Have you ever wondered what happens to people after they die or where they go? Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is an engaging story about a fictional place where people go after death. Lizzie, the main character, is a 15 year old girl who got killed in a hit and run car accident on her way to the mall with her friends. It was a normal day for her and all she wanted to do was turn sixteen but the car accident took that away. She woke up in a boat the next morning thinking she was dreaming, but in the back of her mind she knows she is possibly dead. She realizes the truth when she is watching her own funeral. All of the sudden, the boat she was in docks, she gets off and finds herself to be on a place called Elsewhere. Lizzie is required to go …show more content…
When Lizzie found out she was aging backwards here it made her really sad because all she wanted to do was have a sixteenth birthday, get her drivers license, graduate from high school, and go to college. Furthermore, Lizzie meets her grandma, Betty, who died when she was born. Lizzie adjusts to Elsewhere and spends her time at an observation deck on a lighthouse. She watches what her family and friends are doing on Earth. She gets addicted to watching them, watches them everyday and then starts getting depressed because she misses them so much. She really wants to talk to her family again, she attempts to visit a forbidden place near the ocean where it is said you can communicate with people on earth, but she gets caught by Betty. As time passes, Lizzie begins to like her job and continues to adjust to her new life. A lot changed when she remembered her dads birthday is coming up and she bought him a sweater that she kept in her closet that she really wanted to give to him. She goes back to the forbidden spot to try to reach them, however she gets pulled back by a cop and he says they don not like when people try to do that because it brings families …show more content…
The plot of the story is so different than any other typical love story, sad story, etc. This story also really got me to think, not just about life but the afterlife. It was something I never really thought about until this book and now it's so intriguing. I was very affected by this story because it was something I have never thought/read before in my whole life. Now I think about it more and more and there are so many different things that could happen to us after we die and it's such an interesting concept to think about. This has broadened my perspective about the different things that could happen to me and everything about the afterlife. I have learned that crazy things can possibly happen and maybe it's not what we really think it is. Maybe heaven is not real and there is another world we go to. I have been exposed to the after world "Elsewhere" and the idea of this story makes me think that it could be true and there is more to the afterworld rather than just heaven or hell. I definitely recommend this book, very well written and hard to put
While she might think that her plans are working, they only lead her down a path of destruction. She lands in a boarding house, when child services find her, she goes to jail, becomes pregnant by a man who she believed was rich. Also she becomes sentenced to 15 years in prison, over a street fight with a former friend she double crossed. In the end, she is still serving time and was freed by the warden to go to her mother’s funeral. To only discover that her two sisters were adopted by the man she once loved, her sister is with the man who impregnated her, and the younger sister has become just like her. She wants to warn her sister, but she realizes if she is just like her there is no use in giving her advice. She just decides that her sister must figure it out by
I would recommend this book to people who love realistic stories. Personally for me it is hard to find books that interest me and this one felt like if I was watching someone else's life while I read it. It has so many interesting points. When you think something might happen
On their way to the village they are stopped by Nazi soldiers who says they must come with them to be relocated. Hannah is the only one who knows what is actually about to happen. She tries to explain why they must not go with the soldiers but the adults explain that they have no choice. They are loaded in trucks and drove off to a train station where they are gathered into cars with barely any room to breathe. The ride on the train lasts for days and several children and infants do not live
...inds love along the way. She makes rash decisions in bad situations, faces the truth that she has been avoiding, and finds her place in the world. While her journey takes some unexpected twists, Lily learns to make the best of what she has, and go for what she wants. She learns to move on from the past, and make a brighter future. But most importantly, Lily learns to accept that life is unpredictable and that by doing her best Lily is living life the way she wants to.
What I liked most about it was reading from two different perspectives and how those different perspectives met through the book.
Once I get past all of the rambling I did in the past paragraphs, I honestly really enjoyed the book. Though it wasn't like most of the other books I’ve read (meaning I didn't cry during the process of reading it), the characters were just as provokingly interesting as the characters in other stories, it was a little edgy and made me want to yell at it, shouting at Sam when she wouldn’t let Tyler play video games with Danny, or Danny when he called to have Sam and Tyler taken to a separate facility. Overall, this book opened me up to something that just isn't a romance novel. This story really shows that there are people with a lot of difficulties in their lives, and that’s what I liked the most about it.
I can relate this book to my life in many ways; it was easier for me to relate to this book because were both 18 year old girls who want to live life the right way. Also I don’t want to live life trying to be like everyone else, so this was really encouraging to me. A part that helped me was the part about confidence and how important that is. Its important to have confidence in your faith because say you get in a situation you can protect your faith and stand up for what you believe. Another part that I can really apply to my life was how when people were talking about her she didn’t even beg to know. Personally whenever I hear that someone was talking about me, I really want to know what they said! This helped me to learn that why fill my brain with negativity sinful gossip, because that’s not what Jesus would do.
I loved this book, it is so incredibly moving and you want to cry and
Although this book had no major affect on me, I learned how a boy can go through traumatic experiences and still have the will power to keep going on. That was the only thing that really affected me in the whole book.
It reminds us of a time not so different from where we live now, a world filled with lies, hatred, and moral ambiguity. It’s a story that largely reminds us as humans who we are, prone to mistakes and preconceptions that can lead to disastrous results, but also capable of growth and redemption. This story really allows you to understand different philosophies, perceptions, and differing opinions of morality and
... job with this story and I believe any reader can find some one or something in the story they can relate to and can apply the story to their every day life. The story has many lessons and morals that can be learned but adds a humorous twist to things. So I leave with this final though, in the words of Wendell Berry, “Practice Resurrection!”
I always looked at death as such a sad thing that is eventually going to occur to everyone. However, after reading this book, it made me realize death can actually be a beautiful thing. Death allows a person to go to a next life, one where they will be loved and others will be there for them. It was interesting to be able to read about stories that these hospice care workers witnessed themselves. I have experienced a few deaths within my life and I never coped with them very well. After reading this book, I honestly believe I will be able to look at the positive side of death and be able to deal with my emotions better. I can also help others surrounding me deal with a death that they are experiencing. This book was filled with information that I loved learning. For example, I never knew that a dying person can choose a time to die. The thought of this never occurred to me before. I always thought that when it was someone’s time to go, they had no choice. But, a dying person can “put off” passing on until they see a certain person or event that has great significance in their life. Nevertheless, there are still people who will wait to die until they’re all alone in the room. This book makes you think of real life situations and think what you would do in them. Taken as a whole, it was a very in depth book that changes the way you would naturally perceive
I think my favorite thing about this novel was the realistic ending. Some books try to just give you a fairy tale but this book had an ending that mad you think in the end if I was in the same position would I do the same thing. I didn’t like the fact that the novel portrayed mental illness in a way to say that it needed to be hidden and protected. I thought this novel was very believable for the time period that it was set in. I think the ending to this novel was perfect it was an accurate ending to this
I would very much so recommend this book. It is a great story about how everyone has a purpose to be here, and it makes you think of heaven as not just the streets of gold, but as a place where we will find out all the answers about our lives. It is a great concept. I would absolutely recommend The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
After breakfast Lizzie went outside to the barn to find some metal of some sort so that she could use it on her planned fishing trip that day. In the twenty minutes she spent in the barn her parents were murdered (Martins, Michael, and Binette 78).