ELSEWHERE
Gabrielle Zevin
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fiction
ISBN: 0374320918
288 pages

• About the Book
• Critical Praise
• Read a Review
• Read an Excerpt
• Author Interview -- September 20, 2005

1. Water is a powerful image and symbol that runs throughout the book. Liz's story opens on the ocean; the Well is in the water; the Observation Decks face the water; Liz can communicate through a water source with her brother, Alvy. What other aspects of the importance of water are evident in the novel? Why does the author elect to use water as such an essential symbol? Comment on some of the other symbols, such as Liz's stitches, the watch her father gave her, and the snow globe.

2. This novel is divided into three separate parts and also employs a prologue and an epilogue. Understanding the structure of the novel is important to understanding the story itself. Why s the scene with Liz's dog, Lucy, the first glimpse the author provides of the story? How does this scene foreshadow what will come later in the novel? How does the epilogue bring the novel not to a close but to a resolution? What purpose do the three parts serve? What important events occur in each of the three parts?

3. There are many characters who are part of the story of ELSEWHERE, all of them critical to it. The author, Gabrielle Zevin, introduces the characters early in the story. Liz meets Thandi and Curtis on the ship, Grandma Betty upon her arrival, Aldous Ghent at the acclimation session, and Owen at the Well. No characters, not even the canine ones, are minor to the story. Explore how the characters move the novel forward. For instance, what important role does Esther, the supervisor at the Observation Deck, play? Why is Thandi critical to the story? Could the novel be complete without Sadie or Lucy or Alvy? How does each of them help Liz adjust to life on Elsewhere and come to understand that life on Elsewhere is something to be cherished?

4. Notice the allusions made to classic and contemporary literature throughout the novel. Liz recalls a line about antique lands. Aldous Ghent prompts Liz to read Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Liz reads E. B. White's CHARLOTTE'S WEB as she grows younger. Finally, Owen reads Natalie Babbitt's TUCK EVERLASTING to Liz when she is no longer able to read on her own. Every one of these titles deals with some aspect of life as it relates to Elsewhere as well as Earth. How does each address some facet of Liz's life and experiences?

5. How does the author use humor in the novel? What examples of wordplay are evident? For instance, Liz is aboard a ship called the Nile and Thandi tells her she is in denial (denile). Another example of this gentle humor is when Liz meets Sadie and informs the dog that she is drinking from a toilet. Locate other instances of humor and discuss how it is used in the novel. Is the humor intended to defuse the emotion of a serious situation or scene? Is it more of a way to show how Liz is becoming acclimated to life on Elsewhere?

6. Be sure to visit the Web site for the book at: www.fsgkidsbooks.com/elsewhere/index.htm. How does the structure of the site re?ect the structure and content of the novel?

7. Liz and all the other arrivals in Elsewhere are encouraged to find an avocation to pursue during their time there. Ghent explains to Liz that an avocation is something that makes one's soul complete (page 74). Some of the residents of Elsewhere work in avocations similar to the jobs they did on Earth; others have new ones. Marilyn Monroe becomes a psychiatrist. Curtis Jest decides to be a ?sherman and comments that John Lennon is a gardener. How do the avocations of Monroe, Lennon, Owen, Betty, Curtis, and other characters re?ect what they really want out of their new lives?

Prereading Activity

Much of Liz's initial anger at finding herself in Elsewhere is that her future plans are all canceled. Since everyone in Elsewhere ages in reverse, Liz will never have the chance to get her driver's license, go to the prom, or graduate from high school. Compile a list of three goals you hope to accomplish in the next year. Why is each goal important? How must you go about accomplishing these goals?

Language Arts/English/Reading Standards:

(www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm)

These standards, set by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), can be developed through a study of this novel:

• Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
  
  
• Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
  
  
• Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., soundletter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
  
  
• Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
  
  
• Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
  
  
• Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
  
  
• Students participate as knowledgeable, re?ective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
  
  
• Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
  
  

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