Thursday, August 15, 2013

Historical Fiction Book Tours Book Review: Mother Earth Father Sky



About MOTHER EARTH FATHER SKY

Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Open Road Media
eBook
ISBN: 0380715929

A young woman fights for survival amid the brutality of the last Ice Age

It’s 7056 BC, a time before history. On the first day that Chagak’s womanhood is acknowledged within her Aleut tribe, she unexpectedly finds herself betrothed to Seal Stalker, the most promising young hunter in the village. A bright future lies ahead of Chagak—but in one violent moment, she loses her entire way of life. Left with her infant brother, Pup, and only a birdskin parka for warmth, Chagak sets out across the icy waters on a quest for survival and revenge.

Mother Earth Father Sky is the first book of the Ivory Carver Trilogy, which also includes My Sister the Moon and Brother Wind.


Song of the River is the first book of the Storyteller Trilogy, which also includes Cry of the Wind and Call Down the Stars.

Praise for MOTHER EARTH FATHER SKY

“Mythic storytelling.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Sue Harrison joins the ranks of Jean Auel and Linda Lay Shuler.” —The Houston Post

“Memorably great . . . in between the satisfying details of an ancient culture, you smell the sweet heather, taste the wind, hear the roaring surf and sense the joy of primeval love.” —Ruth Beebe Hill, author of Hanta Yo

“A book of haunting beauty and emotional power. I became the Aleut girl-woman in Ice Age Alaska, and the carver, the seal hunter, the shaman . . . A remarkable book of passion, tenderness, and the indomitable human spirit, masterfully researched and beautifully written.” —Linda Lay Shuler, author of She Who Remembers

“A moving and credible story . . . Harrison expertly frames dramatic events with depictions of prehistoric life in the Aleutian Islands.” —The New York Times Book Review



Review: Sue Harrison's books have been compared to Jean Auel and that alone was enough to make me want to give this book a try. I read Clan Of The Cave Bear when I was in high school. I don't know how I got through those tomes at 16!

Sue Harrison's book, the first in a trilogy, is much shorter, but it packs the same punch with emotion and imagery. 

I was really drawn into Chagak's world. I felt her pain, especially at the beginning as she loses her family. The book takes place in 7056 BC in Alaska. Chagak starts out as a girl that could have it all and then in an instant everything is dashed away.

This is a story of survival and at times is violent. This isn't a pretty story, to say the least, but it is one that you won't forget.  Chagak really grew as a character as the book progressed.  I loved her relationship with her adopted grandfather, Shuganan.

The pace of the story is fast. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down.

If you are a fan of Jean Auel's books, you definitely want to try this one, and bring some tissues along, because the story is quite a tear jerker in several places.

Rating: 4 flowers






Book Trailer: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYs9Y4WoggM


About the Author

Sue Harrison grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and graduated summa cum laude from Lake Superior State University with a bachelor of arts degree in English language and literature. At age twenty-seven, inspired by the cold Upper Michigan forest that surrounded her home, and the outdoor survival skills she had learned from her father and her husband, Harrison began researching the people who understood best how to live in a harsh environment: the North American native peoples. She studied six Native American languages and completed extensive research on culture, geography, archaeology, and anthropology during the nine years she spent writing her first novel, Mother Earth Father Sky, the extraordinary story of a woman’s struggle for survival in the last Ice Age. A national and international bestseller, and selected by the American Library Association as one of the Best Books for Young Adults in 1991, Mother Earth Father Sky is the first novel in Harrison’s critically acclaimed Ivory Carver Trilogy, which includes My Sister the Moon and Brother Wind. She is also the author of Song of the River, Cry of the Wind, and Call Down the Stars, which comprise the Storyteller Trilogy, also set in prehistoric North America. Her novels have been translated into thirteen languages and published in more than twenty countries. Harrison lives with her family in Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula. 

For more information please visit Sue Harrison's website.  You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

1 comments:

sue harrison said...

Thank you so much for including the review of Mother Earth Father Sky and news about the virtual tour on your blog!!

 
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