Ever F*cking More

Two teens from drastically different societies connect in Amman’s paranormal fantasy novel.

In New York, Dean is one of the Lupispiriti—nomads who live in the wild and engage in wolflike behaviors. He belonged to a small pack, made up solely of members of his family, but after Hunters murder his parents, the brawny 14-year-old finds himself alone. While on a quest for vengeance, he finds and takes in an apparent boy who goes by the name Everett; he soon learns that Everett is actually a 14-year-old girl named Ever who’s led a harsh life. Ever is pregnant and needs to see a doctor; the two get help from Child Protective Services and wind up in a youth shelter with other orphans. However, Dean can’t stay there for long, as the Lupispiriti’s annual Gathering is imminent. There, he can join another pack, although it also practically guarantees that he’ll have to interact with a much-despised “alpha” named Sparrow. Meanwhile, Dean and Ever’s relationship, which had been akin to that of siblings, grows more intimate; Sparrow is also fascinated by Ever, for reasons unknown. Can Dean and Ever be together, or will circumstances force them apart? Amman offers an intriguing interpretation of a werewolf tale; the Lupispiriti are humans with a touch of supernatural about them, including heightened senses, superior healing, and, for the alphas, mind control. The story primarily revolves around societal views on sex, contrasting the polyamorous Lupispiriti with the sexually repressed “uncivilization” of ordinary humans. The narrative, which generally favors the former, includes explicit sex scenes involving teens, which is likely to disturb some readers. The story sets up a bizarre potential love triangle before another alpha threatens to stir up trouble among the Lupispiriti. The chapters occasionally interrupt the narrative flow with mid-scene chapter breaks, but scenes that focusing on individual members of the massive cast consistently energize the story. The open ending, too, is as memorable as it is fitting.

A lively, if sometimes-unsettling, supernatural tale.