I always enjoy historical fiction and find it to be quite a good read as long as you remember that it is someone's interpretation of the past and should not be taken as 100% true fact. The writing style of this series is quite good and I really felt invested in the characters and their personal stories. I find this series to be a perfect summer beach read. ( )

I picked this book up from a free library while traveling in South Africa, and had never heard of it and would likely never have picked it up in the shop. There is a bit of fun in reading something that is very much out of your wheelhouse, chosen for you by happenstance.

This is a tale of life on the Aleutian Islands of 7000 BCE at the end of the Ice Age. The story is very intimate and tightly focused on the many trials and tragedies of Chagak, a young woman who suffers from some very difficult and cruel losses early in her life. I was quite surprised by many of the specific events that occurred, Harrison doesn't shy away from showcasing violence and general misery. Interestingly, Chagak's people and most of the other tribes of the islands are largely peaceful, and aren't prepared in the least for the arrival of the Short Ones, a tribe who have adopted a novel culture of raiding and murder (a strange activity that other people, mystified, refer to as "hunting men"), a shift that unfortunately seems to point towards developments in the future of humankind.

The book has a strong feminist streak throughout, but in a more realistic and nuanced manner than something like [b:The Clan of the Cave Bear|1295|The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, #1)|Jean M. Auel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385331302l/1295._SY75_.jpg|1584694] for instance. Chagak is a strong and resilient heroine, but she is definitely constrained by a culture that values men much more highly than women, and where she must constantly deal with male power in her life. Harrison does a great job of looking at the (fictional/hypothetical) details of a late Ice Age life which is strongly influenced by modern Aleut life (in fact, other than the element of the Short Ones violent raiding culture being a new development, there doesn't particularly seem any reason that this book is set in 7000 BCE rather than at any time prior to European contact many thousands of years later).

Overall this was an enjoyable, engaging read... Happy I happened to pick it up! ( )

Interesting novel about First People of the Aleutian Islands, ca. 7000 BC. Harrison creates a believable culture with nicely drawn characterizations.

After witnessing a massacre that destroys her village, a young woman struggles to reach her mother's family on another island, but the journey takes a path she didn't expect.

Unfortunately, the cover illustrator apparently didn't read the manuscript. It shows a young woman of First People stock, but her clothing and her boat appear to be of the style of 17th-century Great Lakes tribes, and the seal swimming alongside it has nothing to do with the story. Nor does the male figure standing on the shore, who appears to be of European stock and is dressed in 17th-century garb.

Ignore the cover. Enjoy the book. ( )

I first read this book in 6th grade (looong time ago) and there’s something about it that stuck with me. I learned a lot about prehistoric Aleutian life and about a culture that I have zero connection with, but still find fascinating. It’s a smooth read that is easy to get through and difficult to put down. ( )

According to goodreads, I first read this book in 2008. It's why, when I first started reading my copy from netgalley, the book seemed so familiar to me. I wouldn't have requested it from netgalley if I had realized it was the exact same book I read years ago, but I didn't review it five years ago, so it doesn't hurt to reread and review now.

Mother Earth is a well written "prehistory" book - a time period I was fascinated by when I was a teenager / young adult. The dawn of time... dawn of civilization and of humanity, how can one not be intrigued?

Chagak's story is compelling, well written, well researched, and is the start of a series. There's a great cast of supporting characters, but not so many that you can't keep track of them (a pet peeve of mine in other series books).

It is important to note that this book is intended for young adults / teenagers - the plot is slower than Jean Auel's series, but it's supposed to be. I find this more readable and in the end, more likeable (even though I had originally forgotten that I had read this years ago). ( )