Wolf by Wolf Hardcover – October 20, 2015
Author: Ryan Graudin ID: 0316405124
From School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up
Review
“Wild and gorgeous, vivid and consuming. I loved it! I can’t wait for the sequel.”
“A haunting portrayal of one girl’s courage in the face of a vicious world. I was racing along with Yael until the book’s heart-pounding conclusion. A triumph.”
“Ryan Graudin opens one of the darkest chapters in history and spins a what if into an incredible tale of survival, identity, and purpose. This is the kind of book you can’t put down, and the kind that follows you long after you have. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece.”
“The rush of an action movie combined with a flawlessly executed history, this is the book I’ve been waiting for. I loved WOLF BY WOLF, and I’m not speaking to my friends till they’ve read and loved it too.”
“WOLF BY WOLF completely immerses the reader in a story they’ll never forget. Filled to the brim with tension and intrigue, nonstop action, and a vivid cast of characters, you’ll feel every bump in the road they ride. I simply couldn’t stop reading–and wherever Ryan Graudin rides next, I’ll follow.”
* “Graudin (The Walled City) crafts another fast-paced, enthralling tale of sacrifice and dogged determination as she fuses alternate history and spy-thriller suspense. A provocative rumination on self-preservation, the greater good, and the boundaries that keep heroes from becoming as cruel as those they fight.”
* “Beyond its breath-taking climax, the novel provokes deeper questions about the ‘moreness’ Yael begins to see in her competitors’ identities, and in her own.”
“Graudin’s prose is artful and addictive.”
“Alternate histories can be risky gambits, but in Graudin’s capable hands, it pays off in spades. Yael is a compelling protagonist, both strong and flawed, and, even imbued as it is with sci-fi elements, seeing both WWII and the concentration camp experience through her eyes is a terrifying adventure.”
See all Editorial Reviews
Hardcover: 400 pagesPublisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 20, 2015)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0316405124ISBN-13: 978-0316405126 Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #13,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #20 in Books > Teens > Romance > Historical #26 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Social & Family Issues > Family > Siblings #54 in Books > Teens > Historical Fiction
Let me start by saying this book is awesome. I love the premise, love the female main character, and because the backstory of Wolf by Wolf includes an intercontinental motorcycle race, it truly speeds along to the end. As a YA alternative history novel with a sci-fi departure from reality, it asks the reader to suspend their disbelief, and trust me, the way the author presents it, it’s not hard to do.
In the Author’s Note she tries to examine the "What if?" facet of life with this book. What if Hitler and Emperor Hirohito had won the war? What if those two dictators took over the Eurasian continent and northern Africa? And what if the egregious medical experiments performed in the concentration camps left a young girl with the power to "skinshift" and change her appearance at will? That is the basis of Wolf by Wolf.
After Yael, a young Jewish survivor of the medical experiments escapes a death camp she joins the resistance. Years later, her ability to skinshift gives the resistance a perfect opportunity to bring down the Nazi Regime. She must impersonate Adele Wolfe, the only female to win the annual Axis Tour, a grueling motorcycle race from Berlin to Tokyo, in the upcoming competition. Hitler will be in Tokyo for the finish and last year he honored Adele Wolfe during the Emperor’s Ball. If she wins this race, Yael will have a chance to be close enough to Hitler to change history.
Most of the book centers on the race with flashbacks to Yael’s childhood and her years with the Resistance. The reader learns the personal meaning behind the five wolf tattoos on her arm. She is an intense, focused young woman with one goal: revenge. She is able to think on her feet, can handle any gun, carries a knife in her boot and is a trained fighter.
The pitch for this book is easy to imagine. "It’s like "The Hunger Games." Only with Nazis. And motorcycles. And magic." I would probably pass if I saw this story on a fan fiction site, but the fact that someone somewhere found it worth publishing was enough to tempt me into reading.
Yael, the heroine of "Wolf by Wolf," is a survivor of the Holocaust and a medical experiment performed on her when she was six-years-old involving melanin manipulation, which left her with the ability to shapeshift. She manages to escape and joins an underground resistance movement hoping to dethrone the Nazis, who, in this book, have won World War II and co-rule Europe, etc. with the Emperor of Japan as an ally. (Both Americas stay completely out of the whole thing, if you’re wondering.) Because she is, literally, the "Girl Who Lived," and moreover the "only" one who can assassinate Hitler, Yael is trained in various disciplines and learns to easily assume other forms, including that of last year’s victor in the famous motorcycle race: Adele Wolf. (Adele was the only partner Adolf Hitler chose to dance with at the Victor’s Ball; presumably, if she wins, it will happen again.) But Yael won’t have it easy winning this year’s race – not only will she have plenty of competition from both Japan and Germany, she will have to deal with her twin brother, Felix, who is determined to protect her (and perhaps get her to drop out), as well as another Victor named Luka. Moreover sabotage and deception are the names of the game. All the world’s eyes will be on her and perhaps ready to mutiny – but only if she makes it all the way to her ultimate destination.
This is definitely a book that can be described as action packed and full of twists.
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