Fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is killed when her bike collides with an oncoming taxi. However, Liz wakes up moments later on a boat named the SS Nile, feeling perfectly alive. At first she believes this is a dream, but soon realizes that she is dead after feeling the stitches on the back of her head. The boat is destined to a place called Elsewhere. It looks just like Earth, only time moves backwards instead of forwards. This means that one lives their life backwards, starting from the age the person died. One could see new paintings by Picasso in the museum, or set up an appointment with Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatrist office. Upon arrival, Liz meets her maternal grandmother, Betty, who died of breast cancer before Liz was born. Betty is now in her thirties, and looks more like a mother than a grandmother. Liz is very startled and upset by this new world, and the truth finally begins to hit her. Liz will never have a sweet sixteen, never get married, never have kids, never see her brother grow up, and never go to college. She must live in Elsewhere for fifteen years only to become a baby again and be sent back to Earth as a newborn.
Liz soon becomes obsessed with visiting the Observation Desks in Elsewhere, which act as a window to the living. She spends hours watching her family and friends cope with her death, and even her own funeral take place. Liz is also determined to find the cab that hit her in the accident. When she finds the driver of the cab and learns about his personality and why he never turned himself in, Liz sympathizes with the cab driver and ultimately forgives him.
While Liz slowly begins adjusting to life in Elsewhere, she meets a 17-year-old boy named Owen. His job is to keep Elsewhere citizens away from the Well, a place where the dead can communicate with the living. The two slowly begin to form a romantic relationship when a person from Owen’s past makes an unexpected appearance in Elsewhere.
Liz still has difficulty accepting her death, so she decides that she will be “Released” back to Earth early. Because she died too young, Liz has the option of returning to Earth instantly instead of waiting to become a baby. As Liz begins her journey, she is struck by a wave of realization; she has everything she could ever want in Elsewhere. However, because of this doubt, she becomes caught in a place between Earth and Elsewhere. She is finally discovered by Owen, who never stopped looking for her after her Release.
The two live their lives happily together for many years, until it is time for Liz to be released as an infant. Two-year-old Owen is unaware of what is happening, but cries when Liz is sent away. This heartbreaking scene is the final scene of a truly touching novel. The author takes a new approach to the afterlife and gives interesting insight as to the mindset of a dead person. The most powerful moments in the book are when Liz speaks to her family for the last time and when she watches them through the Observation Decks. These scenes reflect Liz’s sorrow from a life unfinished. The ending, however, offers hope of new beginnings for everyone, even in death.
