Daughter of Kura — Debra Austin

"At first, Snap was aware of a few background noises -- a baby cried, the fire crackled, one of the older children laughed. Eventually, the other sounds disappeared, and she heard only the ancient rhythm of the drums, the dancers' voices, and the sounds of her own feet as they beat a path to an unclear future."

On the parched African earth more than half a million years ago sits the village of Kura, a matriarchal society of Homo erectus. Snap -- a young, passionate woman of Kura -- is destined to lead her people, and this year she must select a mate for the first time. Will she choose someone different each year, or will she find one mate she wants to pick over and over again, like her mother, Whistle, the next leader of Kura? As the Bonding ceremony approaches, Snap's future remains unknown. But Whistle, when her mate doesn't return, chooses a stranger with ideas far more dangerous than the lions that kill with a single slash.

When Snap challenges the stranger's growing power one too many times, she is brutally cast out to survive or perish. Abandoned and alone, she risks her life -- and the future of her people -- to stand up against an unthinkable evil. Unknown to her, the same danger threatens other villages as well. Soon, Snap and a new band of outcasts will face a force more terrifying -- and deadly -- than any of Africa's natural threats.

Both imaginative and believable, Daughter of Kura astonishingly brings to life an ancient and untamed world. Austin has created an unforgettable heroine who comes of age in a thrilling tale of courage, loyalty, and passion.