Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is the book I chose to include for my "book about the afterlife" prompt for the 2022 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge. I've read The Storied Life of A.J. Frikry by this same author, but this is a YA book, so I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting myself into with this one.
Liz Hall is fifteen when she is hit by a car and killed. She wakes up to find herself in Elsewhere, where souls who die on Earth go while they age backward and eventually find themselves as babies who are returned to Earth to live a new life. Liz finds her grandmother, a woman who is in her 30s since she's aging backwards, finds a job taking care of dogs, and soon she finds herself in love.
I'm...way too focused on age gaps for this book.
I 100% was not on board with Liz being involved with Owen. Liz died at 15 and Owen died at 26 (cancer). He's not approximately her age now because he's been in Elsewhere for a while, so let's say she's 15 plus 0 years in Elsewhere = 15 and he's 26 + 10 years in Elsewhere = 36. A 36 year-old man with a 15 year-old girl is not appropriate. There is nothing in this novel that can convince me that this isn't repulsive and predatory.
The idea is certainly interesting and I could see how it would spark an interesting discussion about the afterlife, particularly among teenagers. I also really liked how the dogs could communicate with humans in Elsewhere. This is something that appeals to me as someone who desperately wishes she could tell her dog that chronically ill dog that we're doing everything we can to help her and that we love her and will take care of her forever and ever. So in the end, I thought this was a good idea, but a subpar execution.
2/5 stars
I really disliked the 2nd book by this author - I think it was called Young Jane or something like that? Most people I know who read it liked it, but I did not. Looks like this is one to avoid for me, too!
ReplyDeleteWell, it sounds like if you could get past that weird age difference, this is an interesting book. I read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and really liked it. I would probably give this one a go if it fell into my lap, but since I have so many other books on my TBR I probably won't go out of my way to get it.
ReplyDeleteUghhh, that age gap romance sounds awful! I think this book was published in 2005 or something? I really don't think that age gap would fly if it were to be published today! At least, I hope not.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm confused. Help.
ReplyDeleteIf they're aging backwards, and the grandmother is in her 30s, then wouldn't the way-too-old guy (totally agree on that, btw) actually be 10 years younger than when he died? So, 16? Or am I misreading how Elsewhere works? (Sorry, it's late afternoon, I am totally fried from today, and... I just can't figure this out. LOL.)