What if the Axis powers had won World War 2? In Wolf by Wolf, author Ryan Graudin tries to answer this question. This series consists of two books that are fairly large (Wolf by Wolf is 400 pages and Blood for Blood is 481 pages long). They are fast paced; very engaging books that I felt were over much too quickly in my opinion.
From the very first sentence you can tell that Graudin’s writing is going to be cinematic and descriptive. The entire time I was reading this two-book series I was thinking "this would make an excellent television show or movie." It is, not unlike the Amazon show Man in the High Castle, which essentially asks the same question. The one difference, however, is that there are some supernatural elements within this story. There are some very disturbing scenes with Yael when she is a child of when she is in the internment camp. The experiments conducted on her essentially allow her to change her skin at will. Think of it like Mystique from X-Men, who has the ability to transform into literally whatever person she wants to be (or who she needs to be). What if the Axis powers won World War Two? Wolf by Wolf follows a main character named Yael. The story starts with her on the train for her mother heading for an internment camp.
After we are introduced to Yael and we get a small amount of backstory we jump into the main plot – which is, a motorcycle race. Probably the most intense motorcycle race you will ever read about. I also learned a lot about the mechanics of how motorcycles work from reading this two-book series. Some of this stuff I had no idea about beforehand. This motorcycle race takes place over the Axis power’s conjoined continents. The winner of the race gets an audience with Hitler, and Yael’s determined to get that spot for her own reasons that are revealed in the book, and boy are they depressing. There is a serious Hunger Games in World War Two vibe that you get when you read these books but I think that’s part of the reason it resonated so well with me. But I also hate comparing books to other books because this series is something incredibly unique that I have never read before.
Part of the reason I loved this series so much is the main character, Yael. Yes it’s cool that there’s a kind of X-Men vibe to it because she can ‘skin shift’ (as she calls it) but Yael’s probably one of the strongest, hardest characters I have read in a very long time. When I describe her as hard I mean that even when she is going through an incredibly dangerous motorcycle race with many people out to kill her she keeps everyone at arms length but still manages to fall for some people, whether it be as friends or as lovers. It is fascinating to watch such a cold character grow into herself in such a difficult period of time in history and that is probably the thing that I loved most when I was reading about Yael.
Blood for Blood picks up right where Wolf by Wolf leaves off but I can’t really say much about it without completely spoiling the plot of the first book. What I can say about this second and final installment is that it is just as enthralling and engaging as the first one. While the plot veers in a completely different direction than the first one did there is still plenty of action, romance, and thrills that anyone who likes a good historical fiction story can enjoy. This was one of the better series that I picked up last year, but honestly, just read it to see the badass motorcycle race. It was the most fun I’d had reading in such a long time.
