Elsewhere - Gabrielle Zevin

  What happens when you die?  An interesting question, and a rather lovely answer in this Young Adult read.  Liz awakes on a boat.  In the bottom bunk of a cabin.  In the top bunk is another girl and neither of them know how they got there and where they are going.  At last the boat reaches shore, and on disembarking, Liz is greeted by a woman who says she is her Grandmother, even though Liz has never met her before.  And where is she?  She is Elsewhere.

Yes, the woman is Liz's grandmother, dead before Liz was born, but certainly appears younger than she should be.  And that's because life in Elsewhere goes backwards - one begins to get younger from the day one arrives.  And one has to get a job, too.

Liz never wanted to die - she wasn't a suicide, she was the victim of a hit and run driver and now she's never going to see her family of best friend again - is she?

There are lots of books about the afterlife, some are best sellers, some are constantly borrowed from  library shelves, some never sell.  This one is probably one of the better ones, and certainly has a lot of charm.  Written for a younger audience, I see no reason why any age group should not read and love this.  I did.