"It takes more courage to be a mortal than it takes to be a god." (Olus)
I've read quite a few of Gail Carson Levine's previous books, Fairest, Ella Enchanted, The Two Princesses of Bamarre and The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales and I'm quite familiar with her work. While Ever is a good book it fails to entrance me the way Gail Carson Levine's previous books have.
There are two things that are done extremely well in Ever. This is the world-building and the plot.
The world is an ancient civilisation modeled on Mesopotamia. This civlisation is religious and people believe in gods and goddesses. The world in Ever is described extremely well. The descriptions are rich and form an amazing visual picture in my head.
The plot is engrossing. When Kezi's mother falls sick, her father swears an oath to the god, Admat, that he will sacrifice the first person who congratulates him within three days if Admat makes his wife recover. Unfortunately, it is his daughter ,Kezi, who congratulates him first and within a month she must be sacrificed. I enjoyed reading about Kezi's feelings and the trials that she has to undergo in an attempt to stop the sacrifice and I understand her parents feelings and guilt about her sacrifice.
Two things that are done extremely poorly in Ever is characterisation and romance.
While the world is rich and vibrant, the characters, in comparision, are dull. I'm a character reader. This means that if I don't form a connection with the characters, I won't be compelled to read the book even if the world and plot is amazing. In Ever the poor characterisation is a bother. I think it's because I read this after marathoning the Count On Me series which has strong characterisation and character development. I didn't get to know much about Kezi and Olus - aside from their fears, likes and dislikes - even though they go through interesting things in Ever. The characters are not nuanced nor are they relatable.
The romance feels insta-lovey. Kezi and Olus have one brief interaction, then they kiss and call each other "my love" in a short space of time. I can make excuses for the fast-paced romance by saying:
a)It's a middle-grade read, so the romance doesn't have to be so complex. (A poor excuse!)
b)Kezi is going to die so this might be a factor that speeds up the pace of the romance. (A valid excuse)
However, I'm not invested in the characters, so I'm not invested in the romance.
In a nutshell, Ever has a great plot and world-building, but suffers from poor characterisation and romance. This is a solid middle-grade novel, but it isn't the Gail Carson Levine book that I would recommend to first time readers of her work.