Title: The Clan of the Cave Bear     

Author: Jean M. Auel  

Genre: Historical Fiction  

Publisher: Bantam  

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Pages: 516

Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Through Jean M. Auel’s magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age world they shared with the ones who called themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear.

A natural disaster leaves the young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly–she is one of the Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Iza’s way of healing, most come to accept her. But the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader sees her differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge.

Review:

This is the book I read for book club at school and it was a student pick! I love when students pick books that I probably never would have read without their recommendations and picks!

The book takes place during the Ice Age? The Neolithic Age? I was a little unsure which one, but it takes place way back when people were living in caves. Ayla gets lost from her mother and ends up with a different clan, The Clan of the Cave Bear. The clans people didn’t want to accept her because she’s so different, but the medicine woman takes her in and raises her as her daughter. I liked the theme of acceptance and other that carried throughout the book. I also liked how strong the main character was, and how she didn’t want to accept the gender norms put in place by the clan. She wants to hunt, but knows that she cannot because she’s a woman. It made me think about how thousands of years later women are still fighting for equality!

If you’re looking for an interesting book that takes place back during the time of Mammoths, then definitely check it out! It was a little long, and hard to follow some of the characters because the names were so different, but overall an enjoyable book!

Happy reading!