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    Ever
    Ever
    Ever
    Audiobook5 hours

    Ever

    Written by Gail Carson Levine

    Narrated by Jenna Lamia and Oliver Wyman

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScholastic
    Release dateJan 1, 2009
    ISBN9780545164252
    Author

    Gail Carson Levine

    Gail Carson Levine's first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a Newbery Honor Book. Levine's other books include Ever, a New York Times bestseller; Fairest, a Best Book of the Year for Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal and a New York Times bestseller; Dave at Night, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; The Wish; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; A Tale of Two Castles; Stolen Magic; The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre; Ogre Enchanted; and the six Princess Tales books. She is also the author of the nonfiction books Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly and Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink, as well as the picture books Betsy Who Cried Wolf and Betsy Red Hoodie. Gail Carson Levine and her husband, David, live in a two-centuries-old farmhouse in the Hudson Valley of New York State.

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    Reviews for Ever

    3.5/5

    395 ratings28 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Not quite as fun as Levine’s other books. There were quite a few things I didn’t like- the multiple narrators, the too short, Dan Brown-esque chapters, the rushed, forced relationship between the two main characters. One of the reasons I loved Ella Enchanted, and to a lesser extent, Fairest, is because the romantic relationships seem genuine, despite them being fantasy fairytale retellings. You could picture flesh and blood teenagers behaving and reacting to one another the way Levine described it. This book, eh, maybe it’s taking the story away from the familiar fairy tale ground and into a world of gods, goddesses and myths, but it seemed a bit melodramatic and sort of unsubstantial. Also, the trials the two endured were too brief and I never felt a sense of danger, or urgency. I think the intended audience would have found this a bit boring.

      Skip this one and read Ella instead.
    • 3/5
      It was kind of confusing with all the different voices.
    • 3/5
      This book was filled with adventure and I am ever so glad that it turned out alright. The love of a god for a mortal is always precarious but when that love is returned it is priceless. Olus' loneliness and Kezi's acceptance and fight for survival is well written.
    • 4/5
      I saw this pitched as part of the series Ella Enchanted begins, but am dubious about that: though it's in the same spirit of telling a story around an old tale, it's based on an Old Testament story rather than a fairy tale, doesn't appear to be in the same world as the others, and there's no sign of Lucinda's gifts anywhere.I usually don't like romances between gods and mortals but here at least the god is the same age as the human: that helps a lot! He's also subject to, and has to overcome, very human-like agoraphobia (though a little eyebrow-raising that once he's overcome it once he's no longer subject to it at all).The feathered beings in the pseudo-afterlife are genuinely creepy. Hopefully some future hero can free them, rather than merely escape.
    • 3/5
      Olus is the god of the winds; Kezi us a human girl whose days are numbered. Kezi worships Admat, a type of god many modern people might recognize: singular, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, invisible, and mysterious. When Olus shows up claiming to be a god, her world is turned upside down. How can Olus be a god when Admat is god of everything? And then there's a love story, which is kind of sweet, if quite predictable. Honestly? I wasn't too excited about this one. I loved Ella Enchanted and Fairest, but this doesn't quite fit the same mold. It sort of mashes up assorted ancient mythologies (Greek, Aztec, whatever), tosses in a couple of Old Testament anecdotes, and shakes thoroughly. You have gods and monsters and great deeds and hard decisions and honor and true love. The worldbuilding was lovely, but neither Kezi nor Olus felt very real to me. I felt like I was hearing about it secondhand, rather than experiencing it with the characters. In other words, it felt like a myth: all plot with very little humanity binding it together.
    • 2/5
      Very disappointing.
    • 5/5
      This story is in a fantasy Greco-Romanesque setting and is thoroughly captivating- filled with questions of what divinity and immortality are. The two characters have to face fears to find love, but they also have to discover how to be, find momentum, and learn what matters. It was a great love story, but also a coming of age story I really enjoyed.
    • 4/5
      Very well written with lots of adventure, fantasy and romance.
    • 3/5
      I liked this. I generally like Gail Carson Levine she's got a nice evocative style that's still very readable and moves the story forward. I also liked that she chose to draw from a different mythology, in this case it felt sort of Sumerian, Babylonian, Fertile Crescent. I've read a few myth based stories lately that have been drawing from sources other than the more common Celtic and European stories, and I do like the variety. It doesn't get more stars because the structure didn't work that well for me. The language is fairly simple and the story is broken up into a great many very short chapters; some of them were less than 200 words; and lots of switches of location and point of view. As somebody else said, this may have been an attempt to reflect the style of Sumerian or Assyrian tales, but I just didn't get enough uninterrupted narrative to really connect and get settled in with the characters or story. I'd start to engage with something and then I'd be whisked off somewhere else. So even though there were some really great bits, after awhile I just got a little frustrated. It was a quick read so it was possible to stick it out, but at times it felt oddly like a chapter book for beginning readers.
    • 3/5
      So disappointing. I could go on and on about all the ways in which this book doesn't work, but it's not worth it. Suffice it to say that the world-building is so bad that none of the book makes any sense. Especially disappointing because of how much I enjoy Gail Carson Levine's other books.
    • 3/5
      "Ever" is a book by Gail Carson Levine. It is a book about a girl that sacraficed her life to save her only aunt.Olus,the wind god of Kezi's country, sees her and falls in love.Kezi sees him and falls in love also.Thogether they search for the way to save Kezi.The only way to savew her though is to make her immortal.They both go through trail.Kezi maust become a heroine and Olus must become a champion. IF they don't do that, Kezi will die. It's the only way to save their love.This book was okay.I liked it,b ut it could have been longer.I wasn't big on some of the ideas in the book.The book didn't sound like Gail Carson Levine's other books.It isn't a book I would recomend off the top of my head.Some people have their own opions though.
    • 3/5
      Olus and Kezi fall in love and battle a horrible fate by braving separate trials. The premise of the book draws readers in, but the excitement of starting a new fairy tale by the wonderful Gail Carson Levine quickly wanes with the novel’s tedious exposition. There are a lot of prayer rituals and the like, which establish the importance of faith and belief but perhaps at the price of the reader’s interest. These themes are central, as the characters start asking questions about what they believe and why, which is a bit heavy-handed but may provoke some introspection from a young adolescent reading audience. The tale is set in a handful of magical worlds, but not all of them are evenly captivating. One world in particular stands out as being a creative force holding the story together, moving the reader along and providing some magic into this fairy tale. Olus and Kezi alternatively narrate the story, and they develop moderately throughout the novel. While not the most memorable characters, they are adequately presented. The novel’s denouement is sufficient, and is consistent with the events leading up to it. This book will appeal to Gail Carson Levine fans who want to read all her works, as well as those who enjoy mythology and fairy tales. As such this book is recommended for girls who avidly read, ages ten to thirteen.
    • 4/5
      This wasn't my favorite of Ms. Levine's books. I liked the storyline and I really liked Kezi and Olus. They each ended up aspiring to something more than they were born to, and that journey they took was unique and colorful. But I guess I found the conclusions about gods and God not true to my experience. I couldn't escape the message that believing in one all-powerful God was foolish and nothing more than a construct of man. I'm not sure if that was Ms. Levine's intention, but it was my reaction to the text. Made the story less appealing to me.
    • 4/5
      All the heart-tugging elements of a great story are here: the impossible romance, the epic quest, the struggle between honor and 'humanity' ... It's a story drawn from the Bible, but woven of mortal and immortal Love and Desire. It's a story of adventure and self-discovery, of facing fears and finding the true value of living. It's a story I read quickly, but that my thoughts have danced back to several times. In moments, it reminded me of Levine's The Two Princesses of Bamarre, but Ever is wholly a story unto its own. I'm dancing around the story itself, because it'd be way too easy to tell you all about it - and that would entirely spoil the experience. This is one of those books where, if you're like me, you need to exercise extreme self-control and not read the ending before you get there -- I'm so glad I managed to not flip ahead, because ... well, you'll see.
    • 2/5
      I liked the concept of the story, but I didn't enjoy the writing style and stopped reading after the first couple of chapters.
    • 3/5
      Ever is a fantasy/historical fiction book for young adults about a mortal girl who falls in love with the god of the wind. Together, the two must become heroes in order to save her from an untimely death. This is a cute book, but it does not have the magic of some of Levine’s other books. Furthermore, its theme may make many religious parents a little wary. Ever asks questions about God’s existence and His ability to communicate with His people. These questions remain unanswered at the end of the story. Although I do not find the theme offensive (everyone has a right to express doubts), I think it may not be appropriate for younger, more impressionable readers (unless their parents encourage open thinking about religion; in which case it’s a perfect discussion book).
    • 3/5
      A child of the gods, Olus is the youngest by far of the immortals and fascinated by the mortals he sees far below as he soars with his winds. One mortal girl in particular catches his eye, and he can't resist meeting her in person.Kezi, a beautiful young weaver and dancer, is cursed by fate to die sacrificed to her god. Can Olus prove to her that he really does exist? And can the two of them together meet their challenges and earn a life together?Not what I expected given the cover image, and certainly not as fine a read as I expected given the author's other books. Disappointing.
    • 4/5
      I had read something about this book which made me think it was not appropriate for the youth department, where most Gail Carson Levine books are. So I decided to read it. This book is set in a mythical country where Kezi lives with her family. Her family has always believed in Admat - much like God. But there is a group of gods, much like the Greek gods and goddesses who are really watching from afar. One of the young gods, Olus, falls in love with Kezi and is determined to save her from an oath her father swore to Admat that he would kill her in one month. There is the whole question of God v. god - how religion is represented. There is also the love relationship between Kezi and Olus - there is nothing beyond kissing, but it is definitely a deep relationship. It's just a weird combination of things - a deeper relationship than usual in Levine's books, but told in a very simplified way, much like her usual middle school books. So it isn't really a teen book, nor is it a youth book. We put it in teen for now.
    • 5/5
      This book was a bit different then I expected. I thought ... Ever.. fairy tale.. no? Instead, it had a more mythological story line about the god of wind falling in love with a girl who saves her aunt from a terrible death oath by taking it on herself. They fall in love... he tries to save her... the whole champion/heroine deal is added in there as well. Overall, a really well-written and wonderful book.
    • 3/5
      I was excited to read this next offering from Gail Carson Levine, as I have enjoyed her previous novels. Ever was another enchanting story-Kezi is a young girl who falls in love with Olus, who is an immortal god. In Kezi's world, she is to be sacrificed to her god, and in order to change her fate, the pair embark on a quest to make her immortal. Although I enjoyed this book, it didn't have the same magic as Levine's other books have had for me. Overall it was a good read and I would recommend to reader's who enjoy fairy tales.
    • 3/5
      The first thing that comes to mind when I think of this book is “sweet.” It’s a YA romance novel - Amazon says it’s meant for 9-12 year olds - but there are some fun bits for older readers.Olus is the youngest of all the Akkan gods by several thousand years. He leaves their home above Mt Enshi to live with mortals. In a foreign country, he meets and falls in love with Kezi, a teenager who is destined to be sacrificed to her god. And then, of course, Olus decides that he needs to find a way to save her.I liked Kezi a lot - there are some lovely descriptions of her dancing and weaving, which I thought were the best parts of the book - but Olus fell a little flat for me. Where the book really fails is in the narration. It switches between Olus and Kezi, but honestly, I kept forgetting who was talking at the time, as neither had a distinct voice.Overall, a readable YA fantasy romance.
    • 4/5
      Fun, supernatural read. One of my daughter's favorite authors writes a more young adult book.About Olus, a god, who leaves his parents' safe home to live in Hyte. Kezi, a dancer and rug weaver and a mortal who catches his eye. They fall in love and either he must become mortal or she takes the test to become a god. In between, Kezi's father has to make a sacrifice of her aunt (human sacrifice to the gods) in return for a prayer answered and how kezi saves her aunt. I love strong female protagonist books!
    • 4/5
      I love Gail Carson Levine. Her books Ella Enchanted and Two Princesses of Bamarre are two of my very favorite books ever. (Don't judge Ella Enchanted by the movie either - they have almost nothing in common except the title and the name of the main character!) So when I heard she had another full length book out, I bought it right away. Ever was one of the books I was saving for something special. I decided it was time to read it already, and I finished it this week.At first, I thought Ever was set in the same world as Ella Enchanted and the next book Fairest, although the two are not closely related. But after just a few pages in, I realized that this was a stand alone title. The book is told from two different viewpoints, that of Kezi, a young girl living with her fond parents, interested in weaving and dancing, and Olus, a young god of wind and loneliness. Olus has been watching Kezi and her family and he has fallen in love. When a twist of fate condemns her to be a sacrifice to the god Admat. Olus and Kezi set off to find Admat and release Kezi from her fate.This was not quite as good as Ella Enchanted, but it was extremely good. I read it all in a couple of days and I couldn't wait to finish. Both Kezi and Olus are well drawn, sympathetic characters and the story was an original one. If I had one problem it was that the ending chapters were not quite as good as the beginning, but I still loved it.
    • 3/5
      Olus, the God of Wind is lonely. He flies on his winds to make friends with a worshipper. Olus scares the worshipper, he is even more lonely. Olus decides to live among the humans, he chooses to be a goatherder. He meets and falls in love with his landlord's daughter Kezi. Kezi is going to die, Olus and Kezi must find a way to outsmart the god she worships, Admat (for he is the one she is to die for). A lovely, little love story.
    • 4/5
      Olus is a young god, who is quite intrigued by mortals, so much so that he leaves his home to travel among them for a year. In his travels he meets a family, a father, mother, daughter and aunt. And he comes to care about them, especially the daughter, who is his own age. Kezi decides to sacrifice herself to save her aunt and is to become a human sacrifice for their god. Olus and Kezi then must meet and find a way to save her from her death. I did not enjoy this one quite as much as Fairest, but it was an interesting read.
    • 2/5
      Olus, god of winds, youngest god in the kingdom of Akka, is lonely. He finds himself often watching the mortals and wishing to find a friend. This desire brings him to the far-away city of Hyte, where he is employed as a goatherd in the palace official Senat’s land. However, he finds himself using his winds to watch the sheep, instead spending most of his time observing Senat’s family, especially his teenage daughter, the weaver and dancer Kezi.For Kezi, things are looking down. First her mati is deathly sick, then her padu offers a human sacrifice to the almight god, Admat (whom Olus has never heard of). To everyone’s horror, Kezi is that sacrifice. In thirty days, she must submit herself to Admat’s temple to be sacrificed to the god, or else he will avenge her family and her descendants forever.Olus is desperately determined to save the life of the girl he has grown to love. He whisks her off to his home country of Akka, where they declare their love for each other and undergo challenges to prove themselves, he as a champion, and she as a heroine. For only if they pass their tests may Kezi have a chance to be immortal and thus save her life. The stakes are high, and the chances of success slim, but Olus and Kezi’s love for one another will hopefully churn out a happy ending.While far from being her strongest book, EVER is nevertheless an enjoyable light fantasy read. Elementary school or middle school kids in particular may be attracted to Kezi and Olus’ story as one of the power of love to triumph over fate itself.
    • 5/5
      When 14-year-old Kezi’s mother falls gravely ill, her father makes a rash promise to Admat, the god of their city Hyte. He swears that if Admat will restore his wife’s health he will kill the first person who congratulates him within three days. The family hides out hoping for the three days to pass without contact. Unfortunately, Kezi’s beloved Aunt Fedo arrives without warning and begins to comment on the mother’s health, to save her aunt’s life, Kezi congratulates her father herself, bringing the oath down upon her own head. Meanwhile, Olus, the Akkan god of the winds has been observing Kezi’s family from afar and has fallen deeply in love with the girl. Determined to save her life, Olus reveals himself to Kezi and the two set off to change her fate by completing a series of quests that could make her immortal. The question of faith is prevalent throughout this tale. There is no tangible sign – even to the god Olus – that Kezi’s god exists and yet, she never abandons her belief in him or turns her back on her father’s oath to him even when doing so could prevent her death. That exploration of the meaning and power of faith allow this title to stand out from Levine’s other romantic works as one not only worth reading but also contemplating for some time after the last page is turned.
    • 2/5
      I normally love GCL's books. This one, however, fell flat of her usually woderful fairy tales. The story jumps back and forth between the two main characters, Kezi and Olus. This story follows typical fairy tale elements, and is a very easy read. I felt like I was reading an elementary students version of the events, rather than the 17 year olds' that were telling their side of the story.