Simone Chen
Elsewhere
Gabrielle Zevin
Science fiction
Just right
P. 263

1. Right now Liz has just turned eight years old, because she's been in Elsewhere for seven years now. Her dog Sadie has been getting younger and younger, and Liz just sent her off on the Release (the journey back to earth, where she'll be born again). She was very depressed, but she got over it when her own dog back on earth Lucy arrives in Elsewhere. She decided to go to her best friend Zooey's wedding, even though Zooey didn't show up for Liz's funeral, but Liz has forgiven her. Liz and Owen go to the Well to try to make contact with the people at Zooey's wedding. But nobody can hear her because it's too loud. Finally, when it seems hopeless, Liz's brother Alvy hears their voices. Liz is very happy to get to talk to her brother after many years. Also, her friend Curtis Jest seems to really like her grandma Betty; he sings songs to her and is visits frequently.


2. So far I think this book is extremely well written, and it never leaves me bored. I'm enjoying it so much because it shows an author's imagination of what happens to you after you die, but in a completely un-religious way. I also liked this book because its plot is so original and unique; usually with other books I feel like I've already read something like it, but that's not how I feel with Elsewhere. In Elsewhere you age from old to young, so it's sort of like living your life backwards. In some other books, the first chapter is the main character being born, and the last chapter is him/her dying. In the novel Elsewhere, the first chapter is when she dies, and the last is when she is sent back to earth on the Release to be re-born again.

3. A big theme in this book is forgiveness. At first Liz is infuriated with the cab driver for hitting her (which killed her) and then driving away without seeing if she was ok. She was so mad that for weeks she spent all her time and money at the Observation Deck tracking the man down and finding out more about his life so that she could get revenge. But later on, she comes to realize that he is actually a nice man with a loving family, and that he probably had a good reason for not stopping that day, although Liz does not completely forgive him yet. A few years later the man who hit her, Amadou Bonamy, arrives in Elsewhere, and she meets him. Liz finds out that the reason why he didn't stop was because his young son was very sick, and if he lost the cab or her parents sued him, he wouldn't be able to pay for his son's medical bills. Amadou knows that this is no excuse, and he has felt horrible about it the whole time. Liz does forgive him, because she realizes that hate will only make matters worse.

4. My favorite character is Liz's friend Curtis Jest, who she met on the boat the S.S. Nile (the boat that brought them to Elsewhere) and instantly became friends with. I like him because he always knows the right thing to say, and he's someone who Liz can always turn to for advice about anything. He made Liz feel a little bit more comfortable when she first realized that she was dead, and he explained to her that things really aren't as bad as they might seem. He is very caring and polite because he cares about Liz and her safety, as well as her grandma Betty's. Curtis Jest is very wise, and his death has made him wiser. This is because he died from a drug overdose, and he learned important lessons from that experience.

5. Although there isn't a character that I particularly dislike, if I had to choose a least favorite character it'd be Zooey, Liz's best friend back on earth. She really isn't a bad person, I just don't like her as much because she didn't attend Liz's funeral on earth after she died. This, in my opinion, is very rude and mean because Liz was her best friend. It is kind of sending a message that Liz's death didn't affect her that much, and she had better things to do than go to the funeral. When Liz was watching her funeral from the Observation Deck and saw that Zooey didn't show, she was extremely upset and angry, and I understand because I would've felt the same way if I had been Liz.

6. I predict Liz and Owen will get married, even though she said she didn't want to before. Liz will be sent back to earth on the day of her Release when she is a few weeks old, and her friends and family will be very sad, but they know it's all part of the circle of life. Curtis Jest, Betty and Owen will be particularly sad when Liz is gone, and Curtis Jest and Betty will live a happy life in Elsewhere together.