Ever [With Earbuds] Book

A lot of people reviewing this book are complaining about the writing style and seemingly flat characterizations in the story. The writing style used in this book is an intentional imitation of ancient Mesopotamian texts and story telling techniques, which was a quirk that I really enjoyed, perhaps because I knew where it was coming from and what she was doing. However, I can understand why others who don't know where this is coming from are having problems with it. This imitation also impacts her characterizations, which are complex when the motives of the characters are examined, but appear flat since the author doesn't make any of these motivations explicit, exactly as was common in most Mesopotamian texts. Again, I liked this, but I admit to not being the average reader. I minored in Ancient Near Eastern History, and even spent a few months trying to learn Sumerian once upon a time, (hint, if you ever go crazy and for some strange reason think of trying to learn Sumerian, don't... Sumerian is HARD).

The plot also has many parallels to ancient Mesopotamian stories, including Ishtar's descent to the underworld, which is specifically referenced in the introduction, along with Judges 11:34. If you are interested in reading some of these stories, then I recommend getting a copy of Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement by James Bennett Pritchard.

The themes of faith, doubt, sacrifice, and the search for a seemingly absent God in this story are fascinating, and well worth considering. As is the evaluation of whether we should be willing to do something truly awful in the name of an "almighty" deity.

The book is short, and a very quick read, but is very enjoyable. Although the book is primarily for children, I thought that the complexities of the themes explored made it well worth reading for adults as well.

I highly recommend this book.