Keturah and Lord Death

by Martine Leavitt Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

Overview

This spellbinding National Book Award Finalist from award-winning author Martine Leavitt received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist. Sixteen-year-old Keturah tells vibrant stories of her own imagining to the folk of her small village. Her talent for painting beautiful pictures with words is impressive indeed, but will it be enough to save her life when she becomes lost in the deep, dark forest? "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, starred review

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

This lyrical tale adds surprises to the search for true love. Sixteen-year-old Keturah has never known love. When she's lost in the forest, the beautiful but severe Lord Death comes for her and decides to carry her off as his consort. Keturah strikes a bargain: If she can find true love in one day, thus proving to Death that there is more to love than dreams, he will spare her life. Scheherazade-like, Keturah draws out her single day into three, each night telling Death more of a story. Meanwhile, she examines the young men of her village as potential husbands, though without considering handsome John Temsland, the smitten son of her liege lord. As her deadline approaches, Keturah sees her village, her family and her friends as more beloved each day-her impending death adds spice to the mundane. 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. (Fantasy. 12-15)

From the Publisher

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

"There's a tradition of fleshing out bare-bones fairy tales into novels, spinning schematic Snow Whites and Cinderellas into living girls with freckles and foibles. "Keturah and Lord Death" evokes that tradition. . . 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."
— The New York Times

"Older readers will be entranced by this dark romance."
— Instructor Magazine (US)

"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."
— Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books

"Stippled with light and shadow and crowned with an ending that will leave teens breathless, this resonant fantasy centers on Keturah's attempts to evade destiny."
— Booklist

"The romance is intense, the writing is startling, and the story is spellbinding, as difficult to turn away from as the tales beautiful Keturah tells the villagers."
— Booklist, from the 2006 Editor's Choice List write-up

"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. . . 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

"Leavitt's novel is an unusual blend of folktale, myth, and romance, and its unexpected conclusion is thought-provoking. And while the prose is sometimes overly ponderous ('and my heart smote me'), more often it is lucid and arresting."
— Horn Book

"The tension in this novel is masterfully sustained, and the theme is arresting: not the usual 'choose life,' but rather, welcome death into your everyday awareness, because it's inseparable from life. The unconventional ending may disappoint some, but there's no denying that it's an admirably bold stroke."
— Quill and Quire

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171025700
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	03/04/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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