Elsewhere

Richard Seltzer
1 min readJul 23, 2022

Review of the young-adult novel by Gabrielle Zevin

At the beginning, the heroine, age 15, is hit by a car and dies. The story is what happens to her next as she learns about the afterlife and adapts to it.

This is YA fantasy, a relaxing change of pace. No real-world struggles and challenges. Just the easy stuff — redefining death and life and what it all might mean.

The plot is silly, with death as a portal to a fantasy world. Relax and enjoy light-hearted treatment of serious matters. Don’t blame a candy bar for not being a steak.

“A teenage girl’s whole life is a collection of odds and ends…” p. 3
“Someone somewhere once told Liz that she should never, under any circumstances, open a door ni a dream.” p. 13

“At random (for she now believes in the power of randomness as only the suddenly deceased can)… p. 66

“Dead… is little more than a state of mind.” p. 86

“But how do you know?”
“I know… because I choose to believe it is so.” p. 261

List of Richard’s other stories, book reviews, essays, poems, and jokes.

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Richard Seltzer

His recent books include Echoes from the Attic, Grandad Jokes, Lizard of Oz, Shakespeare'sTwin Sister, To Gether Tales. and Parallel Lives, seltzerbooks.com