Many fans of fantasy may recall Gail Carson Levine’s wonderful tale, Ella Enchanted, as well as its charming screen adaptation featuring Anne Hathaway. Though Levine may be most well known for this wonderful tale, she has since written several more fun fairytales that are just as enjoyable—if not even more so (including my favorite of them all so far, Fairest). Her 2008 fantasy novel, Ever, departs from the spins that the author likes to wrap around traditional fairytales and instead takes on a mythological tone.

Ever is the tale of a young god, Olus, and his beloved mortal, Kezi. The two teenaged characters are vibrant and joyful, as are their families and settings. In fact, most of the tale does not contain the typical scary villains, treachery, or other human foes found in Levine’s other works. Instead, it has a storyteller quality to it that rings of a real legend. Most obstacles, instead, stem from the heroes themselves, as well as some well-meant mistakes from other characters. While Olus yearns to be with Kezi forever, Kezi becomes cursed early in the novel and is destined to die soon. The rest of the book deals with how the two can save her life without offending the god that she and her family worship—who may or may not exist. This theme of questionable religion—and how the gods that do exist differ from how mortals perceive them—is skillfully carried out throughout the book.

Though told very simply through the eyes of the two characters, a sense of adventure and place is far from missing. Levine inflects the tale with a wonderful Middle Eastern flair, from the rug patterns to clothing and jewels to the foods described in the novel. She creates a world with its own customs, traditions, and gods, and does so very skillfully. The simplistic nature of the story is what gives it such a true mythological feel; rather than putting too much characterization between the main couple, she instead focuses more on the mythological tale itself, which, in the end, exists as an explanation of a godly story, much like any other historical myths might. 

The one thing that I missed in the story was the usual intricate plot that Levine is known to create. The heroine usually comes up with some brilliant scheme, there are twists and turns, and we know she triumphs in the end—far past our own expectations from knowing traditional fairytales. While this story had adventure and a brave heroine, the intelligent scheming and much of the humor we usually expect felt absent in this novel. Nevertheless, a strong, enjoyable story persists, with the heroine’s character tried and tested rather than her plan-making skills, making Ever well worth the read. I would certainly read any other mythological tales that Levine chooses to share with us in the future.