Bear Daughter by Judith Berman is a fresh and innovative piece of writing. The author has escaped from the overused cultures of Medieval Europe, China, and Ancient Egypt to create a society based on the Amerinds of the Pacific Northwest. Cloud, the main character, is a young bear who wakes up as a human girl of twelve. Cloud finds life as a girl much different; the world of sharp smells and dull sight is replaced by a world of clear pictures and indistinct odors. Cloud's stepfather Rumble was willing to tolerate a bear, but tries to kill the human girl. Her Aunt Glory teaches Cloud to act like a human; to walk on two legs, to use her hands; to eat sitting up instead of crouched over her food, to cook and to spin and weave and all the other skills proper to a young woman.

(Source: Ace Trade)