Fifteen year old Liz wakes up one day on a boat, and is convinced that she's dreaming. Eventually she realizes that she's dead, and the afterlife is far different than anyone knew. The boat takes her to Elsewhere, where the dead age in reverse until they're ready to be reborn as infants on earth.
There are unaddressed problems with the premise (for example: the human population grows exponentially so this system of recycling a constant number of souls could not satisfy the number of new births). I understand that the premise is just a platform for the story; nevertheless, wobbly platforms are a pet peeve of mine. Other elements of the story rubbed me as a little too trite or simplistic. Conflicts are overcome too easily, characters are too forgiving, and everyone is just a little too flat for my liking.
Overall, the book is about learning to choose happiness, accept what cannot be changed, and recognize/act upon what can. I recognize and accept that this is not the style of story that can make me happy, so off I go to read other books...
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