Customer Reviews

Elsewhere

5 star:		(113)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I believe this to be
one of the best books I have ever read.
I absolutely loved this book.

Lizzie is killed in a hit and run accident and Elsewhere is the story of
her ' afterlife '. I don't wish to write any more than that because this
book is an absolute must- read. To tell more of the story would be to
spoil a book that will really challenge your beliefs and perspective
about life after death. No-one really knows what happens after death.
Each reader will bring their own personal philosophy to Zevin's story,
but what became apparent as I progressed through the book was that if
life after death was like the Elsewhere of the story, human beings would
fear death less and learn to appreciate wherever they are in their stage
of development in-life and after-life.

Zevin has taken such an everyday concept, turned it on its head and
written what can only be described as a convincing believable story
about where we go and what happens to everyone when they die.

The tone is hopeful, the prose realistic and beautiful. The ending is
utterly perfect. The story is infused with life lessons and gentle
morals without being sanctimonious in the least. In some ways I find it
hard to say all that I really feel about this book, that my words will
not do justice to the story.

Zevin has left no stone unturned. Her tale covers: what happens to
animals, how you progress to the ' afterlife,' how you make contact with
life on earth, and how you become reborn, amongst many other questions
people have about ' what happens when you die ?'. The story is in no way
contrived but highly plausible. I found myself crying consistently on
and off throughout the story, not because it was sad, but because it was
so buoyant and made so much sense about dealing with what is almost
always a disagreeable topic.

Elsewhere is a book that good readers of 13 and above would enjoy. It
poses so many philosophical questions and ideas that would be excellent
for use in a " Gifted and Talented " class. The idea of getting younger
as opposed to getting older would be an excellent starting point for
some creative writing. Students often want to get older quickly before
they've had chance to experience being young, so the possibility of
becoming younger and debating what happens at the point of birth could
open up some amazing philosophical discussion.

In short this book is brilliant. If you read nothing else for the rest
of the year, read this.

I went to the book store the other day, and I was picking and choosing my way through the YA section when this one caught my eye. Glancing at the cover, it didn't look too much different from the others on the New Reads shelf, but one glance inside and I realized how special this book is.

Right in the store, I read the first few pages, making sure it wasn't another frothy, badly written popularity-and-such book. And it wasn't. I practically threw away the book I had specifically come to buy, and spent the entire night reading this instead. As someone else has already mentioned, I started crying near the end, and continued to do so for about ten minutes afterward. This book touches a nerve somewhere deep down, where we all wonder about death, life, and love. (And in case you're wondering, I've only cried at one book before, and no movies ever, so this is a big deal) This book is unassuming at first glance, but reading it made me think about the big things that I think we all wonder about, the things that book should be about. I am pleased that somebody still knows that YA books don't have to be trashy-teen-movie style. Read this book, it's fabulous.

Liz Hall wakes up dead one morning. That's definitely not the way to start off the day.

At first, she thinks it's all a dream, but then she remembers being hit by a car. The realization sets in that she'll never fall in love, never get her driver's license, and never see her family again. She spends her days on the observation deck where passengers can peek into the lives of their loved ones still alive. It takes Liz's dead grandmother to show Liz that death is worth living and that it's possible to have all the things she thought she'd lost even if she's going to have to live her life backwards.

A great young adult and older story about living life (or death) to the fullest.

"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

Welcome to Elsewhere, where life simultaneously has ended and is beginning all at the same time.

After an unfortunate (in more ways than one) collision with a taxi cab, Elizabeth M. Hall (please call her Liz!) finds herself on a cruise ship filled with very elderly people, save for her 16 year old roomate Thandiwe (please call her Thandie!) and a famous blue eyed and blue haired rocker named Curtis. Together, they discover that they are dead and are headed to a land that everyone goes to live until they are reborn to live again on Earth.

The world is strangely concrete. Beyond the fact that no one is born and no one dies, it is strangely familiar - of course with some exceptions. (There are ways to watch the living, you take a job though you don't really need the money, you can fall in love but the (lack of) aging process means disparities in age are common...) Over time they all learn to live (or die?), and somehow simultaneously become more mature for these experiences while becoming younger biologically.

I had no idea this book was geared towards young adults when I read it, and am happy to report it is well suited to adults. After reading the description I thought it would be a version of the Lovely Bones, but despite the fact that in both books the narrator is a deceased female teenager, they are quite disparate in tone. It's simulataneously comical, sad, hopeful and romantic, and the exercise your imagination will get trying to imagine some of the scenes is worth the price of admission all on it's own.

I began reading this book with high hopes because of the back cover. However, the more I began to read, the more ANNOYING the way it was written got to me. There were many many times when I wanted to rewrite the parts for the author for the sake of the book's moment. I have never even thought that a book might not be worth the money but this one certainly was not worth my money. I think I just might return it. It's in well enough condition seeing as how little it took me to read it. I loved the dogs, though. Aldous Ghent was also quite hilarious. I give this book two starts, though because I do believe it had some good moments. Overall, I give it a huge PUHLEASE and I WISH I LIKED YOU MORE.

An original concept, even post Lovely Bones. Unlike Turnabout by Haddix, where the elderly chose to live backwards in time, Liz, fifteen, almost sixteen, has died and been sent to Elsewhere to live death in reverse until she can be reborn. And she's not too happy about it. Touching, funny, and a great discussion book. This little gem of a read offers a new light in the life after death genre that is so trendy these days.

This book haunts me still, days after I've read it. Imagine being 15, and dead. Never having a 16th birthday. Just learning how to drive, and never having a license. Finding out that your aging will now be reversed, until you are again a baby, and again ready to go back to earth. And then imagine falling in love for the first time...........


This was a wonderful story. Definitely one worth revisiting.

Elsewhere is about Elizabeth Marie Hall, a fifteen-year-old girl, who is dead. Killed by a hit and run taxicab, Liz wakes up on the SS Nile on her way to Elsewhere. Elsewhere is a unique version of the afterlife where everyone becomes younger until they are babies and are sent down the river to be reborn. Coming to terms with her death is not the easiest thing for Liz, especially with her chipper grandmother telling her that everything is going to be alright. Liz becomes even more depressed when she thinks of the life she will never have, no prom, no college, no boyfriend. She eventually comes to terms with her death, and continues her life (or death) in Elsewhere, but not without a few bumps.

The emotion in this book is completely real. As Liz's general mood changes, so does the tone of the story. Zevin does an amazing job answering everyone's questions about what happens after someone dies. She does a fantastic job at tying up loose ends and making everything come across so clearly. Though this may sound like a depressing book, it is far from it. This rarely talked about topic, and fresh outlook, just adds another element to this great story. Recommended for readers 13 and over, Zevin's Elsewhere will change the way you look at everyday things and make you wonder "Is there really an Elsewhere?"

This is by far the BEST book I've read this year.

Just what exactly happens when you die?

Fifteen-year-old Liz is the victim of a hit-and-run accident. When she wakes up, she finds herself on a cruise ship, her destination: Elsewhere. Poor Liz thinks that she will soon wake up in her own bed, back at home, to deal with this very strange dream. When she views her own funeral from an Observation Deck on the ship, she is forced to face reality: she is dead. She mourns the loss of her life. Not only the idea of turning 16 and getting a driver's license, but also falling in love, having a first kiss, going to the prom, and graduating from high school.

When she arrives in Elsewhere, Liz is greeted by her grandmother, Betty, who had died before she was born. Betty takes Liz home and tries to help her get situated in her "new life". In Elsewhere, Betty explains, people age backwards, until they are infants again, and can be released back to Earth.

Liz discovers that she is able to view the ones she loves on Earth, by way of the Observation Decks, which are located all around Elsewhere. She spends her first months (and a lot of her grandmother's money) gazing into the binoculars to see what her friends and family are doing. Her parents cry a lot and seem unable to function, her little brother, Alvy, seems to need more attention than he is getting, and her beloved Pug, Lucy, misses Liz desperately.

Liz finally realizes that she needs to live and make the most of the life that she has, even if it is now a life in reverse. She makes new friends and also starts to work for the Division of Domestic Animals, where she helps recently departed pets deal with their new lives in Elsewhere, while helping to find new homes for them. It is here that Liz finds that she can speak Canine and have regular conversations with dogs (an interesting concept, later in the book, when Lucy arrives in Elsewhere).

This is a book that will definitely make you think. What really happens to people (and pets) when they die? Is there some sort of afterlife? The idea of "Elsewhere" in this book is a comforting one, if you'd like to believe that the ones you love and who pass on just go somewhere else and live again, doing something that they really enjoy, before heading back to Earth to be reborn. It's an amazing concept, and one that, while reading this book, I wished were true. This was a hard book to put down. I read it in just a few hours, but have thought about it constantly since I finished the last page. It is a must-read for anyone over the age of 12 or 13 and is one that you are not likely to forget.