Elsewhere

Zevin, G. (2005). Elsewhere. Douglas & McIntyre, Canada. ISBN: 978-0-374-32091-1

After finding herself on a ship far away from her home in Massachusetts, 15 year old Liz realizes she will spend her new life in Elsewhere. Elsewhere is where you go when you die. Instead of continuing to age, Liz realizes she actually will go back in age until she is 7 days old in which she will return back to earth as a new person, without memories of her former life. Liz, the protagonist, has a constant internal struggle. Back in her life, she had yet to experience love, college, and the biggest disappointment: she will never get her driver’s license. “I’LL NEVER GO TO COLLEGE OR GET MMARRIED OR GET BIG BOOBS OR LIVE ON MY OWN OR FALL IN LOVE OR GET MY DRIVER’S LICENSE OR ANYTHING? I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” (p. 51). 

Liz continues to struggle with death at such an early age, especially when she is surrounded by others who are content with the idea of death. “How can I be dead? Liz wonders to herself. Aren’t I too young to be dead?” (p. 52). However, Liz is able to meet her grandmother Betty, who she never met on her life on earth. Even through many days at the observation deck, where you can watch your friends and family back on earth, Liz eventually finds friends, and possibly love which helps her accept her fate of death and life in Elsewhere. “Liz's feelings of bereavement as well as the joy, love, and sense of accomplishment that she achieves make for a surprisingly uplifting and thoughtful read” (SLJ, 2006). 

Zevin creates a Fantasy that “refuses to accept the world as it is, so readers can see what could have been (and still might be), rather than merely what was or must be.” (Nilsen, p 216). Throughout the novel, one may question the possibility of this place of afterlife. “This unusual book helps us see ordinary things from a very different viewpoint,” (Rudd, 2006). Many young adults may find a connection with Peter Pan’s Neverland, where people never grow up. For Liz, this is a problem. “Her despair strikes a clear contrast with what Peter Pan wishes, for she cannot bear the fact that she cannot grow up from now on.” (Rudd, 2006). 

 Elsewhere is a quick, fun, intriguing novel that “also makes for a most absorbing and fascinating read, particularly because Zevin poses her book with such an interesting cast of characters. How they cope with the afterlife, and which ones the reader identifies with, probably reveals more about us than one might otherwise discover.” (De Lint, 2006). Elsewhere would be highly recommended for students who struggle with losing a loved one at any age and finding humor and therapy through characters that accept death. 

Rudd, D. Favorite Reads of 2005. Children's Literature in Education, Dec2006, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p349-354

School Library Journal, Apr2006 Supplement, Vol. 52, p87-87

De Lint, Charles. Fantasy & Science Fiction, Apr2006, Vol. 110 Issue 4, p32-33-

Nilsen, A. & Donelson, K.(2009). Literature for Today’s Young Adults. Boston, MA.