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firedew's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Rape
deshanejt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Top tier world building and information overload!! Once you get into the thralls of the story, it hooks you.
The MC is a source of inspiration and courage. 😌🤌🏻
Don't let anyone, define who are you and set your limits.
The MC is a source of inspiration and courage. 😌🤌🏻
Don't let anyone, define who are you and set your limits.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Child death, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, and Abortion
living_dead's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Miscarriage
kendraerin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book series was a long time coming for me— my mom loved them when she was my age and I grew up dying to read them! I didn't know what to expect when going in, but I still had high expectations.
Overall, it was a very good and very strange book. Auel clearly did a lot of research for it, there's facts and extremely thorough descriptions throughout to paint a picture of what life could have been like in prehistory for the Neanderthals and early Homo Sapiens. Ayla is a wonderful character with a lot of passion, intelligence, and empathy that makes it easy to root for her (even if I was consistently horrified by her age— we meet her when she's five and finish the book when she's a preteen!) The other characters feel as fleshed out as the world building. This book does not shy away from adult content (shout-out to my mom for age-restricting this one), but it doesn't delight in it either. If parts of this and other aspects of the clan and ending didn't feel a little plot-contrived, I'd give the book five stars (or at least a 4.5).
The ending was a little frustrating, with Ayla being declared "dead" for the second time by her clan and Isa and Creb, the only other characters I was really rooting for, both dying. It was definitely necessary for Ayla's journey and leaving, coming full circle with another cave of hers succumbing to an earthquake and losing her family at about the same time, but I'm already missing life with the clan. Very excited to see what comes next, would recommend this book to anyone interested in prehistory/anthropology and is okay with a little adult content.
Overall, it was a very good and very strange book. Auel clearly did a lot of research for it, there's facts and extremely thorough descriptions throughout to paint a picture of what life could have been like in prehistory for the Neanderthals and early Homo Sapiens. Ayla is a wonderful character with a lot of passion, intelligence, and empathy that makes it easy to root for her (even if I was consistently horrified by her age— we meet her when she's five and finish the book when she's a preteen!) The other characters feel as fleshed out as the world building. This book does not shy away from adult content (shout-out to my mom for age-restricting this one), but it doesn't delight in it either. If parts of this and other aspects of the clan and ending didn't feel a little plot-contrived, I'd give the book five stars (or at least a 4.5).
The ending was a little frustrating, with Ayla being declared "dead" for the second time by her clan and Isa and Creb, the only other characters I was really rooting for, both dying. It was definitely necessary for Ayla's journey and leaving, coming full circle with another cave of hers succumbing to an earthquake and losing her family at about the same time, but I'm already missing life with the clan. Very excited to see what comes next, would recommend this book to anyone interested in prehistory/anthropology and is okay with a little adult content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment
alliejuve's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Rape, Sexism, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
emipods's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Abortion
thaumarturgus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
lostinthepaigeofabook's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I’m not going to star this book. It was just not a book for me. It was one of my 12 books recommended this year so I finished it, but if I had picked it up I would’ve DNF after chapter one. It was just so slow and too detailed for me. There were some interesting things and I enjoyed certain parts but overall just not my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
mrcesq's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
alyssaborders's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Rape