Wolf by Wolf: One girl’s mission to win a race and kill Hitler Kindle Edition

I had started the author's previous book, The Walled City, earlier this year and while I liked it, I was either too distracted by life or other books to give it all my time. One thing is for sure, it did not grip me the way Wolf by Wolf did. I had set it aside with the intention of returning to it later when I saw this new title, (I love the cover!), recognized the author's name and decided to give this book a try. I am so glad I did. I was rooting for Yael from the very beginning. The horrors inflicted on her as a child in the experimentation labs of a Reich doctor, the loss of her family, the loss of her self and her personal identity were all too awful to imagine.But Yael survives, escapes her captors and begins to forge a new life, not at first telling her adopted "family" about her newly acquired talent of taking on faces at will, skin shifting. When the time comes she is a willing part of a plan to take down the Furher and destroy the Reich forever. Her way forward is the axis cycling race, a race comprising of the youth of Japan and Germany racing across parts of Europe, Africa and finally culminating in Tokyo. Of course, she can't enter as herself, she is an unknown and that will expose her to too much scrutiny so she decides to take on the face of the only past female racer, Adele Wolfe. But life is never easy and Yael is about to embark on an adventure complicated by wearing the skin of another.The descriptions of the race were really exciting to read. The whole thing kind of reminded me of the Tour de France. I never really knew I could care about bikes, racing terminology, feats of human endurance and strength but the author made me change my mind. At every stop, every mishap, every act of sabotage, my heart was in my throat as I cheered Yael on. Would she succeed, would she make it to the finish line, would all the deceptions and compromises she has made so far be worth it?I loved this book, from start to finish. I loved the writing, the characters, the setting, the descriptions of the different food items at the different stops, even the excruciating nature of the race was thrilling and exciting. I loved that Yael was a character who embodied weakness even in her strength. She is in an impossible situation impersonating another person. She has the face of Adele and with that, the burdens of Adele's past relationships and mistakes. Many times she is confronted with the expectation of how she is supposed to behave as Adele, how she is supposed to react as Adele and the consequences of Adele's sins. But through it all, she manages to finagle herself out of situations in believable ways.Though we never get to know too much about the supporting cast of characters, they add much to the story and show us more about Yael. My favorite supporting character was Luka who you never know if you should trust him or plan his murder. He is cunning, smart and hilarious.I can't wait to read the sequel!

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin is a young adult alternative history novel set in a world in which the Nazis won the Second World War. We follow our protagonist, Yael, who is a death camp survivor, and her mission to kill Hitler. This mission hangs on the fact that Yael’s experiences in the death camp gave her the ability to change her appearance to look like any other woman. She must impersonate famous motor cyclist Adele Wolfe, the only person in recent times who has been able to get close to the Führer. To achieve this goal she must first compete in a trans continental bike race from Germania (Berlin) to Tokyo while not revealing her secret to Adele’s brother and former flame Luka Löwe.I have to say this book really got under my skin. I was completely invested in Yael’s story and rooting for her - I lay awake at night thinking of her story.What I likedThe protagonist. I loved that Yael is a blend of kick ass heroine and vulnerability. Graudin did an excellent job of making the mission personal to Yael through the use of flashbacks and the imagery of the wolf tattoos. Her relationships with both Felix and Luka were well written and added great extra tension to the story. Yael’s childhood hardships and her struggles to come to terms with her past made her a wonderfully engaging heroine.The audio narration. After hearing the Audible sample, I immediately chose to experience this in audiobook format. Ms Lewis had me when she pronounced “Adele” correctly in the German way (Ah-day-luh.) The correct pronunciation of the German words really added to the story for me. Ms Lewis was also able to bring across the different voices and personalities excellently. She broke my heart as well when portraying young Yael in the death camp calling for her mama. This is definitely one to listen to.The writing style. Ms Graudin has a writing style which is both poetic and immediate. I particularly enjoyed the animal imagery throughout the book with Yael’s being likened to a she wolf and Luka Löwe’s being compared to a lion. The way in which the wolf tattoos were symbolic of Yael’s past - and motivation for her mission - and her struggle to turn her past into a strength was very well written.The pacing. In general, the pacing was excellent. The tension of the cross continental race kept the plot moving along and the flashbacks were integrated at appropriate times. However for me personally, the interruption of the race-flashback-race flow at a certain point in Russia didn’t work so well - I kept wanting them to just get back on with the race.What I didn’t likeOther than the minor pacing issue, there was nothing I didn’t like about the book. I will definitely be checking out the sequel when it become available.I gave Wolf by Wolf a well deserved five stars out of five.

Como é que o mundo inteiro não está lendo este livro? Amando este livro? Idolatrando este livro? Pare de ler essa resenha, vá colocá-lo na sua lista de próximos, no carrinho da Amazon, baixar no seu e-reader. Só vai. Porque esse foi um dos melhores livros que já li e acho que vou passar as próximas horas de boca aberta aqui, tentando digerir tudo que aconteceu.Meu maior medo para este livro era ele ser muito "livro de viagem", algo que costuma me incomodar muito. Fico bem entendiada rápido, admito. Mas as partes mesmo de viagem foram super rápidas, então fica difícil colocá-lo nessa categoria. Se isso é algo que te incomoda, nem precisa se preocupar. Você não vai ficar entendiado em momento algum aqui.Como um livro que explora uma história alternativa, ele é realmente excelente. Me senti naquela época desde a primeira cena! Foi tão fácil de acreditar. E essa estética da época da Segunda Guerra Mundial é uma que, infelizmente, me atrai demais. Infelizmente, porque nada de bom saiu dela. Eu gosto mesmo de histórias dessa guerra, ainda que elas costumem me incomodar muito. Este livro me incomodou muito. Sei bem que é do tipo que vai me fazer ficar pensando sobre ele por dias e dias.Essa é uma das melhores partes dele, o fato de que a autora encara toda a realidade da guerra sem medo e consegue analisar a personalidade e a identidade da Yael do começo ao fim. A escrita dela é maravilhosa aliás, definitivamente minha parte favorita. Fiquei bem abismada várias vezes com a capacidade dela de encontrar palavras inesperadas que encaixavam tão bem. E a Yael em si foi a segunda melhor parte do livro.Existem pouquíssimas protagonistas que mereçam fazer parte de uma comparação com a Yael. Obrigada, Ryan Graudin, por mostrar mais uma vez que livros YA não precisam necessariamente ser bobos, fáceis e simples; que eles também podem ter personagens complexos, intrigantes e bem trabalhados, com defeitos, contradições, convicções. Você precisava publicar mais livro, por favor.E eu até encontrei crush nesse livro, o que é algo bem raro para mim (devo ter uns seis só). Não tem realmente romance aqui, só uma amostra, por assim dizer. E é claro que eu torci para a Yael se interessar pelo carinha errado - primeiro, porque o outro é bem incrível (salvo o pequeno defeito de ser bem agressivo e precisar urgentemente fazer uma terapia de raiva), e, segundo, porque o charme convencido do carinha me fez revirar os olhos e não é nem um pouco atraente.Mas o final do livro me fez sentir como esse último parágrafo está me fazendo sentir agora: bem besta. Porque existem coisas bem maiores nessa história do que romance - e ainda bem que a Yael é menos besta do que eu e nunca se esqueceu!"Você aprendeu o que significa liberdade e, disso, não se esqueça jamais." (Frase que vi no muro de Berlim - faz tanto tempo já.)Esta é uma história muito bonita, muito pesada e muito importante também. O enredo do livro é bem emocionante, você nem vai conseguir respirar direito. Confesso que eu estava desafiando a autora a dar um final diferente, um que ninguém tem coragem de dar (lembro de reclamar disso em dezembro, sobre Girls of Paper and Fire), mas ela escolheu outro caminho. Tá, também é um caminho bem inteligente e interessante, mas ao menos uma vez na vida quero ver alguém fazer esse final na cara e coragem.Claro que eu recomendo este livro, não sei nem o que você ainda tá fazendo aqui e não começou a ler! Vou direto para o segundo livro da duologia, não vou nem fazer questão de tomar fôlego antes.

Um young adult muito bem feito. Não cai nos clichês do gênero e inclui muita pesquisa por parte da autora. A escrita é fluida e o tema muito interessante. Recomendo!

could not put this down. exciting and involving and characters are fleshed out more than in the usual action adventure

Wolf By Wolf takes the DNA of "What if Hitler won the War" (Robert Harris's Fatherland) splices in a thread of Inglorious Basterds (young girl is intent on killing Hitler) and mixes a dollop of action, base violence and an X-men style, shape shifting /mutation / origin story. That in short, is the essential nucleus of this thriller.Yael is a young girl who turns shapeshifter after being mercilessly experimented on by the Nazi's. She uses this new found talent to escape her captives clutches and joins a resistance movement that is struggling against a Reich which has emerged victorious from the Ashes of the Second World War.The glorious victory over the Allied forces is commemorated by the Axis powers through the vehicle of a motorcycle race across their dominion. To the victor go the spoils- glory, a cushy job and a ceremony in which the victor is wreathed and lauded by Adolf Hitler himself.Driven by her determination to change things for the better, Yael see's her opportunity to get up close and personal with the Fuhrer and thus bring Hitlers reign to a very public end. This is by entering and winning the race in the form of a previous female victor- Adele Wolfe. There's just a couple of problems; everyone else in it, is there to win it, the brother of Adele Wolfe is trying hard to get her not to race and finally the real Wolfe did something terrible to one of the other contestants the last time she raced and won.The inevitable 'will-she won't-she' win fuels much of the suspense in this thriller which motors along at great pace without slipping or the plot becoming tired. Yael is an intriguing character although we don't get to look too deeply into her inner-self too often. Perhaps this was a bit of an omission, and those who feel introspection leads to greater affinity for a character will note this, but you know what ? I didn't mind personally. In short this book is thought provoking given the background history whilst also being a racy, pacy, shapeshifting, gear shifting counterfactual turbocharged novel.Roll on the sequel.

While alternative histories aren't generally my thing, this novel really did draw me in. Beginning with the horror or Yael's childhood journey to a concentration camp and then following her tense journey as part of the Axis Tour, it was a "what if" story that truly allowed the reader to imagine just how horrible the world would be if the Nazis had won (a thought that is very poignant to our current political climate).Wolf by Wolf has a lot to offer and I think it will appeal to many different kinds of reader. It's a thriller, it has science fiction elements, it has a grueling motorcycle race, historical roots and light romance. Its dark and violent in places but never overly gory. Yael is a very strong and relatable protagonist and, while the other racers initially felt a bit shallow, they revealed hidden depths as the story progressed.My only real issue with the story was that the prose could be a little purple at times. It was beautiful but the heavy use of metaphor sometimes seemed a bit excessive. It should also be warned that the novel ends on a cliffhanger. While it wasn't especially jarring (the story did at least conclude) it did not offer a great deal of resolution and left a lot of threads hanging. Hopefully these will be neatly tied off in the concluding volume.All in all, this was an excellent novel and really made me want to read Graudin's earlier work. I can't wait to see how this story will wrap up in the next book!