Review: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Wolf by Wolf #1

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: October 20, 2015

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: eARC from Netgalley

Pages: 400

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Summary (from Goodreads): 

Code Name Verity meets Inglourious Basterds in this fast-paced novel from the author of The Walled City.

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule the world. To commemorate their Great Victory over Britain and Russia, 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.

Yael, who escaped from a death camp, has 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 victor, 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 begins to get 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?

I really enjoyed this book! I had seen lots of good things about this book when I decided to request it and I'm so glad that I did! I'm not sure if I've really ever read a book about alternate history, but it was definitely a wonderful read!

Yael is a survivor of a death camp. She was chosen upon arrival for human experimentation which was incredibly painful, but ended up giving her the means to escape the camp with her life. She joins the resistance and is given an important mission that only she can carry out. The human experimentation left her with the ability to skinshift, giving her the power to change her outward appearance however she chooses. This allows her to impersonate the only female victor of the Axis Tour so she can enter the race, win, and ultimately kill Hitler.

Yael is an awesome character. She is a survivor. She survived human experiments and a death camp. She is passionate about her mission and ending Hitler's rule. To avenge the deaths of those who had already been killed and to save those who still lived, the weight of all of those lives rests on her shoulders. She is amazing. She's determined. She's brave. Ugh, she's just fantastic.

Felix is Adele Wolfe's brother. He also joins the Axis Tour, trying to get Adele to come home with him. To put their family back together. Felix is a wonderful brother. Despite everything that happens between them in this book, he is still there for her through it all. He is a really good dude.

Luka Lowe is another victor of the Axis Tour, racing again to try to be the first to win two tours. Yael finds that he and Adele had more between them than what she had learned in her year studying these people. He seems to really care for Adele, but deep down he can't seem to get over what happened the year before when she had betrayed him to win the race. He is incredibly helpful to Yael for most of the race, even if he is kind of a jerk at times.

There really isn't much romance in this book. There is a little bit of something between Adele and Luka that Yael is trying to figure out, but really, what VERY little romance there is in this book is far from a big point in this book. Yael doesn't have time to engage in romance when she is trying to stop a monster and save the lives of so many people.

The plot of this book was interesting. I didn't find it to be slow. From the epic motorcycle race across two continents full of vicious victors and betrayal, to flashbacks from Yael's childhood in the death camp, to the relationships Yael is trying to keep up between Luka and Felix as Adele, there is never a dull moment.

I would definitely recommend this book. If you like historical fiction, World War II, or epic motorcycle races, this might be the book for you. I will definitely be buying this book for my shelf when it comes out! I think the only reason this book is getting four stars is because I ended up being rather busy while I read this book and I had to put it down a lot, which obviously takes away from the experience. But I really can't think of anything worth complaining about about this book. It was so good! Definitely one to check out next month!!

This book will mark off the bingo square for religious minority mc! The main character is Jewish!