My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**Disclaimer: copy received from NetGalley and Hachette’s Children’s Group in exchange for an honest review**
Wolf by Wolf is the book you get if you mix motorcycles, The Book Thief, The Man in the High Castle… oh, and just a little sprinkling of shape-shifting. It is an alternate history in which the Nazis have won World War II, and the Holocaust has continued – and the experiments at one particular concentration camp have led to Yael, a young Jewish girl, developing the ability to shapeshift. Driven by the memories of the loved ones she has lost, Yael takes upon herself the task to shift into the only female winner of the Axis tour, a motorcycle race from Germania (Berlin) to Tokyo, so that she can get close to the Fuhrer… and kill him.
Yael, posing as Adele Wolfe, must keep her identity secret and battle against others seeking victory and glory – and make some difficult choices along the way.
I really enjoy alternate histories, especially realistic ones – and so this book was right up my street. I wasn’t too sure on the premise of a motorcycle race, but it works well, and it allows Yael to meet interesting characters and question herself. I loved the flashbacks to the people Yael had lost and her ‘origin’ story – it’s a little dark at times, but that should be expected in a book centered around the consequences of the continuing Holocaust.
I really loved the twists and turns in this novel, and it felt about the right length. There was a good story resolution, but a few loose ends were left – which will presumably resume in the second book, which deals with what happens after this story ends.
Overall, a fresh young adult take on World War II alternate history, and an original addition to the young adult genre. I look forward to the second book in the series, and I may need a physical edition of this book to add to my bookshelf.
Will you be picking up Wolf by Wolf? If you have, what did you think? Comment below or tweet me at @annalisebooks!
Annalise x
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