Clan — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure.They’re huge and abstract. And they’re very beautiful.”
~ David Lynch ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Jane Friedman has a terrific post HERE that will give you 3 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count (Without Giving Your Whole Story the Ax). I need to cut words and really need to follow these tips.

John McNally wrote a great article HERE for Writer’s Digest entitled 5 Ways to Surprise Your Reader (Without it Feeling Like a Trick).

Some of my characters have some bad wounds. It’s pretty important to make our characters’ problems realistic. Aurora Jean Alexander has a good post HERE that will help you with that.

2020, in keeping with its reputation for being the weirdest year ever, gave us an election like no other. I think it is very exciting to have a woman vice-president, particularly a woman of color. It is high time. I have always admired and respected Joe Biden. He is a consensus builder and a man of integrity. We aren’t out of the muck yet, though. We are facing a terrifying wave of Covid 19, onerous economic challenges, and more. 2020 isn’t done with us yet. As I watched the Sunday morning news shows today, one of the moderators said some politician was already talking about running for the presidency in 2024. I nearly threw something at the TV! I wish we could pass a law like they have in some countries limiting campaigns to three months prior to an election. Wouldn’t that be heaven? In the mean time, wear your masks and stay well. Now to today’s review and giveaway.

Many years ago, I read several books in a series that started with The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel. I loved those books. If I ever find myself with enough time to re-read them, I will probably do so. I have always been fascinated with pre-history as well as history, so those books were a real gift to me. I am constantly hoping for someone to invent a time machine. Anyway, when I ran across a book called Clan by Sigmund Brouwer on the review list for Seattle Book Review, I requested it immediately. I enjoyed every word.Here is the review I wrote for them.

Atlatl lives with his Clan at the end of the Ice Age. He broke his leg when very young and walks with a bad limp. He will never be a great hunter, but he can tell stories, and the children love listening to them. Atlatl’s father, who hates having a crippled son, is head of the Clan, his uncle is the shaman, and his cousin, Powaw, is mean as a snake to Atlatl. When Atlatl takes in an orphaned saber-toothed cub, the Clan is not happy, and Powaw finds a way to use Cub against Atlatl, getting him banished from the Clan. Atlatl, on his own in a harsh environment, sees a flood wash through the valley, and he thinks everyone is dead. Now, it seems, he is truly alone. Can he survive?

Not many middle-grade novels are set in prehistoric times. This coming-of-age, survival story is a great one that middle-graders will love. Author Sigmund Brouwer’s writing is terrific. The story is compelling, the characters are well-rounded and believable, and the problems the characters face are relatable to that audience. One can only hope there are more like this coming from Brouwer.

I have a gently-read ARC for one of you. All you need do is be a follower or subscriber (it’s free!), have a U.S. address, and leave a comment below. If you would like extra chances, please share the link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet and let me know you have done that. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at the Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.