche in death. Along the way she makes mistakes, but she also makes life-long friends, although of course that's a variable factor anywhere.
A "coming of age" story in reverse and an intriguing concept (albeit a little over-simplified in certain aspects) this book is recommended for ages twelve and up, but definitely one to be considered.
Amanda Richards, September 10, 2008
Book Review: Gripping Book
Summary: 5 Stars
Liz has died. She's dead. Kicked the bucket, taken the big sleep, bought the farm, whatever you want to call it, she's gone. Or is she? Liz wakes up shortly after her death. Not in her coffin or in her grave or somewhere gruesome like that, but she wakes up on a cruise ship. She's in white pajamas and rooming with a girl she never met.
It takes Liz awhile to figure out that she's gone. It doesn't make a lot of sense, she was only 15, well almost 16. The cruise ship she wakes up on finally puts her down in what all the inhabitants call "Elsewhere." Things are different here than they were on Earth...but surprisingly the same. Liz can watch over her family back on Earth...sometimes, but she has a life...now that she's dead.
Even though the synopsis is confusing, the book really is not. This has to be one of the best books I have read in a long time. Zevin basically answered the question about life after death, and did it in a way that was both sad, but enlightening and hopeful at the same time. "Elsewhere" is technically a YA book, but I found it to be exceptionally entertaining and very insightful.
I must say I cried throughout most of the book. Not full out balling, but I teared up on more than one occasion and at the seemingly simplest things throughout "Elsewhere." I feel that doing so really added to the reading experience as opposed to distracting from it. I found the entire story that Zevin made up about life after death to be just plain wonderful. She even answered the question of God and where He is after death in a non-offensive and non-religious way if that's even possible.
I have a lot of respect for Zevin. She has penned an amazing book that is insightful, heartwarming, and touching all at once. Pick up "Elsewhere" even if you don't believe in Heaven, God, life after death, or anything like that. "Elsewhere" makes you wonder, think, ponder, and appreciate the life you have.
Book Review: Could have been more - 3.2
Summary: 3 Stars
"Elsewhere" is a great example of a "could-have-been". The premise has intrigue, the characters have momentary special sparks, and the entire story at times comes together neatly and nicely. Plus, the book is totally fun to read. Then again, we don't rate books based on what they could have been. And that's where "Elsewhere" falls.
Zevin's simple writing is charming at first, but soon grows to be flat and bland. Characters start out with a feeling like they'll flesh out soon, but never really do. They remain pretty two-dimensional throughout the entire book. The romance theme is a bit weird at times (backwards timing?) and the whole premise is strange enough to make your head spin at times. The book is really nice to read (a quick, easy read), but the writing grows dull quickly and the plot never really lifts off. There are enough plot holes to make an intelligent young reader raise their eyebrows and the ridiculous moments ultimately take away from the good parts.
Honestly, "Elsewhere" is a mediocre book. In some respects it's good (simple writing keeps the reader hooked from start to finish), but in others it fails to deliver (character growth and plot development are fairly nonexistent). It was fun to read but did little for my senses. It's also very much a girl's book. It's difficult for boys to find something in Liz's character to relate to. Yes, some moments are intriguing to think about and almost touching (losing the ability to read as time goes backwards, forgetting your loved ones, moving on). Then again, others aren't.
"Elsewhere" had the potential and premise to be a really great book. Instead, it's an okay book for girls, a fun read for a lazy afternoon. It's nice; not much beyond that. Zevin's book may appeal to some more than others (pre-teen girls looking for semi-romantic semi-philosophical books) but it by no means falls into the "great" category. Good, by a hair.
Book Review: "Elsewhere" will transport you else where
Summary: 5 Stars
I am an avid reader of young adult books. I do not often find the need to write reviews for such books because, honestly, they are all quite the same. Although they may be based around different situations somehwere in there you'll find the same themes of love/friendships/teenage angst/parents that a teenager themselves is supposed to feel. Elsewhere is no exception to the norm; it is centralled around an idea we have all probably seen before (the afterlife) and has all the young adult qualities...yet it manages to be so different.
Liz's life is cut short after a hit-and-run accident outside the local mall and she is sent to live in Elsewhere. The fact that she is dead is hard enough for Liz to take, and she is apalled at the ease of others. In the beginning she becomes addicted to watching her family, ignores the people around her, and gets pretty sassy with her grandmother (also dead, and has never seen Liz before Elsewhere). And why shouldn't Liz be upset? She was only fifteen. She'll never get to fall in love and get married, go to college, get a job, or see any of her loved ones again. But as Liz slowly learns to let go, she realizes she can make her own life in Elsewhere. She meets some witty and wonderful people and animals alike, and gets used to the idea of aging backwards (which is what happens in Elsewhere).
Zevin's style of writing is so pleasing to the mind, and the words sweep you by. I finished this book in record time, around 3 hours, because it's not one you will want to put down. Liz's story has no pauses, and at the end you feel you have gone through a lifetime with the characters. While I do agree that sometimes the dialougue can get a bit flat, the situations too surreal, and the details a bit lacking, I still say it is a wonderful book and a quick read.