Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

Boy this is a strange book. I was n't quite sure what to think of it until I read the author's epilogue. It seems to come from a deep personal need to explain what happened to her when her sister died. I can empathize with this, having lost my sister too, and feeling a need to somehow find a story within myself to help explain the ungraspable incident.

One way I judge whether or not I like a book, is how long it takes me to read it. This book took me just 3 days (which for me is quick.) Incidentally, I've been reading a "classic" fantasy novel for 2 years. I know it's good I just don't seem to need to know what happens to these characters. Anyway...

I had to know about Keturah. I wanted to know if she could, in fact, defeat or trick Lord Death. How many times was he going to let her go, without the story becoming repetitive? I loved that Keturah was a real girl, without uber feminist qualities that just don't fit a girl in an "historical" fantasy novel. She wants to find true love, she wants a house of her own and a baby of her own and the author does n't try to explain this away as a need that women of long ago may have had- but now we all know better.
This is one of my biggest complaints about historical fiction - The female who has a mind of her own and won't let anyone get in her way. She has a big speech , or moment when she has to make a choice about her life and blah, blah, blah. I love that this book did not have this at all. This girl knew who she was on the first page, and her surprising choice at the end seems to come out of left field. But really it was n't that hard to believe. She does n't really grow in the book, she just comes to a realization about her life that she always knew. She's not petty or preachy, she's just a good solid character with a great story to tell.