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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
It's always tricky to rate a YA book you have read as an adult. Whether you like it or not, as an adult, you have lived and seen certain things and have a different perspective on life and what it has to offer in general. I usually tend to under-rate YA books as I find them rather simple than I would have liked them to be. Not with this one. "Elsewhere" is a wonderful piece of work by Gabriella Zevin. We meet the 15 year old Lizzie as she travels the SS Nile to "Elsewhere" after having been killed in a hit and run accident. It takes her some time to realise she has actually died, and even more to adopt the idea of living in Elsewhere, where everyone ages backwards, until they are babies again, ready to be sent back to earth to start a next life. People who passed at an advanced age on earth will therefore spend more time in Elsewhere than younger people as Lizzie. The absence of her beloved family on one hand, and the fact that she will only become younger again, and therefore never experience love, graduation, marriage, etc… is hard to take in. But Lizzie's stay in Elsewhere turns into a beautiful story about being at peace with what life (or death) brings you, about love and family, about saying goodbye etc. While I am not at all into fantasy books, where things happen that "are not possible", I really liked this book. I still very much doubt the existence of an afterlife as such, but I like how Zevin used this to tackle themes such as letting go. A wonderful read. One of those rare books I wouldn't mind reading twice, or three times.
It was interesting premise but poorly executed.
set in an afterlife Liz recently died and now lives with her grandmother.
The relationship with Liz and Owen rubbed me the wrong way, he was 26 and she was 15 going on 14.
Don't bother with this book at all.
set in an afterlife Liz recently died and now lives with her grandmother.
The relationship with Liz and Owen rubbed me the wrong way, he was 26 and she was 15 going on 14.
Don't bother with this book at all.
Honestly, I did not like the beginning of this book. I found the concept grating against my belief system in a world too similar to reality to suspend disbelief, and I felt myself feeling sorry for almost all of the characters. I got to about 40% and almost stopped, considering giving it 2-3 stars/DNF. But I stepped back from it, read a few other books, and came back, deciding that I should give it a final shot, because Zevin hasn't let me down yet. It finally gripped me about 50% in, and I started crying at around 70-75%, and couldn't stop till I finished it. I haven't cried like that in a good long time. Thanks for making me feel, Gabrielle Zevin.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes