The Boy (The Mastodons Book 1)

By James Strauss
Gale, $25.95, 270 pages

The Great Catastrophe changed everything for the entire tribe, and especially for the boy called Daryl. His intuitive disappearance before the caves collapsed made it easy for the Chief and Shaman to blame him for the tragedy; he is not banished, but instead becomes the lowest of the tribe, never to be a warrior and only good for occasional menial chores. Daryl rebels against his fate and, together with the boy Nado (who was crippled by the cave collapse), discovers a world that the powerful do not want the rest of the tribe to know. Daryl also discovers within himself a strange affinity for animals, which will aid him in unexpected ways.

Despite a slow beginning, The Boy was an enticing read, a coming-of-age story set in prehistoric times. Strauss’ language was beautiful and eloquent, carrying the story through events both exciting and mundane. The story starts with the catastrophe; consequently, tribal life is not covered particularly in depth, leaving the reader without a clear sense of what, exactly, the boy has lost with his new status, and that might leave some feeling a little in the dark. Despite this, however, one is left anticipating the next book in The Mastadons series.

Reviewed by Holly Scudero