Book of the Week: Keturah and Lord Death

 

I decided I'd better go back into my archives and review something I read quite a while ago.  I've been meaning to share my love for this book for quite a while, but was waiting for the right time.  Since the book I'm currently reading is reallyreallyreallyreally long
(. . .Okay fine I'll tell you what it is: Les Miserables.  I've been at it for over a week and I'm only 8% into the book.  Hoping the pace picks up soon, but looking at the length of the book, I don't think it will)
and I recommended Keturah and Lord Death to a bunch of people last week, I thought it was high time to give it a post here.

Title: Keturah and Lord Death (if you hadn't noticed)
Author: Martine Leavitt
Year Published: 2006
Short Synopsis:  Keturah is a 16-year-old girl who lives a simple life in a medieval-esque village.   It should be noted that she has a gift for storytelling. One day, she gets lost in the woods and meets Lord Death, who means to take her with him.  She begs him for a few more days and begins telling him a story.  He agrees to let her live just a little while longer so that she will tell him how the story will end.  


Some Things I Liked:  Although it is placed in a fairly familiar setting - medieval with a mild touch of fantasy - it had a unique feel to me.  It is at the same time very simple and very complex.  This is the kind of book I could read over and over again and gain something new from it each time.  I did actually re-read it immediately after finishing it the first time not because I was at all confused by it, but because I enjoyed it so much.
I need to add that last weekend when someone asked me if it was a romance I said no.  A better answer would have been that it is not really a romance, but it IS a love story.  


Things I couldn't decide whether I liked or not:  There are a few parts where after reading them, I couldn't help but thinking "wow, a whole lot of things just happened in a very short amount of time."  But it works in this story.  I just know that some people (like my husband) get really annoyed by things like that.


Some things I didn't like: It wasn't long enough!  I would have loved more dialogue between Keturah and Death.  But, I will have to be satisfied with reading it over and over and over.  


My Rating: 3 out of 3.  Best.  Read it.  You will laugh.  You will cry.  You will gain insights that you would have never expected from a short, quiet, unassuming young adult novel.