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Keturah and Lord Death

Martine Leavitt

In Fiction

Ages: 12 and up
Pages: 216
List Price: $16.95
Cover: Hardcover
Published: 11/1/2006
ISBN: 1-932425-29-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-932425-29-1

Keturah follows a legendary hart into the king's forest, where she becomes hopelessly lost. Her strength diminishes until, finally, she realizes that death is near. Little does she know that he is a young, handsome lord, melancholy and stern. Renowned for her storytelling, Keturah is able to charm Lord Death with a story and thereby gain a reprieve--but only for twenty-four hours She must find her one true love within that time, or all is lost. Keturah searches desperately while the village prepares for an unexpected visit from the king and Keturah is thrust into a prominent role as mysterious happenings alarm her friends and neighbors. Lord Death's presence hovers over this all until Keturah confronts him one last time in the harrowing climax.

Awards

Selected for the “Bulletin Blue Ribbons 2007” list from the editors of THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS
National Book Award Finalist, Young People's Literature
Best of the Best Books List produced by the Chicago Public Library
Winner of the Bronze Award in YA Fiction from ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year
Selected for inclusion on the Tayshas Reading List 2008-2009 from the Texas Library Association

Reviews

"A darkly gorgeous medieval fairy tale. ... A fine achievement."
—Publishers Weekly

"The romance is intense, the writing is startling, and the story is spellbinding. ... This novel gets so many things just right. Readers will be carried away on the wind of Leavitt's words, and few will be able to guess how she finally ends her story."
—Booklist

"A dark, but uplifting story combining elements of fantasy as well as romance. It has a gripping plot, strong characters, and a surprise ending that will intrigue readers."
—School Library Journal

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"A darkly gorgeous medieval fairy tale. ... A fine achievement."
—Publishers Weekly

"Lyrical and compelling, Leavitt's novel uses the conventions of traditional fairy tales to weave together a story of love and life in a rich medieval setting. Keturah is a strong character who is as enchanting as her stories, and through Keturah's eyes, the dirty village of Tide-by-Rood and its inhabitants become a magical setting worth cheating Death to save. Teen fans of fantasy and fairy tales will be as charmed by Keturah as Lord Death himself."
—Voice of Youth Advocates

"Lyrical. ...Keturah's quest is lovely if (given its folktale style) not so original, but her unexpected solution to the puzzle leads to a thought-provoking and unabashedly sentimental conclusion."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Thought-provoking. ...Lucid and arresting. ...Glimpses of poetry carry the tale."
—Horn Book

"The passionate relationship of Keturah and Lord Death, blossoming out of an early fascination and strong friendship, is both realistic and otherworldly. Leavitt integrates the sweeping romance with a timeless story of a headstrong girl who is certain that, given enough time, she can create a perfect world. And indeed, happy endings abound in the novel, though Keturah's notion of a faultless and effortless true love are fortunately banished in favor of a recognition that sacrifice and compromise accompany relationships as often as ideal moments. Lord Death, mysterious and gorgeous, and Keturah, brilliant and beautiful, will be irresistible to romance fans as well as those who like a bit of passion woven into their fantasy."
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The conclusion is the best part of this novel-length fairy tale: at once unexpected and inevitable, sad and triumphant, satisfying yet abidingly mysterious. ...Readers who think they know exactly where the story is headed will find themselves pleasantly surprised. Not that Leavitt frustrates all expectations - much of what clearly has to happen does happen. But she takes what looks on the surface like a rather shallow story and plunges it, from time to time, into the depths that come only with pain."
—New York Times Book Review

"Wonderfully drawn characters and several lively and relevant subplots that place Keturah at the center of her village's economic and social rebirth add to this folkloric tale in which friendship, courage, nobility, and sacrifice all play critical roles. As for love? On that topic, Leavitt deftly leads readers on a journey whose ending could not be more surprising . . . or perhaps not surprising at all for any who pay close attention to the Emily Dickinson lines that comprise the epigraph at the start of the story: "Because I could not stop for Death / He kindly stopped for me; / The carriage held but just ourselves / And Immortality."
—CCBC Choices (University of Wisconsin)

"Darkly romantic...haunting. ...A blend of folktale, myth and romance, the book's thought-provoking conclusion is perfect for adolescent pondering."
—Toronto Star