Austin, Debra. Daughter of Kura.

Austin, Debra. Daughter of Kura.
Simon & Schuster/Little Brown 2009 310p 25.00 978-1-4391-1266-3 hs Prehistoric tale of a matriarchal group of Homo erectus people in Africa. When Snap’s mother chooses a stranger during bonding ceremony who proves to have dangerous ideas that will disrupt the life of the village, the pregnant girl decides to leave the clan and strike out on her own. This fascinating story is based on paleontology and will thrill those who liked books like Clan of the Cave Bear. This is a prehistoric tale of a matriarchal group of Homo erectus people in Africa. During the Bonding ceremony, the ritual where the women choose a mate, Whistle, daughter of the grand matriarch, chooses a stranger named Bapoto, since her usual mate did not return in time from the hunt. This stranger proves to be a dangerous man with ideas that will change their society. When Snap, Whistle’s daughter, refuses to buy into these ideas, she is forced to make the choice to leave the village and strike out on her own. Pregnant and not knowing where her own beloved mate is, she travels a dangerous route and carves out her own niche on the side of the mountain to get ready for the birth of her baby. The adventure starts as she has to fend off not only natural forces and wild animals, but other humans who do not want to see her survive, mainly Bapoto and his followers. Eventually, she begins to bond with other outcasts from her past and meets new individuals who become the beginnings of a new group. Based on studies in paleontology, there are lots of exciting adventures and interesting situations, that will leave the reader wanting to know more about societies that existed over a half a million years ago. The author has strong writing skills and includes a glossary of Swahili terms that are used throughout the book. This is an excellent choice for high school libraries and is recommended for Tristate Books of Note. Weinraub, Tina

Chanda's Wars by Allan Stratton

Stratton, Allan. Chanda’s Wars.
Harper Collins/Tempest, 2008, $18.99, 384p, 978-0-06-087264-9
Conflict-Fiction
Continuing the story of Chanda from the title Chanda’s Secrets, the African teen is now caring for her little brother and sister after her mother dies from AIDS in their fictional sub-Saharan country. She travels to her mother’s village to visit her family, including her grandparents and aunt who disavowed and turned away her mother when she was dying. Chanda doesn’t really want to go, but is going to make peace among the family. While she is there, her family arranges a marriage for this independent young woman. She flips out about this and runs off to the bush. Meanwhile, the rebels are invading the countryside, and kidnap her whole family, including her brother and sister. Her aunt is killed and her siblings are forced to become child soldiers. Chanda eventually teams up with the young man to whom she was to marry to rescue Soly and Iris, as well as his brother who was also kidnapped. The situations become frightening as they hunt the evil Mandiki and his rebel faction. Whereas Chanda’s Secrets focused on the problem of AIDS, this newer title focuses on the crisis of child soldiers when her siblings are kidnapped. Horrific situations make this a book best suited for grades 8 and above. Those who read the previous book will definitely want to read this title. TW