“Every so often a book comes along with a premise so fresh and arresting it seems to exist in a category all its own. “Elsewhere,” by Gabrielle Zevin, is such a book. Zevin’s touch is marvelously light even as she considers profundities, easily moving among humor, wisdom and lyricism… No plot synopsis can convey what a rich, wise spell this book casts.”
The New York Times Book Review
One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time
Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice.
Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver’s license. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. And now that she’s dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has only just met. And it is not going well. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?
This moving, often funny book about grief, death, and loss will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.
Bonus Content
Praise
“Zevin’s touch is marvelously light even as she considers profundities, easily moving among humor, wisdom and lyricism. . . .No plot synopsis can convey what a rich, wise spell this book casts.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Gabrielle Zevin has constructed a fascinating ‘what if?’ Great humor and speculation, on pets as well as people.”—Chicago Tribune
“…this is a book about the fleeting beauty of life, the necessity of love, and the bittersweetness of it all.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“Powerful and thought provoking in the way that recalls Lois Lowry’s The Giver, this bittersweet tale will move some readers to tears with its devastating beauty and loss.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Zevin offers a dazzling, original novel about anger and forgiveness, about love and healing, about life and death and the meaning of everything.”—Buffalo News
“Add this to Tuck Everlasting when you are looking for a tale to stretch your appreciation of this life and stir your intellect. This book is highly recommended.”—The Tennessean
“This is an absolutely wonderful and loving book, perfect for teens.”—The Union-Prospector (Western Nevada County, CA)
“Inventive and intelligent… Elsewhere is an adventure, by turns funny, sad, and — best of all — wonderfully poetic.”—January Magazine
“Even the most cynical fourteen year-olds should be captivated by Gabrielle Zevin’s witty dialogue and charming characters.”—Portland Tribune
“…clever and enchanting… a must read.”—Detroit Free Press
“Witty and wise… The beauty of Elsewhere lies in the way it holds up a mirror to our own world.”—Teenreads.com
“…in addition to being genuinely funny in places, this lovely novel is truly thoughtful.”—Book Page
“An enchanting fantasy about the world beyond this one that is both poignant and reassuring.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“A work of powerful beauty. This inventive novel slices right to the bone of human yearning, offering up an indelible vision of life and death as equally rich sides of the same coin.”—Starred, Booklist
“With an intriguing and well-developed premise, thoughtful characterization, and refreshing style, Zevin’s poignant novel rewards readers with a view of death that celebrates the rich complexities of being alive.”—Starred, The Horn Book
“Intriguing. Surely guides readers through the bumpy landscape of strongly delineated characters dealing with the most difficult issue that faces all of us. Provides much to think about and discuss.”—Starred, School Library Journal
“Funny and pensive, happy and heartbreaking. Readers from a broad range of beliefs will find this a quirky and touching exploration of the Great Beyond.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Elsewhere is a wonderfully quirky subversion of the American Dream. Heartbreaking, without being mawkish, philosophical without being pretentious and so convincing you find yourself wanting to read the book backwards when you’ve finished.”—Sunday Telegraph
“Elsewhere is a first novel, breathtaking in its surefootedness. Simply and gracefully delivered, it has a freshness which should intrigue.”—Scottish Sunday Herald
“An exceptional novel that is, at times, heartbreakingly poignant, but also uniquely uplifting.”—Publishing News
“Uplifting, moving, and funny.”—Guardian
“A touching, original debut novel about life and rebirth.”—Irish Independent
“An impressive debut rich in imagination and detail and it completely swept me away.”—Bookseller
“A little gem.”—New Books Magazine
“Better than TV… get ready to blub.”—Sugar Magazine
- Amazon.com Top 10 Editor’s Picks: Teens
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- Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year
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- Booklist Editors’ Choice, Top of the List Youth Fiction
- Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library
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- Borders Original Voices Award Winner
- California Young Reader Medal Nominee
- Connecticut Nutmeg Children’s Book Award
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- Georgia Peach Book Award, Honorable Mention
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- New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award
- Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice
- Publisher’s Weekly “Cuffies” – Honorable Mention, Most Promising New Author
- Quill Awards Nominee
- School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
- South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee
- Tennessee Intermediate Volunteer State Book Award Master List
- Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List
- Time Magazine 100 Best YA Books of All Time
- Virginia Young Readers Award Master List
- Wyoming Soaring Eagle Book Award Master List
- Sheffield Children’s Book Prize, Winner, Longer Novel Category
- Stockport School’s Book Award, Winner, Key Stage Three Category
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- Kingston Libraries Youth Book Award, Runner Up
- Highly Recommended, National Literacy Association
- Longlist, Carnegie Medal