Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Little, Brown Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Wolf by Wolf
Author: Ryan Graudin
Recent Release Date: October 20, 2015

Synopsis: 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?

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Review: This is one of those hard to explain stories. I don't know how Ryan Graudin came up with this story, but it is super imaginative. Wolf by Wolf is an alternate history story. In this world, Hitler won. It's been a few years since and across the victors' nations, a race is held. Youth ride motorcycles across many miles over many days to show the unity and strength of these people. 

The protagonist of this novel has some special powers that allow her to enter this contest under a guise. If she wins, she may be able to get close enough to Hitler to kill him. 

This book took me a while to read. It had a slow start, but i enjoyed it the whole time. The relationships in this novel are complex. I liked how the history of the protagonist was slowly revealed throughout the novel. 

I give this novel a 5/5. The concept may sound strange, but this is a wonderfully written book. I recommend it, especially fans of alternate history stories. If you are more familiar with the time period, you'll probably enjoy it even more than I did. 


--PAUL