ks_reads_spice's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
⭐️💫/5
No spice
Synopsis: Elizabeth (Liz) dies after being hit by a car and suffered a traumatic head injury. She finds herself in Elsewhere, which is where everyone ages backwards before they are sent back to Earth as babies. She lives with her grandma, named Betty, and she meets a boy named Owen.
What I Liked: It was an easy read, and I can see why I liked it in middle school. I honestly cannot pinpoint a lot that I liked about this book. I liked some of the quotes in the book (9 to be exact).
What I Would Change: Basically the synopsis is the entire story. There was a lot of fluffiness in between. The story did not flow well at all. It felt very jumpy. There was nothing concrete that showed Owen and Liz loved each other other than when they said it lol. There was no build up or angst or anything. It was just “they spent a lot of weeks together and Owen loves her”. I think adding another 150-200 pages to the book to add more detail would’ve been great, but also making it first person POV with multiple POVs would’ve been better too. It felt very rushed, and I was not for it. I’m not saying we should’ve seen all 16 years, but Liz jumped from 16 to 9 with nothing in between, which I feel like I was robbed of that. 1.5 star because I finished it but it was not great.
❤️ Tropes: friends to lovers, paranormal romance
⚠️ Triggers: death, head trauma, grief, drowning, drug use (implies/off page)
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Gun violence
Minor: Addiction and Infidelity
metalmama's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
literarylibrarian's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
helen000's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
diba_a's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
livrad's review against another edition
3.0
2.75
Elsewhere is the story of Liz, who dies too young and crosses over to Elsewhere, an afterlife where you age in reverse before returning to Earth again as a baby.
I originally found this book from a published review and mistakenly thought it was a book with a teen/adolescent protagonist but written for an adult audience (think: Prep, The Lovely Bones, The Graveyard Book). Once I started listening to it, it didn’t even sound like a YA book, but more of a middle grades. This is exacerbated by a narrator who sounds like she’s 9 and uses very young vocal affectations. The writing of Liz is also emotionally shallow and not with the intellectual depth of a fifteen-year-old. (Once I realized how juvenile this book was, I listened to it with my children, ages 13, 11, and 6, and they all agreed Liz was remarkably young.) Then, there were mentions of more adult content that felt totally jarring (losing one’s virginity, one night stands, etc.) The concept of Elsewhere seems very interesting, but the book didn’t capitalize on that enough and was scant on world building. Still, it was an entertaining enough family listen.
Elsewhere is the story of Liz, who dies too young and crosses over to Elsewhere, an afterlife where you age in reverse before returning to Earth again as a baby.
I originally found this book from a published review and mistakenly thought it was a book with a teen/adolescent protagonist but written for an adult audience (think: Prep, The Lovely Bones, The Graveyard Book). Once I started listening to it, it didn’t even sound like a YA book, but more of a middle grades. This is exacerbated by a narrator who sounds like she’s 9 and uses very young vocal affectations. The writing of Liz is also emotionally shallow and not with the intellectual depth of a fifteen-year-old. (Once I realized how juvenile this book was, I listened to it with my children, ages 13, 11, and 6, and they all agreed Liz was remarkably young.) Then, there were mentions of more adult content that felt totally jarring (losing one’s virginity, one night stands, etc.) The concept of Elsewhere seems very interesting, but the book didn’t capitalize on that enough and was scant on world building. Still, it was an entertaining enough family listen.
potatoplank's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
christy_david's review against another edition
5.0
I think I’m biased bc of my love of the good place and beetlejuice but I love after life stories and this was so creative and fun - wish it was sadder and longer but that’s okay