Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
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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Category: Book Reviews, Fiction, Young Adult
Tags: book club, children's literature book club selection, E-H Title, fantasy, female author, Fiction, Publisher: Square Fish, science fiction, U-Z Author
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Yeah, I read this book too, and I have to agree with you. It kind of a cool premise, but I didn’t really like the ending, and thought it could have been done a little better.
on December 11th, 2009 at 11:25 amIt does sound like an interesting premise, but too bad it’s so forgettable.
on December 11th, 2009 at 12:23 pmI like your honest review. I also like the snowflakes that are falling across my screen.
on December 11th, 2009 at 2:38 pmI do like talking dogs, but not forgettable books, so I think I’ll skip this one.
on December 11th, 2009 at 4:08 pmI don’t like talking dogs either. I’ll have to add this one to the maybe pile. Thanks for the honest review!
on December 11th, 2009 at 10:43 pmIt’s so funny that you mentioned your book not being memorable. I also had the same experience with the review I posted today!
Mine was part of a series though, which made it frustrating because I had a hard time remembering prior books so that I could keep reading and know what I was reading. Sigh. If only we could read, write, and review as fast as we would like.
on December 11th, 2009 at 10:57 pmHa. I tried reading Elsewhere awhile back, got about 75 pages into it and couldn’t carry on. Though, I did very much like Zevin’s other novel, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac.
on December 16th, 2009 at 8:17 am[...] Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin [...]
on December 30th, 2009 at 9:29 pmI have been eying this book, but your review certainly says something about it. I am not really a talking dog kind of person either as a general rule. I will not strive to get my hands on this book. Thanks for the straight review!
on January 5th, 2010 at 7:32 pm