Elsewhere (Amanda Tesini)

- Title: Elsewhere, Author: Gabrielle Zevin, Square Fish publishing, 275 pages-
I got this book from Wal-Mart.-
When Liz is walking across the street towards the mall she gets hit by a taxi cab and killed. Liz finds herself on a boat going to a new place called Elsewhere. This is where she meets her Grandmother, who had died when she was fifty but is now thirty six. Liz learns that in Elsewhere you age backwards until you are a baby and get sent down the current. When she first arrives at Elsewhere all she can think about is getting back to her old life, but soon realizes that is nearly impossible. She gets a job in Elsewhere and also her license, because it was the one thing she was looking forward to on Earth before she was killed. Liz starts to see that Elsewhere is very much like Earth. She finds love, and happiness, and experiences deep sadness and pain. But most of all, she learns to except the life she had and enjoy living her new life backwards.

- I think the audience for this book could be adults or teenagers. But I think it is more directed towards teenagers because it deals with things that young people go through.

- The author’s writing style is somewhat descriptive. Yet at the same time the author gets to the point. She used direct characterization throughout the book. She also jumps around through real life and flashbacks. "On the same day Liz retires from the Division of Domestic Animals, a man she knows very well but has never before met, stops by her office. The man looks different in person than he did through the binoculars. His eyes are softer, but the lines between his eyebrows are more pronounced." page 264-

"Even though she feels remarkably awake, she knows she is dreaming, for several reasons: one, there is no earthly way she would be on a boat when she is supposed to be finishing tenth grade; two, if this is a vacation, her parents and Alvy, unfortunately, should be with her; and three, only in dreams can you see things you shouldn’t see, like your family on a boardwalk from hundreds of miles away." page 10 This quote struck me because it was right after she had died and waken up on a boat, but she thought it was all a dream.

"A life isn’t measured in hours and minutes. It’s the quality, not the length. All things considered, I’ve been luckier than most. Almost sixteen good years on Earth, and I’ve already had eight good ones here. I expect to have almost eight more before all’s said and done. Nearly thirty-two years total, and that’s not too shabby." page 266 This passage struck me because even though she had died so young, she learned to accept her life and believe that for the most part it was good. It made me start to think about my life and how I should appreciate my life.

"What is the point of loving anyone? To Liz, all the effort of working, living, loving, talking has begun to seem just that: effort." page 209 I chose this quote because at times this is how I and many other people around the world feel. This quote made the book more easy to relate to.-

Many times I felt like the main character and I had many similarities. We both had gone to new places, her to Elsewhere, and me when I had moved here. In these new places we had to adjust to our new life completely. Although I am not growing younger, I felt as if some of the things she went through I have also gone through. Both Liz and I at times felt like just giving up because putting effort into things didn’t seem worth it. Most of the parts that really spoke to me were the ones I could relate to, such as seeing life by it’s quality not length.