Wolf by Wolf
by Ryan Graudin
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Published: 10/20/15 by Little Brown
Pages: 295
Format: ebook
My rating:
5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book! I wish I would have read it last year, because it would definitely have made my Best of 2015 list. I have been in a major book rut for the last few months trying to find a good book that will inspire me to keep reading. This book was just what I needed! Easy to read and interesting, I quickly devoured the book in just a couple sittings.
This book imagines what the world would look like if Hitler had not been killed. What if the Allies had not won World War II? What if Hitler and Japan's Emperor Hirohito continued their quest for world dominance? What if the Holocaust continued for 10 more years with no end in sight? This alternative history novel begins with this premise and adds a slight touch of fantasy to create an intriguing story about survival, sorrow, resilience and vengeance.
The main character is Yael. As the result of an experiment in a Nazi concentration camp, Yael is a skinshifter, with the ability to change her appearance to look like anyone else. With this unique gift (curse?), Yael imitates the famous Adele Wolfe, a Victor in the Axis tour, a motorcycle race across the world sponsored by Hitler and Hirohito. Yael'sgoal for the upcoming Axis tour is simple: impersonate Adele, win the race, gain an audience with Hitler and kill him.
At first I wasn't sure if I liked the "skinshifting" part of this story. Every other part of the story is set in reality and could possibly have happened. The "skinshifting" adds a fantasical element which makes the story unrealistic. But it also makes the story interesting! With Hitler's extreme emphasis on race and appearance, what if it was possible for a Jew to completely change her appearance and look like a perfect Aryan girl? What possibilities and difficulties would this ability present? It's a fascinating look at identity and how appearances play a role in who we are and what we do.
When Wolf by Wolf was over, I was genuinely sad. Of course, I was eager to read what would happen next. But I was also sad to have to stop reading a book that I enjoyed so much. While I am waiting for the sequel, the next book on my reading list is going to be Ryan Graudin's previous novel, "The Walled City."
This has been a rough reading (and blogging) year for me. I haven't blogged or written a review since July! My goal this year was to read 52 books, and I didn't quite make it. I finished the year with a total of 49 books read. However, according to Goodreads, I did read more pages this year than I have ever read before with a total of 17863 pages.
But I really struggled to read this year. I had to force myself to read many days, and I just didn't enjoy the books like I usually do. I only gave a handful of 5 star ratings, and a lot more 3 star ratings than I have ever done before. I'm not sure if this is the fault of the books or myself. Sometimes I feel like the "goodness" of the book directly corresponds to my mood at the time of reading it.
However, I did find some good books that I can recommend this year. I use the following rating system when I review books:
- 1 star = hated it (I usually don't finish books that I hate, so I rarely give 1 star)
- 2 stars = didn't like it (but usually it is worthy of at least being finished)
- 3 stars = it was okay, I liked it but probably wouldn't highly recommend
- 4 stars = I really liked it and would recommend it to someone else
- 5 stars = I loved it and want everyone I know to read it!
I find that a lot of books fall in between the 3 and 4 star category for me, so I've started giving books 3.5 and 3.75 stars too.
This "Best of" list is limited to books that were published in 2015. To make it easier to pick my favorites, I have separated the books into categories.
And here it is!
Best Chick Lit:
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
My rating = 5 stars
In the world of serious literary fiction, this is not a 5 star worthy book. But for fun, fluffy chick lit, it was really good! It is basically a fictionalized version of the love story between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Except in this book "Kate" is from America. I devoured the 454 page book in no time at all, and then I was sad when it was over. If you are looking for a light and entertaining book, I definitely recommend this one!
Honorable Mention:
After You by JoJo Moyes
My rating = 3.75 stars
This is the sequel to Me Before You (one of my all time favorite books!). I didn't think it really needed a sequel, and this book was not nearly as good as the first. But it was still fun to read about what happened to the characters. It got off to a slow start for me, but I thought it got better as the book went on. If you have read Me Before You, it's worth a read. (And if you haven't read Me Before You, why are you still reading this? Start reading now!)
Best Mystery/Thriller
In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
My rating = 4 stars
Everyone else will probably put The Girl on the Train here (and I did like that one) but I liked In a Dark Dark Wood too! And it is not getting nearly as much publicity. I thought this story was engrossing and suspenseful, but it wasn't super scary or creepy. I'm not a huge fan of super scary stories, so this is my kind of thriller.
Honorable Mention:
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating = 4 stars
This was the "it" book of the year. One that everyone (yet again) dubbed the next "Gone Girl." I still liked Gone Girl better, but this one was good. I read the whole book in less than 24 hours. You can read my full review, and my comparison between this book and Gone Girl here.
Best Historical Fiction
Girl at War by Sara Novic
My rating = 4 stars
I like learning about history through fiction, especially when the fictional story teaches me about a part of history that I knew very little about before reading it. That is the case with Girl at War, a novel about a girl who escapes from the Yugoslavian Civil War in 1991. She moves to America and experiences life in New York ten years later during 9/11. The story moves back and forth between those two places and time periods. I thought the contrast between war in Croatia and "war" in America was thought provoking. This was a book that my book club read, and not everyone liked it as much a I did. It's a short little novel that could probably benefit from being a little longer. But the glimpses into this girl's life and her experiences with war were interesting and worth the read.
Honorable Mention:
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
My rating = 4 stars
My favorite kind of historical fiction is novels that are set during World War II. I've read a lot of them! While not my favorite WWII novel, The Nightingale is highly readable and one that I would recommend to most people. Read my full review here.
Best Science Fiction
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
My rating = 4.5 stars
This is the second book in the Red Rising trilogy. I had mixed feelings on the first book, Red Rising. But Golden Son redeemed this series for me, and I am now eagerly awaiting the third and final book, Morning Star (to be released this February). You can read my full review here.
Best Young Adult Novel
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
My rating = 5 stars
I just loved this book so much! It is about teen suicide so it is a difficult subject to read. (On a side note, this must have been the year for books about teen suicide because I read four novels on this subject in 2015 alone!). However, Niven writes with the perfect balance of wit and humor while still treating the subject seriously and with gentle care. It was both funny and devastating, and the character of Theodore Finch still haunts me today. You can read my full review here.
Honorable Mention:
Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway
My rating = 4 stars
The cover of this book makes it look like a cute romance, and it is! But it is more than that too. Emmy and Oliver were childhood best friends, until Oliver was kidnapped by his dad. 10 years later Oliver is found and returned home, and this story explores how time changes people and how everyone adjusts to having Oliver home again. A cute book with some depth to it as well. It's a good one!
Best Young Adult Fantasy
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
My rating = 5 stars
For me, this book was unputdownable (though I have a friend who does not share my enthusiasm for this book!). I read nearly the whole 450 pages in one day! It is set in a world that is inspired by Ancient Rome and tells the story of two characters on what appear to be opposing sides: Elias, the empire's finest soldier and potentially the next emperor and Laia, a poor slave girl whose sole purpose is to find her brother and exact her revenge on the Empire. But when Elias and Laia meet, they discover that they both are on the same side with the same goal: to take down the Empire. I loved escaping into the world Tahir created, and I look forward to continuing in this world and this story with the upccoming sequel.
Honorable Mention:
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
My rating = 4 stars
I read A LOT of these young adult fantasy/dystopian trilogies. Red Queen reminds me of a lot of those other trilogies. It's not a highly original story, and in the end it is not all that memorable. But it fun to read while I was reading it. And sometimes, you just need something that is fun to read in the moment!
For more book recommendations, here are my previous "Best of" book lists.
Best Books of 2014
Best Books of 2013
Here's to finding more great books in 2016!
