“Sisters of the Wolf” by Patricia Miller-Schroeder offers a unique and engaging glimpse into the Ice Age, weaving together the lives of two young girls from different prehistoric cultures. The novel follows Keena, a Neanderthal, and Shinoni, a Cro-Magnon, as they are kidnapped by a brutal hunter named Haken and must join forces to escape and survive. Their journey is guided by Tewa, a spirit wolf, adding a mystical layer to their struggle.

The book stands out for its well-researched historical backdrop, immersing readers in the world of early human ancestors. The setting is richly detailed, offering a fresh perspective on life during this time period. Miller-Schroeder’s thorough research and passion for the era are evident, making the prehistoric environment come alive with authenticity.

The story is fast-paced and action-packed, which keeps the narrative engaging. However, the focus on continuous action sometimes overshadows deeper character development and plot complexity. While the characters of Keena and Shinoni are distinct and their growing friendship is compelling, some readers might find the dialogue and interactions somewhat simplistic, more suited to a middle-grade audience than older teens

Critics have noted some fantastical elements, such as the tame wolves and mammoths, which, while adding an element of whimsy, may feel out of place against the otherwise realistic backdrop. These aspects might not align with all readers' expectations, especially those looking for a strictly historical account.

Overall, “Sisters of the Wolf” is a captivating read that introduces younger audiences to prehistoric life with a mix of adventure and mysticism. Its strong research foundation and vibrant setting make it a worthwhile read, especially for those interested in the Ice Age or looking for a novel that blends historical fiction with fantasy.

While this book was young adult it did read a little younger to me but it didn’t affect my view of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book to review.

Experience a journey full of moments of danger while learning to live within nature's laws!!

Unique fantasy about Shinoni, a Cro-Magnon girl and Keena, a young Neanderthal. Both girls are taken by Haken, an evil hunter. They don't get along at all, but must work together to escape their captor. Fortunately their spirit guide, a wolf named Tewa, who guards and helps the girls to survive.

This is a story about overcoming race, culture and even species' differences. New friendships are formed as the girls work with Tewa to find their families. Sisters of the Wolf is a fun, action-packed story. It is well-written and well-researched.

A book for young adults or adults who want to feel the experience of living in prehistoric times among Neanderthals.

Sisters of the Wolf is strongly reminiscent of Clan of the Cave Bear which is a huge compliment! My only complaint was lack of character development. It would have been a great read otherwise.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

DNF. Just came back here to thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy I received. I realized I have to give feedback somehow because it was affecting my feedback ratio.

A really cool story set tens of thousands of years in the past about the first peoples of Canada.

This was sooo interesting and I found the setting and era a lot of fun to explore. The short version of my opinion is that the plot is fast-paced and action-packed, but also somehow ends up with not a lot happening, yet the author's purpose of the book delivered in spades.

The foreword with this was that Miller-Schroeder wanted to imagine what life might have been like for the first peoples of Canada and set a story in the ice age. This isn't something I've ever explored before (outside of Ice Age, that is) so I loved taking an imagined peep back at this time.

It follows two girls from two different tribes, with their paths eventually crossing. What they encounter throughout the book was such high intensity stuff – plenty of people being killed and a real sense of the plight to survive. But it is a lot of running and running and running, and I wish we had fewer pure-action scenes and more time for other stuff to happen.

There were also strong themes of found family and reconciliation, which I thought was lovely. Not only that, but I think the whimsy of the spirit guides will appeal to many people. I can't speak for how well that representation was done, but from my perspective I enjoyed it and loved following the characters as they heed the signs from spirits along their journey.

I also enjoyed the additional information at the back discussing the author's anthropological research into this time. I loved the way she wove these facts and historical details into the story to give it a sense of authenticity.

All in all, this was good! Worth the read if you come across it, though I'd love to explore this kind of storyline with further developed characters and a plot line with more structure/purpose padded in other than simply running away from the bad guy. But again, the snapshot of the past was more the author's intention than the rest of it, so I feel this delivered on its promise.

I absolutely love the premise and the setting of this book. It was so refreshing to read about that time period and the author combined the ancestestors of human race with this story really well. I loved the aspect of guardian wolf and how tthe girls overcame the obstacles on their way. The backdrop of the story was so interesting and it didn't take away from the story, but they complimented each other.

Full packed of action, drama and we get to know the characters slowly.
I really enjoyed this one! It was very well written.

This was my first foray into (pre)historical fiction and I'm glad I went on this journey. I have no real frame of reference when it comes to prehistory other than playing Far Cry Primal (which was surprisingly helpful in visualizing this world and its characters), but Patricia Miller-Shroeder does a wonderful job in immersing the reader in the lives of Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals. Her in-depth knowledge and fondness for this time period really shows and the fact that this is her first fiction novel is quite impressive. I hope she continues to write many more.

This was a great use of the ice age, I loved going on this story and getting to know the characters. It was fun to read and I hope to read more from the author.

Sisters of the Wolf is a story set in the far past, in a prehistorical time. The two main characters, Keena and Shinoni, are, respectively, Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon. They meet by chance, and join together to save each other from Keena's violent uncle, Haken, who follows them across the the countryside. Both Keena and Shinoni are somewhat unconventional, with each wanting more from life that what their roles in their society would limit them to; Shinoni, in particular, wants to be a hunter in addition to being a medicine woman, and wants to lead her clan the way her father does. The details of their skills are historically accurate, their chance encounter and interactions possible and even likely, and the story is believable and well-told. The only thing that stands out as unlikely is the behavior of various animals they encounter; while I can believe that a wolf might choose to follow them, and that the girls would accept it as a spirit guide, it's unlikely that it would bring them part of its kill only a day after their meeting, and even less likely that a woolly mammoth would invite them to ride her back, not just once, but twice, several days apart. That aside, however, this is a cohesive story that weaves together anthropological fact with realistic historical fiction.

I just loved this book! If it sounds close to Clan of the Cave Bear, it is. But because I am a fan of author, Jean Auel, I just new that I would adore this book. I was not disappointed.

The description pretty much outlines the story so I won’t rehash what has already been said. But I will say that the character development is superb for a Teens and Young Adult fiction novel. I enjoyed how the author focused on Keena and Shinoni since they are the main protagonists. A lot can be said about Keena and Shinoni, and Miller-Schroeder captured the essense of these two girls as the approached their teen years in such as hostile environment.

Miller-Schroeder’s world building skills shine through as she paints a picture of the stone age, its inhabitants, and wildlife. Her descriptions sums up living during those turbulent times and the struggles that humankind had to face.

The plot is straightforward. Though there are some suspenseful moments. Miller-Schroeder deftly crafted a story of Shinoni and Keena’s journey, their budding friendship, and the terrors that they had to face. Some of the events that took place, however, were a little farfectched, bordering on fantasy. But that shouldn’t be a deterrent for an enjoyable read. In fact, it added a different dimension that fleshed out the narrative.

Sisters of the Wolf is a fantastic Teen and YA novel. It is the perfect read for those that enjoy the prehistoric era of wooly mammoths, mastodons, and dire wolves. A glowing five star novel that shouldn’t be missed.

I received a digital ARC from Dundurn Press throught NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

CONTENT WARNING: death of a child, death, violence, murder, gore

This was a fresh and really interesting story that reminded me a lot of Clan of the Cave Bear, but for a younger audience. It also has more of a focus on action, rather than the long, drawn-out descriptions that Auel is so fond of. And while it’s a YA book, it often reads more as an MG book, making it ideal for younger readers.

Shinoni and Keena are easy characters to like, although they are vastly different in many ways. Keena is more cautious, while Shinoni is a lot more willing to break the rules and try new things. The only thing that I didn’t really like was the way that there was a little nuance that indicated that the Cro-Magnon people were “better” than the Neanderthals, although both were doing their best to survive in extremely harsh and difficult times.

Aside from that, the story was a great one. It was fast-moving and full of action. I read it quickly and struggled to put it down, always wanting to know what would happen next. The story of two young girls traveling through a landscape could easily have dragged, but the author’s skillful storytelling held my attention and kept me interested for the duration of the tale.

I loved seeing how the landscape could easily become a hazard, but the girls adapted quickly and learned to work together. It was fascinating to see elements of healing, hunting, and knowledge of their environment, as well as how highly developed their senses were, especially compared to how things are today, when we view ourselves as so much more evolved. It made me think that while we have clearly evolved in some ways, we’ve obviously lost some things along the way. This was quite an enjoyable read, and it’s definitely given me a strong urge to reread Clan of the Cave Bear.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book. A really fun adventure as the climate is changing two girls are separate from their tribe. At first they dislike each other but since the change of survival are better if they work together, a friendship between them will grow. They will also have the help of their spirit guide Tewa, a she-wolf.

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I am absolutely thrilled to see that this book is one that is coming out! Prehistoric fiction is one of my all time favourite sub-genres and due to the heavy research requirement, we don’t see a lot of authors tackling this time period. So first off, thank you to Miller-Schroeder for doing so!

Sisters of the Wolf tells the story of two girls, Keena (a Neanderthal) and Shinoni (a Cro-Magnon), whose survival becomes dependent on the other after escaping the camp of a brutal Neanderthal Hunter, named Haken. The girls come to rely on one another as Haken chases them down across the Ice Age landscape.

I was very excited by the first few chapters of this book, they promised a dark and intense story, which we certainly got for the most part. There is a lot of violence, death of parents, death of children. Life was not kind to our early ancestors and Miller-Schroeder does not back down from it. And based on those first few chapters, I would recommend this book to mid-older YA readers, however… once we get to Keena and Shinoni’s journey to escape Haken, the story seems to swing from horribly tragic to almost childish adventures.

Wolves are tamed with no explanation; Mammoths and horses allow the girls to ride on their backs. If there had been a stronger spiritual element, I think this could have been explained, but it did feel as if these were added without too much thought into how it worked in comparison to the rest of the world that had been set up. Additionally, Miller-Schroeder has a habit of sometimes describing shouts/screams (ex. “Aieeeeeee!” Instead of just “the woman screamed.”), which gives the story a very middle grade/children’s book element that clashes with the darker material included in the pages.

Ultimately, these elements make it difficult for me to place on the age recommendation scale. As a personal preference, I would have preferred if she had gone all the way into the darker adult range and embraced more nuances like in the Earth’s Children series. However, I also recognize that Miller-Schroeder was not attempting something as massively epic as that series, and can appreciate her story as an introduction of the Ice Age world to a younger generation.

Also I would just like to take a moment to say that I do wish Keena’s ability to speak Shinoni’s language was a little bit more appreciated. The girls could communicate and the story could happen because of Keena’s knowledge. I would have liked to have seen a discussion and challenge about why Shinoni didn’t think it relevant for herself to learn words from Keena’s language, but she was happy to have Keena do most of the work speaking in her second language. (I think it’s a really good conversation piece for younger readers too).

I am being picky over some details, but that is because I really enjoyed this book and see so much potential and all of the work that went into crafting this story! Overall, Sisters of the Wolf was an incredibly well researched and fun story and I hope it gets many more young readers into this fascinating era of our history!

PS - I enjoyed the brief reference to Shanidar 1 (Neanderthal remains of a man that had healed from a lost arm). While it is an interesting addition to the story (he is a fascinating story afterall!), I feel like it is overdone in prehistoric fiction because of its uniqueness, so I think it’s briefness was appropriate here. Also, and I may be wrong on this reference, but I do think there was a reference to Shanidar 3 (Neanderthal remains of a man who had survived 2 weeks-1 month with a punctured lung), which is much less known, and very cool to see!

PPS - I really hope the final version of this book has a map!

CW: Violence & Dead (Death of a child & Death of a loved one included)

*Thank you Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the ARC*

This was such a unique and fresh adventure, with incredible characters and friendships formed! I loved the plot and the setting, but more importantly I loved just how thought out everything was!!! A fantastic read for sure.

What a fun adventure! Two teenage girls from different tribes come together on a journey all while escaping the clutches of the dangerous tribe leader that took them from their homes. It’s a treacherous journey coming across prehistoric animals like mammoth, lions, wolves and rival tribe hunters. As young women they shatter barriers and gender limitations. It was exciting and well thought out. Thank you Patricia Miller-Schroeder and Dundurn Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

set 40,000 years in the past, sisters of the wolf is an action-packed prehistoric adventure centered around two very different girls taken from their clans by a violent hunter, and the wolf who guides them on their journey home.

after keena’s uncle, haken, kills the mountain lion that has been preying on her neanderthal clan, he takes her back to his own clan as payment. not long after, he and his hunters slaughter a nearby tribe of cro-magnons and abduct shinoni when they find her in the forest afterwards. keena and shinoni have nothing in common, but when they escape, they are forced to work together to survive.

though this book is listed as young adult, it’s more suited to middle grade readers—the writing and storyline are quite simplistic, with immature and slightly repetitive dialogue. however, it’s obviously very well-researched (i loved all the details about the animals!) and it seems like a great way to introduce younger readers to a fascinating time period.