Elsewhere

Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th-7th

This book, quite popular with many students of mine (mainly girls) is such a disappointment. The writing is so elementary that it reads as if an elementary student could have written it -- on the sentence structure and formation level. The limited view on life after death (although, it is supposed to give an alternative idea on the land of the dead) assaults my sensitivity and insults my intelligence. It "pretends" to be profound but it is so shallow. I also could not care enough about the characters to be emotionally touched. Although, I have to say that I wanted to find out how everything turns out in the end. *shrug* It will be popular for a while and then it will join its characters and flow to the Elsewhere of books.. oblivion.