So Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is one of those books where perhaps not reviewing it in a timely manner ultimately creates the final judgment: it’s a pretty forgettable book. I hate to say that because I remember thinking that the book wasn’t that bad while I was reading it but when I picked it up again I almost convinced myself that I hadn’t read it before. I couldn’t remember a single thing about it. I had to go read some other reviews to refresh my memory and that’s not a good thing. It’s not the small details that I’m talking about but rather the basic premise.
Elsewhere is a story about the afterlife. Liz is almost sixteen when she’s hit by a car and killed. She awakens to find herself on a cruise ship, headed to Elsewhere. It’s there that she meets her grandmother and discovers that everybody ages backward until they are ready to be born again. How could I forget that? The premise certainly is unusual. I don’t remember ever wanting to put it down. It held my interest. I wouldn’t tell people not to read it because I think many teens will like it. But it’s not one that stuck with me for long. Oh, yeah. And there’s talking dogs. I don’t like talking dogs.
Links of interest: Gabrielle Zevin website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy
Publisher: Square Fish, May 15, 2007. (original publication: August 11, 2005)
Paperback, 304 pages. ISBN: 0312367465
Copy source: Library
Elsewhere is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
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