Flaptekst:
In deze bijzondere roman is de dood niet het einde, maar een nieuwe start. De 15-jarige Liz verongelukt bij een verkeersongeluk en haar 'leven' neemt een behoorlijk onverwachte wending. Op de leeftijd ban bijna 16 moet Liz leren leven met de zekerheid dat ze nooit zal trouwen, kinderen zal krijgen of misschien zelfs nooit verliefd zal worden. Liz belandt Ergens, een plaats waar het leven verder eigenlijk gewoon doorgaat als op aarde. Toch zijn er wel verschillen...

Ergens by Gabrielle Zevin

My Goodreads rating: 3 of 5 stars


For young teenage girls, I think this book deserves 5 stars, for adults it starts with an interesting premise, but about halfway through, it degenerated into a book which could (almost) have been set on Earth. The narrator, Lizzie, died at the age of 15, and is reluctant to embrace her transition to Elsewhere, a version of the afterlife. There were some interesting ideas about how the dead might watch over their families; clouds or stars were not involved. Lizzie also asks some interesting questions about reincarnation, as in this version of death, you have the same amount of time to live your life again as you did on Earth, but instead of getting older, you grow younger until you are sent back to the world as a new baby. Life on Elsewhere is remarkably similar to life here except that you can choose what you want to occupy yourself with, and you keep any knowledge and wisdom you had already amassed. It's also possible to make new mistakes and new relationships. The fact that your family and loved ones also arrive at the same place, but at different times, makes for some interesting age discrepancies and a chance to have a completely different relationship with some people, including developing romantic relationships, although age differences can complicate things.

All in all, I enjoyed this light read, and it did make me think, but left some unanswered questions. For example, if everyone returns to Earth, how is it possible for there to be a population explosion on Earth? Where do those new babies come from? Many people will appreciate in this version of the afterlife is that it is possible to adopt pets, and you can welcome people from your past when they arrive in Elsewhere. The main lesson to be learned is that you should make the most of your life, live in the moment and appreciate what you've got, but this is done with a light-handed touch and the story is mainly plot-driven.

Read in Dutch.



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