Keturah and Lord Death

Written by Martine Leavitt

Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 4, 2008
• ISBN: 9781449800680

Martine Leavitt

MARTINE LEAVITT is the author of several award-winning books for young readers, including Calvin (winner of the Governor General’s Award), My Book of Life by Angel (finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and winner of the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year) and Keturah and Lord Death (finalist for the National Book Award). She teaches in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Martine lives in High River, Alberta.

Reviews for Keturah and Lord Death

[siggy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful story with deeper meaning. Absolutely brilliantly read. Highly recommend.

[tikimoof · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I just never felt anything. Keturah's actions annoyed me more than anything.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the writing and varied mythologies woven into the story but did have some issues with how all the girls had love interests so much older than them. You could tack that up to "historical accuracy" but the story didn't seem to be set in any real place and time, or at least if it was it wasn't done very well. Also didn't usually marry that you'd anyway so it's not even accurate the the medieval ish period the story seemed to be going for. Overall I liked it.

[fireformed · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book when I first read it, because it was so unexpected and interesting. I don't know what I think about it on the second read through... I might just have to read it again to see.

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The praise and accolades bestowed on this book were lost on me.Set in an unspecified medieval age, Keturah is a simple village girl who meets Death in the woods. He plans to take her that night, but she bargains with him that if he will let her live one more day, she will tell him a story.In the days she lives on, she keeps rearranging her bargain with Death each time she sees him, bargaining again and again for one more day. Keturah has the village wise woman give her a charm to let her know when she meets her one true love. Also, the king is coming soon to the village, and the local lord decrees a fair to be held for the king, for which the whole town must prepare. And there is also the black plague running rampant over the country, from which Keturah plans to save her village by further bargaining with death.The greatest problem was the voice of the narrator. The tale is told in first person, from Keturah, but her language is highly stilted and formal at all times. Everything she relays as being said by anyone in the village is spoken in this same dry, emotionless voice. Not only the secondary characters, but even the narrator herself comes across as an impersonal and inhuman being, completely void of personality. As such, I didn't have any emotional involvement in the book. I didn't care what happened to Keturah or anyone else. No doubt the book is filled with themes and symbolism by the bucket-load, but without caring about the characters, it was a wasted effort.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Gracefully written, transports the reader to Keturah's village with language ('I would,' instead of 'I want to') and ideals ('a wee sweet babe of my own') of a certain unspecifiable fairy-tale era. A bit of melodrama and the vibe of a fable make it worth reading. Still, though, not much more than a simple genre romance. I enjoyed it this afternoon, and yet will probably have forgotten it by next week.

[altheaann · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I chose to read this book after 'Rebekah' because in that story, Keturah is Abraham's concubine after he is widowed. But the Keturah in this book has no connection to the Biblical figure at all.

This book is a Gothic Folktale, relating in a very pure, fairytale style a story of a girl who follows an enchanted hart into the forest and meets with Lord Death. '1001 Nights'-style, she holds off the handsome and regal Death by telling him a story and withholding the ending, eliciting promises from him that she will be spared if she finds her true love. With a charm from the village witch, and now feared by her neighbors due to her connection to the uncanny, she desperately seeks both for love and to fend off the plague (that Death has prophesied) from her village.

Leavitt skillfully weaves together elements from many traditional tales with a good dose of originality and a smooth, enjoyable writing style. The only problem here is that I kept finding jarring inconsistencies in her portrayal of the life of the village - I think the book would have benefited from a closer adherence to the actualities of life in medieval England, since that is where it is ostensibly set. (If food is in such short supply, villagers would not be 'portly'; if lemons are worth their weight in gold, oranges would not be worthless; where did all the resources for a fair and town cleanup suddenly come from, etc, etc.)

Still, I loved the overall concept and aesthetic of the book, and would definitely read more from this author."

[theyodamom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.9 stars I really am not sure what I think of this book. It was a fairy tale that wove a beautiful tale of death. The wordage was hard to follow at times. The tale intense and riveting, the characters very different.It is a dark, dark tale and yet it is full of life and love. I enjoyed it, I liked the interpretation of death. I developed a new view of death.

[richjj-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a charming and engaging romantic fairytale. The surprise ending had already been spoiled for me, but while I read the book it was still fresh and unpredictable. The book's language seemed like it came out of an old world but it was very readable and even though provoking on the nature of life, love, community, and, of course, death.

I imagine this book is thought to be for teenage girls, but it was a great read for me as a normal adult man.

[heatherlinc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a great little read dealing with love and death. Written as a fairytale the author created a story that was both lyrical and beautiful. The characters weren't that well developed and Keturah was quite naive and foolish at times, but the atmosphere and whimsical feel to the book was gorgeous. Overall, the simplicity and beauty of the words made "Keturah and Lord Death" a delight to read.

[atimco-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This has been on my to-read list for awhile. Keturah and Lord Death tries very hard and almost succeeds as a fairytale fantasy exploring what would happen if Death chose to take a bride. Keturah, a simple village girl, narrates her story of meeting Death and striking a bargain with him on the subject of true love.The reason this doesn't quite succeed is a slightly artificial flavor to the whole thing. Keturah's just a bit too perfect and her relationships with the villagers a bit too, I don't know, patronizing. It's like she sees herself as their keeper. She has two good friends who apparently have no envy whatsoever of her astonishing good looks and who get neatly married off at the end. She makes the local lord's son fall in love with her without half trying. Some random villager makes a long journey just to get Keturah lemons to make a special pie (okay?). Ben Marshall's family vow of only marrying the woman who wins Best Cook is clumsy and artificial as an awkward impediment to their relationship. Reading over this review, it sounds like I really disliked the book, but I didn't. It was rather compelling as I was reading; I wasn't entirely sure of what the ending would be. And Leavitt's writing is graceful and certainly a cut above mediocre. But overall it left me feeling a bit deflated, and I don't think I'd recommend it.

[mirandalg14 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked it, but it was a little predictable.

[bduke_15 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a beautiful, haunting book, but for some reason it didn't reach out and grab me. I still have to go with Chime as my favorite in the beautiful, haunting category. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, it felt kind of forced and I wasn't really getting "true love" out of it. But it was a quick, entertaining read and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

[jacquiemak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars
I loved fairy tales as a kid, and fairy tales are normally written for, well, kids. So it is extremely refreshing to read a fairy tale that is meant for a more mature audience…with a touch of romance, and a hint of magic. It is so beautifully told. I loved it.

[castiron_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the story a little choppy in places (or perhaps I was too sleep-deprived to follow the narrator’s logic), but it was interesting, and the closing passage is beautiful.

[yona-414000 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully imagined and written. Fascinating concept and story. Fairytale-ish and now one of my favorite books.


I don't see this as fitting the fantasy-adventure category but it doesn't fit any of my fantasy sub-heading shelves. I'll worry about that later. I won't need reminded of this book.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful romantic fantasy. Absolutely stunning!

[jennanana_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Listened to the audiobook; narrator was great and kept my attention. After Keturah loses her way in the forest, death visits her and after threatening to cast a plague on her village, bargains that if she finds her true love by the next day, he will give her the strength to escape dying in the forest. She returns home and seeks out her one true love, all while the village is under the threat of plague. Lord Death is an ominous character who looms over the story at all times. Great story telling work and an unseen climax.

[rosanasantana · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Keturah meets death and he agrees to let her live. He then warns her about an upcoming plague and Keturah tries to stop it from happening. All the while, Keturah and her friends try to find their true loves. The book has a very Romantic and Victorian feel which would appeal to a specific reader.

[joilene-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I stumbled onto this book and had not previously heard of it. I am so glad I took the time to read it. I read it in a few hours and was completely taken with the characters. The writing is almost fairytale like in style, but this is an unusual love story that will make you see things in a new way by the ending!

[allureofbooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt has been on my to read list for years. I wish I hadn't waited to long to read it - maybe then my hopes wouldn't have been quite so high. Unfortunately, the book failed to live up to all my expectations.Keturah lives in a small village that borders a large forest. She ends up getting lost in the forest one day and meets Death. She makes a temporary deal with him to put off her death, determined not to miss out on the possibility of falling in love. She spends days desperately trying to discover who her true love is, only to discover it in a most unexpected place.So basically, the book confused the heck outta me. At first I assumed she'd be falling in love with Death. Then she makes a connection with someone she knows from the village and I was so mad! Then I was finally getting used to the idea of her with this other guy when things changed around on me again. Totally crazy. I never felt any legit chemistry anywhere, which is a real shame considering the main focus of the book was Keturah wanting to fall in love. Regardless of who she ended up with (and don't worry, I won't spoil it for you) I just couldn't enjoy it since I never felt any connection to any of the characters. Bummer.I normally love stories like these - fantasy tales that take place in charming little villages with characters that have all grown up together and have formed their own kinds of unique bonds and superstitions. This was, by far, my least favorite of all the stories like that I've read. If you're in the mood for that type of story - let me highly recommend picking up recently released The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab instead!

[2chances · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am currently reading Thomas Cahill's "Mysteries of the Middle Ages," and I wanted a medieval sort of novel to read; Martine Leavitt's "Keturah and Lord Death" fit the bill exactly precisely. Keturah, the 16-year-old storyteller of her village, wanders into the forest and meets Death, who asks her to be his bride. But when Keturah learns that her whole village is doomed from the coming plague, she turns Scheherazade and bargains with Death: she will tell him a story, and save the ending for the next day - or the next - as she struggles to save her family and friends.Keturah is a resourceful and endearing heroine, and Leavitt truly understands the grand and ancient art of storytelling. She is brilliant at concocting seemingly disconnected subplots and gathering them up into an elegant bouquet at the end - a bittersweet ending that felt both completely unforced and completely satisfying. And personally, I loved how Leavitt wrote Keturah's female friends with generosity and goodness - so many authors succumb to the tedious presumption that teenage girls are selfish and catty, when my experience has been of their amazing goodness and generous goodwill. (I bet she has teenage daughters.)

[sexy_librarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One would think that this was written in the early part of the 20th century, as this old fashioned story captures the tone of an early fairytale. In a kingdom succumbing to the plague, one girl makes a deal with Death that she can find her true love, to save herself and her village. Very sweet, compelling, and with a classic romantic tone, this would be a good book for middle and high school students with a penchant for historical fiction.

[avhacker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

i love this book even though you can tell what the ending will be from the first chapter its still a quick amazing read.

[alana_leigh_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My stumbled-upon recommendation of Keturah and Lord Death is a prime example of why I appreciate online sites like Goodreads and LibraryThing. Without the suggestion that somehow worked its way into my line of sight, I might never have heard of this gem... and given its title, I certainly wouldn't have picked it up. The first thing you need to do is get over the title, which is dreadful, but once you get to the story itself, you'll be enchanted. Keturah and Lord Death is, essentially, a fairy tale. Written by Martine Leavitt, it opens with a narrator being begged to tell a fireside story that meets all manner of requirements... and so she tells them this, the truest story she's ever told. Keturah is sixteen years old when she wanders into the woods near her town, following the white hart that the lord of the manor has hunted for many years. It was only curiosity the drove her on, until she realized she was hopelessly lost. After three days without food, water, or sleep, Keturah waits for Lord Death to come to her. He offers her the chance to trade another's life for her own, but she refuses, even when he insists it will hardly matter, as plague will soon decimate her town. Knowing she must somehow save her people, Keturah tells Lord Death a story... a story of a love so pure that it conquers even death. She refuses to tell him the ending unless he lets her live for another day. He agrees and goes one step further -- if during the course of the following day she can discover her true love, a love like that in the story, then he will not claim her life.The story feels as though it was conjured directly from Grimm's Fairy Tales, where everything has a slightly spooky and yet fascinating air. The added romance element tugs at your heart-strings, yet Leavitt still manages to make this a story about true love where there is still an element of choice. There's also the acknowledgment that one person's happy ending might leave some very broken hearts in its wake. Keturah is a strong heroine, struggling to learn her own desires and help decipher the wishes of those around her while she still has time to help them with their own futures and dreams. Her focus might be on saving the town from the potential plague, but she occasionally trips up in her desire to save herself... terribly human qualities that show she is not some infallible creature, but only one who means well and perhaps has a greater perception of what it means to have life. The thing that keeps me from giving this book five stars is the fact that I wish Keturah had been able to do a little more on her own when it came to dealing with Lord Death, whether that was manifested in wit beyond her one trick of delaying a story's end, or determining a way to trick Death out of giving up one more thing through a bet or chance. Keturah relied heavily on asking Death for things to add in to their bargains and it would have been nice for there to be a bit more agency on her behalf. She managed to speak up and revitalize the town, but in the end, everything had to bow to Death. The story was suffused with a light eerie quality (so those who dislike spooky stories need not fear this one) and I appreciated the ending, which doesn't tie things with a neat ribbon and yet still leaves one quite satisfied. Keturah and Lord Death is an incredibly fast read, and yet I am immensely grateful that this lovely tale crossed my path.

[msfarrislewis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved the idea of this story and numerous metaphors within.

[redg18_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was really enjoyable and akin to reading one of the classic fables with a twist. It had a lesson to be learned and a moral that makes me think about life and death. The best part of the story was that as Keturah was telling her story, I was really enthralled and wanted to know what would happen next. The only flaw would be that some of the characters could have been better developed.

[lifeafterjane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Life, for Keturah, began with a death, the death of her mother as she brought her into the world. Raised by her grandparents and fostered with great love and affection, in a village she adored, Keturah evaded death until the passing of her grandfather. When she was old enough, it was her grandmother's wish that she join her in her work as a midwife. Their art made possible the welcoming of new life, while bringing Keturah ever closer to what bearing a child can mean- death.The lord of the land has long hunted the elusive white hart, famed for his ability to always thwart the lord's attempts to catch him. When he appears before Keturah at the edge of the forest, she is compelled to follow the fabled creature deep into the woods, so deep that she becomes lost. After several days, when she can no longer summon the strength to keep going, Keturah sits down and waits for the death she knows is imminent. And death does come for Keturah. Lord Death himself comes to bear her away from her life to what lies beyond. Faced with the realization that she must leave her home and friends and an aged grandmother who needs her assistance, Keturah attempts to bargain with death, a ploy used by countless before her. For him she weaves a story, just as she would were she telling it around the fire. She tells a story of true love that so intrigues Lord Death that he must know its ending. Keturah tempts him with the promise of the story's ending but vows she will not tell him until tomorrow. Lord Death is forced to grant her wish, and vows that if in that one day, she can find the true love she speaks of in her tale, he will spare her life.In one day Keturah must find true love, or submit to that which has shadowed her life from the very first. With death so much a part of her past and present, could the very lord of death be her future?This story was amazing and heartwrenchingly beautiful. I wasn't able to put it down. Leavitt might have written this book yesterday, a hundred years ago, or a hundred years from now and her mastery of the art of true fairy tale story telling would make this a classic anywhere or anytime. It could appear bound amidst all the famous fairy tales and you would never know it didn't start out there.It wouldn't mean much if I said that this is the best book I've read this year, since it's only the second, but I can go ahead and predict that it'll be one of the best I read all year long. It's a beautiful little story that I promise you will never forget and I'm grateful to be able to consider it now one of my favorites.If the book wasn't already haunting enough, when it was over I read the acknowledgments, only to learn that Ms. Leavitt had a sister that died from cystic fibrosis at the age of eleven. The concept of death being something to embrace rather than fear becomes even more poetic when you think about what she's been through and why she wrote it. Keturah's journey and the villagers acceptance of her bond with death must have been very similar to the trials of the author and her family. I hope writing this book was healing for her.

[ankhet_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Keturah is her village's best storyteller. One day when she wanders into the woods to follow the great hart, she meets with Lord Death and makes a bargain: she will tell him the end of her story if she gets one more day (and then another, and another) to find her true love. Death agrees, and Keturah is launched on a desperate mission to find the one man who will be her love.Keturah and Lord Death is beautifully told. It also surprised me. I was sure until the end that her true love was one person - and it wasn't. I was sure until the end that one thing was going to happen - and it didn't. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of young adult books, especially young adult historical fiction (as it does take place in medieval England).

[francescadefreitas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful, a folktale told with simple language and such a concrete setting that the tale seems grounded yet fantastic at the same time. I loved Keturah and I was very sorry when the story ended and i had to leave her and her village.I'd especially give this to fans of Patricia McKillip.