1.91k reviews for:

Elsewhere: A Novel

Gabrielle Zevin, Gabrielle Zevin

3.8 AVERAGE

felix_b00ks_fun's review against another edition

2.75

medium-paced

spenci_boi's review

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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What a beautiful and heartfelt book. 
I love this imagining of what happens after death, it’s different than anything i’ve read before. Gabrielle Zevin has not failed to make me cry over how beautifully written her stories are. 

donnaburtwistle's review against another edition

3.0

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I wanted to like this book more than I actually did--it just seemed to lack "something". I thought that the premise was intriguing; although reincarnation is never mentioned directly, the description of floating down a river as a baby to re-enter the world again was pretty cool. I do anticipate some good discussion for the themes of this novel in my book club.

kelli_stephenson's review against another edition

2.0

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Wow, started out with a bang and then began to fizzle out half way through until it came to a complete death by the end. Very disappointing, it seems like the author just quit on the story.

yyhsas's review against another edition

3.5

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad slow-paced

howifeelaboutbooks's review against another edition

3.0

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My third Zevin (though I haven't written about Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, I did review The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) and my thoughts about her are still the same. I'm not a huge fan of her gaps in time, nor the distance from the characters' thoughts and emotions. I feel incredibly aware that I'm reading a book the entire time, instead of really engaging with the world and thinking of the characters as real people. That said, her story concepts are AMAZING.

In this book, I LOVED her concept of death - the logistics, how it happens, how you realize, how you "age." I did think the love story was pretty forced. It felt like it was there just because a book "should" have a love interest (disclaimer: not my opinion) or the editor said to add it. I didn't feel anything for the characters, I didn't "ship" them. I also thought it was pretty icky - I know the ages are different on Elsewhere, but there was still a strange gap that I just couldn't get on board with. See my full review at HowIFeelAboutBooks.com.

taradactyl06's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted

bremchill7's review against another edition

3.0

hopeful

sarahsulliv's review against another edition

1.0

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I'm surprised I didn't like this, actually. I really like everything else I've read by Gabrielle Zevin! A lot! Somehow I'd missed this one, and found it on audiobook. Part of my dislike is that - the narrator is high-pitched and whiny. And if you knew a character in your book had a British accent, why wouldn't you cast an audiobook narrator that could manage a passable British accent?

But along with that, the general concept is full of holes and nonanswers and the main character who is supposed to be likable is immature and annoying and keeps learning the same lesson over and over again. Luckily, I can enthusiastically recommend the other books, both adult and YA by this writer. Just skip this one.

claireinchapters's review against another edition

3.5

funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated