Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zevin
Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zevin
3 Rating(s)
List: $22.99 | Sale: $16.09
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Elsewhere
A Novel

Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Narrator: Mara Wilson

Unabridged: 7 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/09/2025

Synopsis

A TIME MAGAZINE BEST YA BOOK OF ALL TIME

Beloved by generations of readers, Elsewhere is an original, moving novel about love, loss, and the meaning of it all from the New York Times–bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. This program is read by writer, actor and award-winning narrator Mara Wilson.

Is it possible to grow up while getting younger?

Welcome to Elsewhere. The beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick, and you’ll never turn even a day older . . .

This 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 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. Now that she’s dead, though, Liz is forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has never met before. And it isn’t 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?

An audiobook that transcends genre and category, Elsewhere is a modern YA classic.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

About Gabrielle Zevin

Gabrielle Zevin is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of several critically acclaimed novels, including The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which is now a motion picture, and Young Jane Young. Her novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was one of the best books of the year, according to the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, the Atlantic, Oprah Daily, Slate, NPR, the Hollywood Reporter, and many other outlets. Her work have been translated into forty languages. She lives in Los Angeles.

About Mara Wilson

Mara Wilson has narrated more than 60 audiobooks, including Bury Your Gays, for which she won an Audie Award for Horror. She also won Earphones Awards for Scorched Grace, Dangerous Visions, and Dykes to Watch Out For.Mara is awed and thrilled that she gets to tell stories as a job!

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kim on September 14, 2009

You know what sucks? When you get 53 (YES, FIFTY THREE) pages into a book and realize that you've read it before. That blows. You know what doesn't suck? You really like said book. I mean, it's been a good 8 months, and I was still hazy about the plot throughout the whole book, but it's SUCH a good sto......more

Goodreads review by Rick on November 08, 2013

Fascinating, a well-imagined, well-written YA novel. A fifteen-year-old girl dies and finds herself in Elsewhere, where the deceased age backwards until they become babies and return to the Earth for their next lives. It's a quick read, but wow -- it made me appreciate my life, my family, and love.......more

Goodreads review by Baba on December 28, 2023

Liz finds herself in white pyjamas on a boat? The last thing she vaguely remembers was that she was meant to meet her friend, go shopping, have a meal maybe? A truly wonderful young adult read taking a look at life after death in a style as ground-breaking as that used in the TV show 'The Good Place'......more

Goodreads review by emma on July 23, 2022

the book that started my lifelong love of Beautifully Written And Unique Young Adult Magical Realism. the best super niche subgenre. part of a series i'm doing in which i review books i read a long time ago......more

Goodreads review by Grace A. on November 03, 2024

I loved it from the first page till the end. The story idea itself was captivating; living life backwards. Liz died at the young age of 16 and found herself in a place called “elsewhere”, where you don’t grow old but younger till you are born again as a baby. She was furious, that she didn’t get to......more

Quotes

“Elsewhere is a funny, fast-paced, and fascinating novel. The concept is completely out there and yet the emotions are so weirdly realistic. I loved reading the story of Liz's life (death?).” —Carolyn Mackler, author of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things and Vegan Virgin Valentine

“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

“An unusual premise and a thoughtful treatment make Zevin's first effort at writing for young adults a success. Will captivate teens ready for a thought-provoking read. Hopeful and engaging.” —Kirkus Reviews

“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

“Fascinating. Zevin, in her first novel for young people, bends the laws of physics and biology to create an intricately imagined world.” —Publishers Weekly

“A fun and thought-provoking page-turner. Readers ... will relish Zevin's lively imagination and her fast-moving plot. Buy this book for them.” —VOYA

“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

“Great humor and speculation, on pets as well as people.” —Chicago Tribune

“This book is amazing: centered around death without being morbid, it's about moving on with your life.” —A YALSA Teen YA Galley Reader

“It's a fun read that you will keep thinking about long after you've finished the last page.” —A YALSA Teen YA Galley Reader

“It's an unexpectedly 'feel good' book, and makes the reader feel like those who have died aren't ever gone.” —A YALSA Teen YA Galley Reader

“This books steps out of the trend and stands on its own. What an original concept.” —A YALSA Teen YA Galley Reader

Awards

  • CT Nutmeg Children's Book Award
  • Virginia Young Readers Award Master List
  • Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
  • Delaware Blue Hen Book Master List
  • ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
  • School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
  • Horn Book Magazine Fanfare List
  • Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice
  • Booklist Editors' Choice
  • Amazon.com Top 10 Editor's Picks: Teens
  • New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award
  • ALA Notable Children's Books
  • NYPL Books for the Teen Age
  • IRA Young Adult Choices
  • Wyoming Soaring Eagle Book Award ML
  • TN Intermed Volunt State Book Award ML
  • Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List
  • Georgia Peach Book Award Master List
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