Keturah+and+Lord+Death

=Keturah and Lord Death=

I read this book last year as part of the Snow Willow selection committee, and as usual, forgot many of the details except for the fact that I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down. So I have started re-reading it and am every bit as fascinated the second time around. I also read many of the reviews on-line and started to puzzle somewhat about what made this book so attractive to me. I do not do a lot of self-analysis as I read, so this will be a good exercise for me. In thinking about this question, it became evident that as a rather fanciful young girl, with a very vivid imagination, this is the type of reading that has always appealed to me- a fairy-tale, a love story, and strong vivid characters. It reminded me quickly of what Robin McKinley and Gail Levine have accomplished in turning some of the familiar fairy tales into full-fledged novels. I loved them; not only for the rich detail, but for the well-developed characters. It also reminded me of The Princess Bride, a long-time favourite; which tells you that I am also a sucker for "true love"; and that is another story in itself! When Keturah chases the famed hart into the forest, she becomes lost. At the end of the three days, her strength waning, Lord Death comes for her, as expected. What is unexpected is the dialogue which ensues. Keturah does not wish to die and attempts to bargain for her life, but Lord Death is cold and implacable. He offers her a reprieve, that she choose anyone else from the village to take her place, which she refuses to do; showing her kind and generous nature. She then begins to relate to him a story of love, that no one, not even Lord Death can overcome. With that, she begins to pique his interest and she promises to tell him the rest of the story the next day. He allows her this option but also says that the end of the day, he will take her as his consort (isn't that a great word?) //unless// she is able to find and marry her true love in one day. And thus, as her friend Gretta puts it- "we go a man-hunting."

Here are some links to reviews that I found.

http://www.amazon.com/Keturah-Lord-Death-Martine-Leavitt/dp/1932425292 Amazon has a link for customer reviews which is great for students as they read and are able to read others comments. It's also a great place to order books. I love the new cover!! http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2006/10/keturah_and_lor.html Don't you just love the title of this blog- "shelves of doom'? There are lots of categories to choose from, but I don't think this can be considered a scholarly site- although I guess most blogs are simply people's opinions. This was an excellent review of Keturah http://www.martineleavitt.com/- This is Martine Leavitt's home page. http://cleanreads.blogspot.com/2007/06/keturah-and-lord-death-by-martine.html What a great idea- make you own contributions of clean reads- I too have become increasingly frustrated with the amount of swearing/sex in many of the YA titles. http://www.willowawards.ca/nomdescribe/keturah.htm Activities included on this site http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailBook.asp?idBooks=2125 From the University of Wisconsin with a link for librarians with many resources.


 * [|New York Times Sunday Book Review]