REVIEW: Wolf by Wolf (#1) - Ryan Graudin

Wolf by Wolf (#1) - Ryan Graudin
Series: Wolf by Wolf
Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Blurb

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.

Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five wolves tattooed on her arm are a constant reminder of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year’s only female racer, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin’s brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael’s every move.

But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

Thoughts

When I hear a load of hype around a book, I will admit that I am a bit of a lemming, I will go and buy that book, but I will let it sit on my bookshelf for months on end.

I finally picked this book up, after all the hype around it had settled (OK so when I bought it I was waiting for November, WW2 based book).

The book is an alternative history, focusing on if the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan had won WW2.

I loved the premise of this book with the motorbike race across the axis continents, and the ability that Yael has. I also found the alternate history to be disturbing, as if the war had gone the other way this may have happened, Germany could have won the war.

I loved Yael as a character, and found her to be such a strong female lead for the book. I also found her dealing with the relationships of Adele, the person she was impersonating to be quite captivating as you were just wanting her to win the race, but these relationships between her brother Felix, and another racer Luka just kept popping up.

I found the ending absolutely fantastic, and I really never saw it coming (even though I should have)

Overall a great read and one I really would recommend