From Powells.com
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Synopses & Reviews
Not since THE BOOK THIEF has the character of Death played such an original and affecting part in a book for young people.
Flora and Henry were born a few blocks from each other, innocent of the forces that might keep a white boy and an African American girl apart; years later they meet again and their mutual love of music sparks an even more powerful connection. But what Flora and Henry don't know is that they are pawns in a game played by the eternal adversaries Love and Death, here brilliantly reimagined as two extremely sympathetic and fascinating characters. Can their hearts and their wills overcome not only their earthly circumstances, but forces that have battled throughout history? In the rainy Seattle of the 1920's, romance blooms among the jazz clubs, the mansions of the wealthy, and the shanty towns of the poor. But what is more powerful: love? Or death?
Review
"The Game of Love and Death is a unique love story, and yet, it
is also the love story of all humans through time. Martha Brockenbrough
is a compassionate observer of many worlds — airfields, jazz clubs,
baseball diamonds, newspapers, and Hoovervilles to name a few — and the
beautiful, doomed human types that dwell in them. This is an exceptional
novel." Gabrielle Zevin, author of Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac
Review
"Romance fans will find plenty to swoon over here, while aspiring philosophers will find just as much to ponder." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
Review
"Brockenbrough never sugarcoats the obstacles facing Henry and Flora’s
love — whether human prejudices or supernatural manipulations — in
this inventive and affecting novel." Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"Race, class, fate and choice — they join Love and Death to play their
parts in Brockenbrough's haunting and masterfully orchestrated
narrative." Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Review
"This original novel is a thoughtful exploration of courage, love, and the price we pay to live." Booklist, starred review
About the Author
Martha Brockenbrough has worked as a newspaper reporter, a high school teacher, and as editor of MSN.com, and is the author of DEVINE INTERVENTION and THE DINOSAUR TOOTH FAIRY. She is a devoted grammarian, and founded National Grammar Day and the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG). Martha is also the social media diva for readergirlz, the nonprofit literacy organization that received the Innovations in Reading Award from the National Book Foundation. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters.