Keturah and Lord Death
#5833.90 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2006 Reading commitment Low Martine Leavitt Last reviewed 2026-10-26
Overview
Martine Leavitt's Keturah and Lord Death (2006) is a young adult fantasy with the shape of a folktale, set in a richly textured medieval village where sixteen-year-old Keturah bargains for her life with Lord Death by telling him a story. Reviewers described it as a blend of folktale, myth and romance with an unconventional ending. It was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and for the 2007 Mythopoeic Award for Children's Literature.
Mythic fantasy, Romantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Keturah and Lord Death Martine Leavitt
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Keturah and Lord Death | 2006 | 1 | core | 3.90 (15,873 ratings) |
Martine Leavitt's standalone.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Keturah and Lord Death? Keturah and Lord Death's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Keturah and Lord Death finished? Complete (2006).
- How much reading does Keturah and Lord Death take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Keturah and Lord Death ranked? #583 in this site's official ranking, based on 15,873 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #583?
Ranked #583 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.90 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (15,873 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #582, Seraphina (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 16k ratings · Ranks #583 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award (Children's Literature), 2007: finalist: Keturah and Lord Death
- National Book Award (Young People's Literature), 2006: finalist: Keturah and Lord Death
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Suggestions computed from what Keturah and Lord Death and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- Elatsoe Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 3.98
- A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.96
- The Red Abbey Chronicles Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.90
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.90 across 15,873 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: Island of the Aunts (Ibbotson), Keturah and Lord Death (Leavitt) accepted 2026-10-26
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- 49th Shelf: Keturah and Lord Death (Red Deer Press, publisher description and reviews) Tier 2
- Mythopoeic Society (final ballots) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-26
Rule: Core Canon = Keturah and Lord Death (2006), a standalone novel.