Having recently finished the book Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, I'm forced to wonder if I've become too bitter and tainted to enjoy a mild young adult story of two teens finding love in an alternative universe, or is this another case where a great story has been trivialized by focusing on the inept lovelife of two characters? This is the same issue I had with Titanic. The tragic story of 1500 people who drowned on the maiden voyage of the largest shipliner at the time, a movie in which 200 million dollars was spent creating the idyllic picture and demise of the 1912 cruiseship Titanic and what story are we treated to? Peasant Jack and spoiled rich girl Rose's failed relationship.

I'm sure any souls reading this would accuse me of being a curmudgeon, but I don't like the idea of foregoing an immense amount of rich material, just to focus on a story that could take place in the normal world.

Other than this trite relationship, I found myself enjoying the side stories of this book. The aging backwards thing, the talking dogs, the well in which the Elswhere residents can communicate with the real world, all of these were fun details to explore. If you don't mind a few heavy-handed themes and a nauseating romance arc, this is the book for you.