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    The Game of Love and Death
    The Game of Love and Death
    The Game of Love and Death
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Game of Love and Death

    Written by Martha Brockenbrough

    Narrated by Susan Hanfield

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    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 1920s, romance blooms among the jazz clubs, the mansions of the wealthy, and the shantytowns of the poor. But what is more powerful: love? Or death?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScholastic
    Release dateApr 26, 2016
    ISBN9780545943901
    Author

    Martha Brockenbrough

    Martha Brockenbrough draws on her diverse experience in journalism, research, non-fiction and literary teen fiction to bring Alexander Hamilton to life. A powerful storyteller and narrative voice, Brockenbrough is the author of the critically acclaimed young adult novels The Game of Love and Death and Devine Intervention. She enjoys reading Hamilton's original correspondence, playing board games and spending time with her family. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

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    Reviews for The Game of Love and Death

    4/5

    63 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is one of those books that I don't want to say too much about because I'd rather you picked it up and read it for yourself. I will only say that it is a smart, beautiful book that will stay with me for a long time. It's lovely and heartbreaking and you should just go read it now. Just make sure you have tissues readily available.
    • 4/5
      The Game of Love and Death is a love story set in Depression era Seattle where love and death are also characters. The game begins when love and death select their players; Flora, an orphaned black nightclub singer who dreams of pursuing a career as a pilot, and Henry, an orphaned white boy who “had a life that promised him everything that was supposed to matter.” The stakes are high, and love can only win if both players chose love at the cost of everything else. If not, then death is the only ending. The book is filled with beautifully wrought reminders to live the life you dream of living, to live life to the fullest, and to have the courage to take a chance on love.
    • 5/5
      Who would have known that the chemistry between Love and Death could be so steamy?Set in the 1930s the story takes us back about 17 years before to the recent births of the players Love and Death have chosen to play their little game. The stakes are the same as always if Death wins she claims both the players and who knows what would happen if Love won because he never has before. Death has chosen Flora an black baby girl whose parents were killed in an automobile accident destined for tragedy for the rest of her life. Love on the other hand has chosen Henry a boy whose life would be surrounded by sadness but he would have the ability to fill the void with love at any cost. Now older and ready for the game, Love sets the ball rolling for the game to commence and hopefully for Flora and Henry to find love for each other.I loved everyone. My favorite person by far was Death. She knew what she wanted and took what was hers no questions asked. I love a good villain and yet she didn't come across as one either...at least to me. The way she played the game was brilliant even though Love had some unexpected moves (turning into someone Henry's best friend Ethan would fall in love with so he wouldn't be an obstacle for Flora and Henry *genius*) she still found a way to turn things her way. And HENRY oh my goodness I never use the term book boyfriend but if Flora didn't want him I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE. I LOVE love and this book was just the one for me honestly. It was brilliant.
    • 4/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: A bittersweet tale of a love that’s doomed.Opening Sentence: The figure in the fine gray suit materialized in the nursery and stood over the sleeping infant, inhaling the sweet, milky night air.The Review:It’s been difficult for me to come across a decent love story these days; either I’m too picky or I’ve set the bar too high with the zillion other fantastic romances I’ve already read. However, The Game of Love and Death was a brilliant read! I especially liked how this book explores a forbidden romance, not because of zombies and vampires, but simply because they live in a society where the colour of your skin determines your status. Not only is the concept of inequalities between black and white’s highlighted, we see society’s inability to accept gay romance and the lack of awareness of dyslexia. Things might be a lot different now, but not many years ago these were very real problems and it’s refreshing to see these issues being explored.Henry shook it. “I won’t, sir. Thank you, sir.” He couldn’t imagine asking Dr. Sloane for help with heartache. Well, you see… there’s this girl who sings in a jazz band and I wanted to be her bass player, but we are the wrong color for each other, and she said no, and it gave me a burned-out hole in the center of my chest that the rest of me is slowly being sucked into.The story focuses around the two game players: Love and Death. The players are portrayed as complete opposites but note the obvious: the opposite of death isn’t ‘Life’ but ‘Love.’ I think that was a crucial part of the story, because by contrasting love and death, it gave love more importance than life. It might be sexist of me but I expected a woman to represent Love and Death by a man, but again the book throws you with the opposite. This confused me at first, but it worked really well, because it opens the reader’s mind to other concepts.“I did love her, you know,” he said. “Like breathing, almost.”The words had space between them, as thought it was costing him the last of his strength to pull them out of his mouth.“I know. But that’s the thing with love. It isn’t as strong as they say.”I know I should have hated Death; she was evil, cunning and ruthless. But there were times when I pitied Death. It wasn’t as if Death was a human who chose to be cruel, Death was just that way and I couldn’t help but wonder what caused this? Given the choice, could Death be different?And weak, it was. As often as not in Death’s vast experience, people preferred the idea of love to the act of it. They wanted to pursue, but grew weary once they’d won the prize. If they were loved, they used it as proof of their worth. In the name of love, they manipulated each other. Out of cowardice, they lied, overtly and by omission. There were so many ways for love to decay. And unlike the decaying of a corpse, which fed worms and grew trees, what did rotting love ever feed?When you read this book, despite the odds and knowing that Death always wins the game, the reader can’t help but root for love. We all want good to beat evil.The pawns of the game, Henry and Flora, are the other main characters of the story. Their love story was too sweet and I loved seeing how each ‘move’ by the game player has knock-on effects for the lovers. The story itself is bittersweet in the sense that Henry and Flora are, in a way, fighting the world to prove that the colour of your skin doesn’t matter. Despite the obstacles that come their way, they continue to fight, not only because they love each other, but because they want to play music together. Bringing music into the story made so much sense because it wasn’t solely about love of another person, but love of music and having the right to share that with the world.“If God didn’t want me to fly,” Flora said, reaching for her coffee, “why on earth would God have made me want to fly so much?”To conclude, this book was beautifully written and I adored it.Notable Scene:“I love you. We are meant to be a pair. It’s that simple.”The words and the weight behind them weren’t simple. She knew he meant them. But their lives were not their own, not when it came to this. There were too many other people, with too many other thoughts on the matter. There was also the truth of love, that its end was nothing but pain.“The world is against this sort of thing. Surely you can feel it,” she said.“If it’s use versus the world, my money’s on us.”FTC Advisory: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic provided me with a copy of The Game of Love and Death. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 2/5
      An interesting concept that the author just doesn't keep control of. The logic of the world she created doesn't hold together. And yet -- this is a love story with high stakes, and I'm sure teens will love it. Nothing inappropriate here -- fine for fifth grade on up.
    • 4/5
      Henry and Flora were chosen from birth to be participants in a game that has been played since the beginning of time. Flora is a black young woman who loves to fly her airplane and can sing beautifully. Henry is a white young man whose father has died and has been taken in by a wealthy family. This is one of those books that the less you know going in, the better, it's worth the read.