Fresh Fairy Tale

Keturah & Lord Death

By Martine Leavitt

Genre: Fantasy

A story of life and love, death and triumph. A fairy tale in an ordinary world with an extraordinary character at the heart of it.

Keturah is young and beautiful. When she ventures off into the forest, chasing the Lord's prized white Hart, she encounters Death. This is not the first time she has met him. He has been intrigued by her and he has followed her her whole life. However, this time he refuses to let her go. She uses quick thinking to tell him a tale, for she is a gifted story-teller, and refuses to tell him the ending unless he gives her one more day.

A lovely piece of writing, I read slowly, enjoying every sip. Fairy tales are back in fashion and many authors rewrite and rehash the old ones – Grimm Brothers and Anderson. Leavitt, instead, creates her own (with a nod to Scheherazade).

Not sure if you can see the cover clearly with the image I've attached, but I didn't notice this on my own copy until halfway though the book. There's the figure of Keturah in the red dress, but then opposite, on the left side, is a dark, shadowy figure of Death in a riding cloak and hat.

4 STARS

Classroom: From experience, most boys would not enjoy this book. Independent reading for 12+.