In Some Other World, Maybe

October 27, 2014
Goldhagen’s smart but unfulfilling second novel (after Family and Other Accidents) traces the lives of four people from high school to their mid-30s as they struggle to find their places in the world. In 1992, Adam, Sharon, Phoebe, and Ollie are all in very different places, emotionally and geographically, when the film adaptation of the comic book Eons & Empires opens in movie theaters. As they gravitate in and out of each other’s orbits, this clunky motif connects them. A-student Adam leaves behind smalltown Florida in search of success as an actor; quiet, Midwestern Sharon struggles to adjust to big-city living as a writer in New York City; Phoebe turns her back on Chicago and her boyfriend, Ollie, and crosses paths with Adam in her pursuit of acting gigs in L.A. Each character’s individual story is compelling, though their pursuit of meaning in their never-satisfied lives, while witty and heartfelt, never comes together.

November 15, 2014
A movie and quirks of fate send strangers in all directions-but mostly toward each other. In 1992, the famous comic book series Eons & Empires is made into a movie, and its pull is irresistible to three sets of teenagers. In Florida, Chicago and Cincinnati, they make dates and ditch school to see their favorite comic on the big screen. From there, the book rockets into adult life, following some of those teens as they stumble through young adulthood and across one another. Oliver and Phoebe fall in love and then she disappears across the country; Adam develops from geek to movie star; and Sharon gets her heart broken then reinvents herself as a journalist. The characters call and write each other over the years as their relationships change, and much is made of their regular cross-country travels; the book features more airports than a James Bond movie. Goldhagen's (Family and Other Accidents, 2006) writing is funny and honest and reflects well the oddities of modern America. However, at times the dialogue is so similar from arc to arc that it can be hard to differentiate them, which has the effect of making the stories blend together and seem a bit dull. And though Goldhagen cleverly winds the strands of each story around the others, the relationships between various characters don't always add to other characters' tales. Still, Goldhagen's resistance to cliche keeps the story interesting, and it ends well. Suburban kids who matured in the 1990s and 2000s will find much to identify with, and fans of Rainbow Rowell's adult novels will appreciate the realistic love stories. An original novel about how to let go of adolescent fantasies and make it to adulthood.

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Starred review from January 1, 2015

It's 1992 and teenagers all over America are thronging to the theaters for the long-awaited movie version of Eons & Empires, the alternate world odyssey that's the obsession of comic book geeks everywhere. In Florida, it's Adam Zoellner's opportunity to hook up with his longtime crush. In Cincinnati, Sharon Gallaher ditches school to watch the film, an innocuous act with devastating consequences. In Chicago, E&E's premiere marks the first date of Phoebe Fisher and Oliver Ryan, whose romantic aspirations are foiled when Phoebe's kid brother Chase tails them to the movie. Goldhagen's (Family and Other Accidents) pitch-perfect narrative follows these characters over the next 20 years, across the globe and through a time punctuated by landmark events ranging from the 1996 crash of youngest-ever pilot Jessica Dubroff to the 9/11 attacks. VERDICT From New York to Macau, these braided histories are imparted via witty, engaging prose peppered with almost unbearable poignancy. Sure to resonate with fans of nonlinear storytelling in the vein of Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad and Zadie Smith's NW, this title deserves a place on every library shelf. Superb. [See Prepub Alert, 7/28/14.]--Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2014
Goldhagen follows up her winning debut novel, Families and Other Accidents (2006), with an equally engaging story of four young people whose lives intersect at pivotal moments. The novel opens on the day in 1992 when all four high-schoolers, living in different parts of the country, attended the premiere of the fictional Star Warslike sf epic Eons & Empires. Adam, an aspiring actor, will go on to star in the TV series based on that movie. Phoebe and Ollie are madly in love but eventually break up, and a heartbroken Ollie will travel the world, while beautiful Phoebe moves to L.A. with high expectations of becoming an actor, only to end up bartending and sleeping with a series of has-beens. Meanwhile, nerdy Sharon, obsessed with the comic-book series upon which Eons & Empires is based, ends up becoming a writer in New York City. How the four characters cross paths is one of the high points of this six-degrees-of-separation novel. A highly relatable cast is another hook as the four face down difficulties with humor and a good deal of heart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)