Elsewhere

I was in 8th grade when I first read this book and I guess it left a big impression on me at that age that I tried finding the book for months by googling it by the cover (blue book with a snowglobe).

It’s still a lovely short read for a YA book and just an interesting way to think about life after death. It’s sad but happy.

Pretty mid to be honest, I feel like it was a little childish probably because we're in the mind of a 15 year old. I feel like it would have been better if perhaphs they were 17, or a little more mature. I didn't really like the main character to be honest either. Another thing about this book is just it's so point blank. Like I get it's a YA book, but it's very much "she got angry and started to cry" "she felt sad" like it's just not very ambitious with its terms, but then randomly, out of character, Liz will just start using the randomest of terminology and I found it odd. The book wasn't unenjoyable, I LOVED the concept so much, I feel like I could read a couple sequals about other characters, and also follow maybe liz into her new life, because the idea of being Elsewhere was really clever.

The romance I did not find believeable at all, only because I imagined Owen as 22 years old the whole time, despite him being "17".

Corny, Dry but Unique

It was a read, I guess. Not sure if I'd recommend?

After enjoying Tomorrow X3  & The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry  by Zevin, when I saw this one on a table in a bookshop recently, I just knew that I had to pick up and copy and take it with me on my Holiday and I loved diving in and out of this one whilst traveling and I loved getting lost in the story each morning before starting the day’s adventures.

Liz is a little lost and confused when she wakes up on a cruise ship with someone she has never met before but then she remembers that she was hit by a car as she was riding her bike to the mall; A couple of days later she is taken to the observation deck to watch her own funeral. The boat eventually lands in Elsewhere where dead people get a day younger every day until they are taken down the river back to Earth to be reborn. In Elsewhere, Liz meets up with the grandmother she never knew and struggles with the fact that she won’t be turning 16, getting her driver’s license, or going to college. Instead, she’ll turn 14, then 13 and then 12. Again. Liz nearly drives herself crazy watching her family’s grief.

This book is Liz journey to coming to accept the cards that she has been dealt and learning to just enjoy what time she has. She finds her avocation counselling dogs who have arrived to Elsewhere and she then starts to make friends. I found the idea of Elsewhere to be a new take on the afterlife and Zevi’s wonderful writing really help to bring this to life in a style that I have come to love over the years!

Zevin manages to address the subject at hand in a serious manner without getting too heavy or melodramatic, but also not getting too light and fluffy.

** spoiler alert ** Once the ship lands and Liz is picked up by her grandmother (and namesake) the novel settles into a predictable schmaltz-fest. Despite her understandable grief at being dispatched at a young age and being forced into a second childhood before she's even reached adulthood, we the reader are supposed to accept Grandma Betty's rose-tinted view of death. We're supposed to see Elsewhere as some utopia with a guaranteed HEA (reincarnation). Nope. Not for me. http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

If I knew what I was getting into, I would have been a bit skeptical - especially after the first chapter. BUT. But, I tore through this book and loved it. Not a five star read but close.

3.25 Perfectly fine book. It’s a cool concept and some of the themes they deal with are life’s (well I guess death) greatest existential questions. I think it’s a great book for younger kids or teenagers pondering about life and what happens after death. I think maybe I just read too many books on death, etc that this just felt a bit light to me.

I will not reread it because of the trauma it made me, but the book is so damn good. It slaps you with the cold topic of coming into terms with your death. So far the most depressive book I've read.

I knew from the beginning I would end up unhauling it which is why I decided to read it. I wasn't expecting anything great, but in its own right, it was ok. It gave me the Curious Case of Benjamin button vibes with the whole aging backward thing. It is nice to see that Liz finally understands and enjoys her "life" in elsewhere.

3.5 stars I’ve only read a couple books about an “afterlife”. Every book I’ve ever read or heard of had Heavens and Hells and in-between worlds where the main character tries to fix things or come back to life. That’s all fine and dandy, but I was excited to come across Elsewhere and see that it’s about a world that’s not too different from how things work on Earth. Well, maybe except for the fact people die on Earth, arrive at Elsewhere on a cruise ship, and start getting younger from the age they died at. Wait, what? The concept of Elsewhere is so unique. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anything else like it and I was bursting to read it from the moment I read the description. It certainly was an interesting story to read, but honestly I was a tad disappointed by it. Maybe I was expecting too much, but there was something about the overall book that sort of flopped. It was entertaining enough, but I feel like the book was so fast paced it almost felt rushed. There would have been no complaints from me had things been slower and maybe more in depth. Oh, well. As for the characters: I didn’t really like the main character, Liz, all that much. I mean, I didn’t dislike her, but she acted like a childish fifteen year old a lot of the time. And quite right too, considering she was a childish fifteen year old. I also was pretty apathetic about her love interest. Whatever. I really loved Liz’s grandmother and a guy named Curtis Jest. It’s unfortunate they were lesser characters, because I think the story would have been better with more of the both of them. In fact, there’s an even lesser known character (than Curtis and the grandmother) that I liked more than the main. Again, there wasn’t anything particularly bad about Liz… I just wasn’t exactly rooting for her. For the most part: I liked this book, but my expectations were for something better than what I eventually got. I wasn’t completely impressed by Elsewhere, but it was a good and enjoyable book and worth the read.

Interesting concept, but just so strange that it was hard to accept

I absolutely LOVED this book!! It had great characters, especially Liz! I couldn't put it down!

There are fundamental (non-religious) problems I have with this book that caused me to be a bit wigged out. Also, I totally called it.

This book was weird. The idea of the story is very original, and what made me want to read this book so much. That, and Gabrielle Zevin also wrote 'Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac" which I really enjoyed. Although I did enjoy "Elsewhere", I felt like it was lacking in a lot of areas. The relationships that the main character, Liz, develops felt a little plain and missing the main idea. The plot didn't really have any plot twists, just mild bumps. Overall, I wouldn't say that I REALLY enjoyed this book, but it was different, for sure.

This used to be my favorite book for the longest time. I don't even know how I got ahold of it. I wouldn't say it's my favorite now, mainly because I've read many books I've liked more since, but it still feels as if this holds the title. I think the premise is super cool. There may be more concepts of "heaven" books out there, but for now, having not read them. I am in awe of this ageing backwards concept. And the relationship between the two main characters is so cute. I especially liked the fact that the concept of death was not at centre stage here, despite everyone getting to Elsewhere by, well, dying.

This book fell a bit flat for me. At first I was really into it, and the story is great. But I found it a bit juvenile; I don't know if it's meant to be read by people younger than me, but I just felt some parts or some of the writing felt kid-ish. I wish she had gone deeper with the story, made it more mature, because at times it just wasn't. It's still a good book, my exceptions were just not met in the end. :(