Keturah and Lord Death

Leavitt, Martine. Keturah and Lord Death. Front Street, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-1-932425-29-1.

Plot
Sixteen years old Keturah is known for her beauty as well as unique gifts. However she ends up lost in the King's forest and Lord Death appears to take her away. In a desperate bid for more time she starts telling him a story which pleases him and they agree to make a bargain, he will let her live is she is able to find her true love in one day. Keturah now tries to find a way to find her new love and gets involved in all of the villagers' lives in the process.

Critical Evaluation
Readers will appreciate the simplicity of the narration. Although the characters are complex and there are twists to the plot, readers will not get lost in the language and will feel that the text reads very quickly. The tone of the book tends to be dark and magical but not depressing. Readers will enjoy a dark historical romantic story with this book.

Reader's Annotation
Keturah cheats Lords Death with one of her memorizing stories. As a result she and Lord Death make a deal, she must find her true love in one day or he will take her to the other side.

About the Author
Canadian born Martine Leavitt is a YA author. She attended the University of Calgary to study English and then went on to complete her M.F.A at Vermont College. She has written seven novels and has received numerous awards such as the Mr. Christie award for Tom Finder. Recently she has been focusing on writing poetry.

She is the mother of seven children and is a grandmother of nine.

Genre
Fiction

Curriculum
Death fiction
Romantic fiction
Interpersonal Relations fiction

Book Talking Ideas
Why did Keturah choose the way she did? She did have more options?
Do you think dreams are important or should be considered as signs for things to come?
Did you feel sorry for Lord Death or was he the "bad guy" of the story?

Reading Level/Interest Age
12+

Challenge Issues
none

Why Included in Selection
The subject matter was intriguing and the twists in the plot were very surprising and complex.