Ever * Gail Carson Levine
2008 * p. 244 * YA Fantasy"Falling in love is never easy, but falling in love with an immortal god while your days on earth are numbered is almost more than a young girl can bear.
Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning new world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows, and ancient omens in this spellbinding story of Kezi, a girl confronted with a terrible destiny. Attempting to thwart her fate, Kezi and her love, Olus -- the god of wind and loneliness -- embark on a series of dangerous and seemingly impossible quests."
Kezi, her family, and the whole town are devout worshippers of the god Admat. He is all and everything to them. When Kezi's mother becomes ill, her father makes a promise to Admat that if his wife is spared, he will sacrifice someone in honor of Admat. That someone ends up being Kezi.
The whole family is depressed, needless to say. Kezi has til the end of the month to live. If her father doesn't fulfill his oath, the whole town could perish.
Meanwhile, another god, Olus, has been watching. he likes humans and wishes he was one of them. He has become particularly attached to Kezi and her family. Risking exposure, Olus talks to Kezi and vows to save her. Together they will find Admat and plead for Kezi's life, or make Kezi immortal. Neither proves to be very easy.
I thought it was a great concept, but the writing seemed to lacking to me. Which is suprising since I'm a big Gail Carson Levine fan. Each new chapter switches perspectives--from Kezi to Olus and back again. The sequence of events seemed scattered. It feels more like an oral retelling of an ancient fairy tale. Interesting.
Really thats all I can say. Interesting.
But a good, simple, clean read for YA.
-Reading level: ages 12 & up
-Completely appropriate
-Themes of sacrifice, religion, devotion, obedience, love, courage
