Title: Wolf by Wolf  

Author: Ryan Graudin  

Genre:Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy  

Publisher: Little Brown

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 390

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Over ten years since the Nazis won the war, 18 yr old Yael has one mission: to kill Hitler – a captivating second novel from Walled City author, Ryan Graudin.

Once upon a different time, there was a girl who lived in a kingdom of death. Wolves howled up her arm. A whole pack of them-made of tattoo ink and pain, memory and loss. It was the only thing about her that ever stayed the same.Her story begins on a train.

Germania, 1956. Over ten years since the Nazis won the war. 18-year-old Yael is part of the resistance, and she has just one mission: to kill Hitler.

But first she’s got to get close enough to him to do it.

Experimented on during her time at Auschwitz, Yael has the unique ability to change her appearance at will. The only part of her which always remains are the five tattooed wolves on her arm; one for each of the people she’s lost. Using her abilities, she must transform into Adele Wolfe, Germany’s most famous female rider and winner of the legendary Axis Tour; an epic long distance motorcycle race from Berlin to Tokyo, where only the strongest (and wiliest) riders survive. If she can win this, she will be able to get close enough to kill the Fuhrer and change history forever.

But with other riders sabotaging her chances at every turn, Yael’s mission won’t be easy…

Review:

This story was really exciting! I enjoyed the journey aspect of the book, and I also enjoyed that the book went back and forth between past and present to tie all the pieces together.

Yael is a survivor of the death camps and lives in a world where Germany and the Axis won World War Two. Yael joins the resistance and becomes part of a plan to kill Hitler. They plan to kill him at the end of the Axis motorcycle race; that is, if Yael can win.

I really liked the characters in this book. Yael was developed well so that the reader felt a lot of empathy for her and her struggles, and this was built by adding in each explanation of her struggles slowly. I also liked the other characters in the race, which showed Yael that not every Aryan is evil per se. I also really liked the motorcycle race itself as it kept the book moving along and kept things interesting. If you’re looking for historical fiction with a twist this is the book for you!

Happy reading!