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A review by kjanie
Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin
5.0
RE-READ: October 2017
5/5 STARS!!!
HOLY CRAP!! This is by far the most INTENSE and addicting book I've read! It was so freaking amazing! You know the feeling when you have a new obsession and it consumes every part of your mind? Well, that was basically this book for me. For the duration of the novel (and after!) I was fully consumed and addicted to every word! My heart was racing like mad and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, it was soul-consuming. EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK!
Wolf By Wolf is going to be a really hard book to explain, but I'll try. It's after World War 2 and Hitler and the Axis Powers (mainly Germany and Japan) have won the war. The Nazi regime is strict and underground resistance members have had enough of failed revolution attempts. Yael is a Jew and was taken to a concentration camp when she was young. There she was apart of an experiment to make Jewish people or any non-German into the perfect Aryan race. The experiment failed and instead Yael is left with the power to skin shift and imitate other people's faces and bodies. Which is the exact way that she was able to escape, and now she wants vengeance.
Many years later, Yael is caught up in the resistance and has one job: get close enough to kill Hitler. Her mission is to imitate Adele Wolfe, the only female elite motorbike racer and compete in Axis Tour, a gruelling race over many continents. Yael thought it'd be simple; race—win—kill Hitler, but she never could've planned Felix, Adele's sister and Luka, another competitor who seem all too close to finding out the truth. She thought she had it all under control, but she finds herself not being able to separate her feelings and life from that of Adele.
That was a very rough outline of the story, but I promise it is so much better than I've described. The writing is poetic and beautiful, the story is tense and thrilling and I couldn't ask for much more in terms of characters. Basically, it's a flawless book with flawless plot and characters. Yael is the very definition of an independent, strong and kickass female. She has been through so much in her life and I couldn't help but admire her throughout the story. On top of that, she is smart, cunning and can seriously kick some ass. She is definitely my current favourite heroine, I just think that she was so intelligent, empathetic and strong.
The Axis Tour race was by far the most exciting and heart-pounding aspect of the story. It is so much more than just a motorbike race, with intricate schemes, betrayals, gruelling trials and even death. One moment you trust someone and the next you don't. Reading this book, it confused my whole beliefs on morality because although I really wanted Yael to win, I didn't want her to have to hurt others in order to do so. How many lives lost or hurt are okay to be sacrificed for a bigger purpose? I was so caught up in the story, it was as if I was feeling every emotion of the characters, but tenfold. My palms were sweating, my heart was racing and I was my breathing was erratic. This book just took control of my entire being.
This book is extremely fast paced and unbelievably addictive. I couldn't put it down and stayed up way later (or earlier!) than I'd like to admit just to finish the book. Even before the race started (the main action in the book) I was addicted and I can't even begin to understand how. This is definitely the most intense, nail-biting book that I've ever read, and that is no exaggeration. My stomach was it knots from start to finish, and I'm pretty sure I've bitten my nails right down from stress. I don't think I've ever been this overcome by a book before.
The whole premise of this story is one of the most interesting that I've ever read. One, Hitler and Nazi Germany won the war. The way the author wrote this new world was so brutal yet so believable and it's so obvious that a lot of thought and research had gone in behind it. Recently I studied Nazi Germany in depth, which is how I've come to notice so many small details that the author included. It was a fantastically well thought out and intricate novel. The second premise is the whole skin shifting, changing identity. This part was written perfectly, I couldn't fault it if I tried. The author dealt with all the issues that this ability could bring, including loss of identity and what really makes a person. The attention to detail and way that the author portrayed emotions just took my breath away
Now, this is no romance book but love and relationship aspects do wriggle their way into this intricate web of a story. Luka, another one of the riders, had a relationship of sorts the year before with Adele (the real one). This relationship or connection ended in betrayal, hurt and a lot of mixed feelings. Luka currently thinks that Yael is Adele and it was so interesting to read a love story of sorts blooming. As a lover of romance, of course I wanted them together, but I was conflicted because I knew that only one could win and I definitely wanted that to be Yael. This book just conflicts every opinion I have and questions everything I believe or want to believe, that's why it is such an agonisingly emotional read.
Before I talk about the ending (because it seriously needs discussing) I'd like to mention that I'm not a book crier and have yet to cry whilst reading a book. That's why it is so big of me to say that the ending of this book made me want to cry. Basically, this book left me with my heart-strings torn out and in a state of frustration and emotional agony. I was so not okay with how things turned out and couldn't believe that it finished in that way. The ending was so unexpected and so cruel, I was on the verge of tears. So, if you're going to read this book, I strongly suggest having the second book at ready so you don't have to go through the torment that was this cliffhanger ending.
This was my favourite book of 2016, and now having read it twice, I can say that it is still amazing the second time around. I was awestruck with the intricacy, poignancy and complex characters that were in this book. I just want to force everybody I know to read it, it's just that good! I could not recommend this book enough, seriously, JUST READ IT!!
5/5 STARS!!!
“The wolves of war are gathering. They sing a song of rotten bones.”
HOLY CRAP!! This is by far the most INTENSE and addicting book I've read! It was so freaking amazing! You know the feeling when you have a new obsession and it consumes every part of your mind? Well, that was basically this book for me. For the duration of the novel (and after!) I was fully consumed and addicted to every word! My heart was racing like mad and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, it was soul-consuming. EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK!
“These were the names she whispered in the dark.
These were the pieces she brought back into place.
These were the wolves she rode to war."
Wolf By Wolf is going to be a really hard book to explain, but I'll try. It's after World War 2 and Hitler and the Axis Powers (mainly Germany and Japan) have won the war. The Nazi regime is strict and underground resistance members have had enough of failed revolution attempts. Yael is a Jew and was taken to a concentration camp when she was young. There she was apart of an experiment to make Jewish people or any non-German into the perfect Aryan race. The experiment failed and instead Yael is left with the power to skin shift and imitate other people's faces and bodies. Which is the exact way that she was able to escape, and now she wants vengeance.
Many years later, Yael is caught up in the resistance and has one job: get close enough to kill Hitler. Her mission is to imitate Adele Wolfe, the only female elite motorbike racer and compete in Axis Tour, a gruelling race over many continents. Yael thought it'd be simple; race—win—kill Hitler, but she never could've planned Felix, Adele's sister and Luka, another competitor who seem all too close to finding out the truth. She thought she had it all under control, but she finds herself not being able to separate her feelings and life from that of Adele.
“Her self-reflection was no reflection at all. It was a shattered mirror. Something she had to piece together, over and over again. Memory by memory. Loss by loss. Wolf by wolf.”
That was a very rough outline of the story, but I promise it is so much better than I've described. The writing is poetic and beautiful, the story is tense and thrilling and I couldn't ask for much more in terms of characters. Basically, it's a flawless book with flawless plot and characters. Yael is the very definition of an independent, strong and kickass female. She has been through so much in her life and I couldn't help but admire her throughout the story. On top of that, she is smart, cunning and can seriously kick some ass. She is definitely my current favourite heroine, I just think that she was so intelligent, empathetic and strong.
The Axis Tour race was by far the most exciting and heart-pounding aspect of the story. It is so much more than just a motorbike race, with intricate schemes, betrayals, gruelling trials and even death. One moment you trust someone and the next you don't. Reading this book, it confused my whole beliefs on morality because although I really wanted Yael to win, I didn't want her to have to hurt others in order to do so. How many lives lost or hurt are okay to be sacrificed for a bigger purpose? I was so caught up in the story, it was as if I was feeling every emotion of the characters, but tenfold. My palms were sweating, my heart was racing and I was my breathing was erratic. This book just took control of my entire being.
"It was a cruel irony that this was the message she had been chosen to deliver. She, the loneliest of all. The girl without a people. Without a face. The girl who was no one. Who could be everyone."
This book is extremely fast paced and unbelievably addictive. I couldn't put it down and stayed up way later (or earlier!) than I'd like to admit just to finish the book. Even before the race started (the main action in the book) I was addicted and I can't even begin to understand how. This is definitely the most intense, nail-biting book that I've ever read, and that is no exaggeration. My stomach was it knots from start to finish, and I'm pretty sure I've bitten my nails right down from stress. I don't think I've ever been this overcome by a book before.
The whole premise of this story is one of the most interesting that I've ever read. One, Hitler and Nazi Germany won the war. The way the author wrote this new world was so brutal yet so believable and it's so obvious that a lot of thought and research had gone in behind it. Recently I studied Nazi Germany in depth, which is how I've come to notice so many small details that the author included. It was a fantastically well thought out and intricate novel. The second premise is the whole skin shifting, changing identity. This part was written perfectly, I couldn't fault it if I tried. The author dealt with all the issues that this ability could bring, including loss of identity and what really makes a person. The attention to detail and way that the author portrayed emotions just took my breath away
“People were more than crooked type and swastika-stamped documents. No number of bullet points and biography facts could pin the soul behind the eyes.”
Now, this is no romance book but love and relationship aspects do wriggle their way into this intricate web of a story. Luka, another one of the riders, had a relationship of sorts the year before with Adele (the real one). This relationship or connection ended in betrayal, hurt and a lot of mixed feelings. Luka currently thinks that Yael is Adele and it was so interesting to read a love story of sorts blooming. As a lover of romance, of course I wanted them together, but I was conflicted because I knew that only one could win and I definitely wanted that to be Yael. This book just conflicts every opinion I have and questions everything I believe or want to believe, that's why it is such an agonisingly emotional read.
“The moreness of him was beginning to show. The way ruins were excavated by an archaeologist. Brushstroke by brushstroke. Bit by bit.”
Before I talk about the ending (because it seriously needs discussing) I'd like to mention that I'm not a book crier and have yet to cry whilst reading a book. That's why it is so big of me to say that the ending of this book made me want to cry. Basically, this book left me with my heart-strings torn out and in a state of frustration and emotional agony. I was so not okay with how things turned out and couldn't believe that it finished in that way. The ending was so unexpected and so cruel, I was on the verge of tears. So, if you're going to read this book, I strongly suggest having the second book at ready so you don't have to go through the torment that was this cliffhanger ending.
This was my favourite book of 2016, and now having read it twice, I can say that it is still amazing the second time around. I was awestruck with the intricacy, poignancy and complex characters that were in this book. I just want to force everybody I know to read it, it's just that good! I could not recommend this book enough, seriously, JUST READ IT!!
"Not everything was gray ashfall, yellowing weeds, withered blue hands, crimson rivers of blood....There was still beauty in this world. And it was worth fighting for."