content: When my dad first gave me this book to read, it had the orignal cover, and was sort of deteriorating, and I had a feeling that I woudln't really like it. That was definitely NOT what happened! Ayla is a very inspirational character, and it's hard to put the book down once you start it. Unfortunetaly I was on vacation when I started it, so I had to stop reading, but I would have read it in a day! I quickly bought the other books in the series and read, each one better than the next, although the Clan of the Cave Bear was ultimatly the best one. I'd recommend the series to someone over the age of 13. It would be hard to follow if you were younger, and some parts are inappropriate, especially in the following books. This was one of my favorite books, and be warned: once you start, its so hard to stop!