Member Reviews

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. I recommend to any young reader looking for a new and unique read. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

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“the hunters searched for the lion, but it was like a spirit and left no trace. perhaps leeswi, the earth mother, had sent it. if she had, nothing could stop it”

This book was incredibly surprising and even more importantly refreshing. The setting of this book is something you rarely find in fiction, or something I've rarely encountered. While this book is classified as Young Adult it felt more like a Middle grade to me, in all the positive connotations of the genre. It was fast paced and the characters were really interesting. I loved the way in which the girls worked together and the scenery this book provided. Also might I just add I love mammoths!!!

One thing I will say is that the clear division in who is superior bothered me, I don't like the insinuation that some are better than others, however I did understand it. All in all a really entertaining in quick book that I would love to read again.

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A compelling story in a time period I've never read before. Plot was fast-paced and well imagined. My one gripe is that I felt almost no real connection to the characters at all.

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I wanted to like this, it sounded so unique and different! I tried to let myself melt into the world but as I was reading it felt too caught between trying to have an ancient feel yet still being too caught with modern elements. Certain key events happened too quickly without what felt like adequate reaction or attention to the event. Sounds like a super cool story, just wasn't for me.

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I liked the premise of the book. I felt that prehistory is an interesting setting, the main characters felt a bit flat and typical.

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Set in the ice age, this tale accompanies two very different girls on a dangerous adventure, where the walls of racism melt under common purpose and forming friendships.

Shinoni and Keena are about the same age, thirteen, but are as different as two girls can be. One is the member of a human tribe, while the other stems from the disliked Neanderthals. They have nothing in common outside of the world they live in, and that one is harsh and unforgiving. But when an evil hunter steals both from their families, they soon form an, otherwise, impossible bond. Not only do they need to escape and return to their families, but, more importantly, they'll need to survive.

The setting grabbed me on this one. I can't say that I've seen many YA novels set in the Ice Age. As for the historical side of thing, the author has, obviously, put a ton of research into this one and did her best to bring the life and cultures as closely to real life as one can in these circumstances. So, hats off to that. The hardships, lifestyle, and priorities slide in to form a rich environment, and it's clear that the girls both have different ways of seeing life, not only compared with each other but with early teens today. The dangers and worries match the harsh life, and the opening pages bring this to light immediately.

There is tension and this is a fairly, quick-paced read, in general. The girls face a horrible situation, and this comes across with as much adventure, emotion, and fear as it should. It was interesting to include both a Neanderthal and a human (I looked this up, and it does follow historical research, too), and see how the two groups might have viewed each other. This also lays a great base for the wonderful friendship which develops between the two girls.

Unfortunately, I had trouble staying interested in this one while reading it and did lay it down without the huge need to return to it again. But I did want to miss out on seeing how it ends, either. While emotions flow and the backgrounds/world is well-laid, I found the characters still a bit superficial at times and couldn't connect to either of them completely. The pacing stuttered every now and then (only a coupe of times, though) moving too quick or a little too slow. Still, this was by no means an uninteresting read. I think it just wasn't for me completely...although there were things I really enjoyed about it.

They say that this one is for fans of The Clan of the Bear Cave series, which I've never read. So, I can't say whether that is true or not. I did find this one more for a tween audience, than either a solid young adult or middle grade read. In any case, it's worth a go if it sounds like something you'd enjoy because there are quite a lot of things, which make this a good read. Just for the right person.

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Sisters of the Wolf is a middle-grade version of The Clan of the Cave Bear. It's set in that same general time period, and involves two early teen girls, from two different clans (one Cro-Magnon, and the other Neanderthal). There is much adventure and a bit of violence, but it is perfectly suitable for the 12+ group it is intended for.

I enjoyed this book. Historical fiction in the Ice Age area is rare, and this book was well researched and interesting. It is fast paced and kept my attention until the end. I would recommend this novel to my grandchildren!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

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This was a great book. It reminds me of the series by W Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear. The story uses information gathered by archeologists and weaves it into an intriguing tale. I enjoyed the relationships with other peoples and the animals they encountered. I loved the female hero’s and their friendship.
I see a sequel in the future and I can’t wait to read it.

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4.5 stars - This book was SO COOL. To anyone who liked The Clan of the Cave Bear books, this will be gold. I finished it in basically two evenings and only pried myself off because it was honestly time to sleep already.

Two girls, Shinoni and Keena, one an early human, the other a Neanderthal, meet in dangerous circumstances - both abducted by a dangerous man, they have to run, and it's safer in numbers. The girls couldn't possibly be more different - both in terms of culture, as well as skin color, build and even language. Luckily, the Neanderthal girl can speak Shinoni's language, so they slowly form a bond. Soon, a wolf joins them and becomes their faithful companion.

These girls do EVERYTHING, starting from simply hunting, healing wounds, and ending with, I swear, riding a mammoth. It's incredibly cool, and you can feel the book was written to encourage girls to be who everyone says they can't be. Perhaps that was the case for early women as well.

For comparison with the Cave Bear Clan books, this story is a lot more quickly paced, less concentrated on explaining and more on doing, which I liked a lot - that's the reason I'm currently on hold with reading the first Cave Bear Clan book, although I love the concept. So Sisters of the Wolf is basically the same, but more YA, more action and more about human relationships with each other. It's great.

The only thing I didn't particularly love about this story was that there was always this superiority of early modern day humans against Neanderthals in between the lines. Yes, we are the survivors and it is generally accepted that humans were better fit in the evolutionary sense, but we don't strictly know why, do we - we don't really know all that much about Neanderthals at all. For all we know, maybe it was some disease that particularly affected the Neanderthals but didn't really affect us much - so it's not necessarily that Neanderthals were 'stupider' than us. They were just different. I'll bet they had their own wisdom that they could teach us, who knows. Which is why I kind of felt sad that it's always Shinoni teaching Keena, and it's almost never the other way round. But this is purely an opinion! It didn't really affect my enjoyment of the story, and I don't think it will affect yours.

All in all, I'm so happy I chanced upon this book. It was an amazing read and I'm sure it'll stay in my mind for a long time. Now I'm motivated to pick up the Cave Bear Clan books again! And I wish Sisters of the Wolf was translated into Lithuanian too, so my mom could read it. She's a huge Cave Bear Clan fan and I know she would LOVE Sisters of the Wolf too. In general, I wish there were more books written about prehistoric times! They're just so incredibly interesting. Come on, my author friends - give us more!!

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

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A good plot with interesting story line.

A beautiful tale of two brave girls.

I enjoyed reading this. So I guess, this will definitely be an amazing read for the kids.

It has very adventurous plot.

The bravery that these girls show to run from the clutches of their enemy, one to achieve her dreams and the other to unite with her family.

It is a very wonderful read for kids.

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Thank you so much to Net Galley and Dundurn Press for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are entirely my own. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was very unique and exciting. I have never read or seen a YA fictional book talking about prehistoric people so I thought that the concept was very unique. I also thought it was neat how the characters and details of the book were based on the author's own research! I also liked the friendship formed between the two main characters and thought the adventures throughout the book were very exciting.

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I was actually pretty excited about this one but I was kinda disappointed and I couldn't finish it

I couldn't connect neither with the characters nor the writing.As for the writing,it felt kind of simple and dry to me-which considering the book is aimed for kids,is understandable but personally I can't-.I don't have a lot to say about the characters,since they're supposed to be 12-13 years old in the Ice Age,I think they acted their age.However,as I said,I couldn't connect with them.Also,the pacing seemed a bit fast at some points

All in all,yes I'm not the target audience,yes a child might enjoy this book BUT I didn't 🤷🏻‍♀️

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I liked this book and I love that it covers a time period you don't often see in fiction books. It was a very quick read which is also really nice. There was clearly a lot of research put into this book which I really appreciate in any kind of historical fiction book.
That being said, I just didn't feel like the book grabbed me or held my attention. I didn't feel connected to the characters or their stories.

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Two girls, two different tribes. I enjoyed this story that showed how working together can make all the difference. The characters were well developed and likeable. This isn't my typical genre, but once I picked it up I had trouble putting it down. Thanks to Patricia Miller-Schroeder and NetGalley for this advanced reader's copy.

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A rare historical fiction set in prehistoric times about two young women from opposing tribes/species team up to escape from an evil, abusive hunter. I found this to be a quick and easy read. Definitely a lower round adult novel, almost a middle grade. If I wasn't told this was YA I would think it was for a younger demographic.

I enjoyed the reading experience and would recommend this for children in the 12 - 15 age range.

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DNF at 11%

The concept of this story is really intriguing. I just don’t jibe with the writing style at all — it feels very juvenile, not in a bad way and I’m sure purposefully so, but it grates on my nerves and I’m backing off forcing myself to finish books I start. The other issue I have with it is it’s unoriginal narrative with the two girls and the vying to be something other than a woman. It’s all well and good, but I appreciate stories about girls being comfortable in their own skin and not wanting to be something other. Personal preference after being fed the opposite for so long in stories.

All in all, I’m intrigued by the story and recommend it to the right audience. I just don’t think I’m that audience.

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I named my daughter after the main character in Clan of the Cavebear. As a young teen, she's still kind of young to appreciate that book, so I was thrilled to see a YA book along the same line. This story is beautiful. It was simple enough to be enjoyed by younger audiences but still enjoyable to me as an adult.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I really enjoyed a refreshing new time period to read in YA, as the Ice Age isn't one that is seen very often. I think that the pacing and the overall setting and world were engaging and interesting. I did struggle with connecting to the characters, but I think this would be a great read to recommend to readers who might be more hesitant or want something with a faster pace

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What an enjoyable and inspiring read for junior readers with an original setting. Lots of problem solving and girl power with clean, suitable content. I feel this easy to read tale of two girls from different backgrounds will be very appealing to 10 to 14 year olds and I will certainly be buying it for our school library once published.

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