If you can picture yourself traveling across the wilderness of Europe 35,000 years ago during the ice age, then you can picture yourself with Ayla, an 18-year-old who is wise beyond her years and struggling to get to a distant land she can hopefully call home.

Ayla and Jondalar start their journey of 1,800 miles on horseback across the windswept plains of Europe. To those they meet, Ayla and Jondalar appear mysterious and dangerous. During this time people are all hunter-gatherers and have never seen domesticated animals. So, Ayla and Jondalar inspire awe for their control of two steppe horses and a powerful wolf, their inventions (the spear thrower and a travois for carrying meat), and Jondalar's skill as a forger of stone tools.

They encounter close friends and feared enemies, face natural disasters including landslides and volcanoes, and together learn that the world can be perilous but also unbelievably beautiful.

Jean M. Auel's novel includes powerful love, discovery, and treachery. You'll eagerly await every page of this captivating story. I recommend it to more mature high-school readers.