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The story takes place during the last ice age. Maroo wakes hungry and anticipates the arrival of the hunters. When the hunters return with little food, the family decides to migrate to the sea for the summer. The family must overcome the harsh environment and may not make it back to the winter caves.

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Setting:

The setting is back in the last ice age in Southern France (By the Mediterranean Sea). There were different settings throughout the story, (They were semi-nomadic). Settings include the Winter Caves, the Sea, The Autumn Camp, The Summer Mountains, and the snow house the family had to make (Between the Winter Caves and the Great Plain).

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Characters:

The main characters are Maroo, Otak, Old Mother, and Rivo. Maroo is suspected to be around 12-16 years old. She is one of the eldest in the group and is the book's main character. Otak is Maroo’s younger brother. He is suspected to be around 7-9 years old. He is one of the most important characters in the story. Old Mother is Maroo’s grandma. She is the leader of the tribe and she makes the most decisions. She is suspected to be around 40-60 years old. Rivo is the wild dog Maroo and Otak found early in the novel. He is vital to the family, and although Old Mother had second thoughts about keeping him early in the story, he is crucial. Areg is Maroo’s, Otak’s, Nimai’s dad, and the main hunter. He is sadly killed by falling to his death while hunting an Ibex in the middle of the book.

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Maroo and Otak found Rivo next to his dead mother. This was important because Rivo is a very important part of the story. They got Rivo to go to the camp with them but Old Mother had second thoughts about keeping him.

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Areg dies because he fell off a cliff when he was trying to hunt an ibex. Maroo and Otak were sent to save him but he was already dead. Vorka was also hurt with a broken arm. After this incident, the family does not have any real hunters.

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Old Mother made the decision that Maroo and Otak were going to cross the White Mountain. This is important because it leads to the climax of the book. Everyone in the family had mixed feelings about this decision by Old Mother.

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Maroo and Otak begin their long journey up the mountain. There is a big blizzard that slows them down and Maroo and Otak cannot see that well. They set up camp and built a snow house where they slept for the night.

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The main conflict of the story is trying to reach to Winter Caves before the winter hunting starts and the snows come in. If they don’t make it to the Winter Caves in time, they will probably starve. They have to go through challenges and problems like blizzards. The terrain is very rough. Plus, there are many hostile spirits along the way.

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Maroo wakes up and she can’t find Otak. Maroo gets very angry at Otak. Maroo tries to find Otak. She remembers Old Mother’s sayings. Maroo goes on by herself to try to climb over the White Mountain and find the Autumn Camp.

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The climax is when Maroo faces a Mountain lion on the way back from the White Mountain. The lion is very angry. Maroo starts to think, she grabs items out of her bag and makes a torch. Eventually, Maroo scares the Mountain Lion away by using a torch. The lion howled in pain and ran off. Maroo sprints down the mountain exhausted from her trek and makes it to the autumn camp where all her family is.

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Maroo returns home after her adventurous trek with the lion. Maroo sprints back to her family after trying to find Otak after he got lost over the White Mountain.

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They welcome Maroo back home and greet her with a huge feast and plenty of refreshments. Maroo is celebrated as the first female to cross the White Mountain in her tribe.

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The Next morning Old Mother sends many people to look for Otak. Maroo is carried by a sledge due to pain in her legs. They are unsuccessful and they return back to the autumn camp.

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At dusk the blue lake dog sees Rivo peek out of a corner. Maroo sees him too and she is happy to know that he is alive. Maroo asked “Where is Otak?” and all of a sudden Otak limps out of the shadows. While Otak was gone, he got lost in a terrible blizzard and fell and sprained his ankle. It was also very cold but Rivo warmed him up by sleeping on top of him. The next morning everyone packed up and set off for the Winter Caves, and Rivo went too!

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The theme of this novel is perseverance. This was important to me because the book taught me to never give up even when you are in the harshest of situations. For example, when Maroo was in a blizzard she kept on walking to get back to the autumn camp. This was the theme of the story in my opinion.