YA and Beyond discussion

Place to discuss Bigid's pick for March Wolf By Wolf

Yay! Can't wait to hear what you guys think of it. :)

I'm still third! Can you believe it. I've been third since you picked it!!!

Oh no!! Well I hope it gets to you soon. ;)

I hope so...

I know I haven't been able to get it either, and I've tried a few libraries. I might just have to buy it :)

Well, since I feel like I've been behind since 2016 began, I just put in my Inter-library loan for this one. Hopefully it comes in quickly.

I just bought it for $2.99 for the kindle. Not bad. I knew I wasn't getting it from the library in time.

I'm picking this up from the library tonight! Probably won't start on it til the weekend but at least I'll have it :)

One of the things I like about our monthly picks is that we don't have start dates, just "read this book sometime this month". Flexibility is nice :)

I have decided I am going to stick to hidden gem reads on audiobook because I am reading print books so slowly. My library doesn't have this on audiobook but I have a few Audible credits so I might pick it up that way.

Got through 25 pages last night and this is intense already! I love that she (view spoiler)[got a tattoo to cover up the numbers, and wolves make such great tattoos. (hide spoiler)]

The synopsis makes this feel like a historical Hunger Games (or maybe Death Race would be more apropos?)

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Got through 25 pages last night and this is intense already! I love that she [spoilers removed]

The synopsis makes this feel like a historical Hunger Games (or maybe Death Race would be more aprop..."

I love that, too. Very cool. :D

Haha and yes it does have that kinda Hunger Games "big competition" vibe ... It definitely is still unique though!

I gave in and just bought it from Amazon. It's 2.99 so might as well ^_^

Yay! I'm glad to hear the Kindle version is so cheap, haha. :D

Totally into this right now. Starting chapter 12.

I never find reading about the Holocaust entertaining because it's such a ghastly topic, but like my status update said just now, I find this horrifying yet fascinating. Like a train wreck, I suppose.

I think that's the perfect way to describe it, Ashley!

Finished. I feel like this took twice as long as it should have, because I'm in rehearsal Sunday through Thursday and it REALLY cuts into my reading time bc by the time I get home I'm exhausted and only manage to read a few pages before I pass out.

But I really enjoyed this! Definitely gonna pick up the second one :)

I thought this book was a standalone O_O

There's an in-between novella and a sequel.

@Ashley - I'm glad you enjoyed it! And ooh I didn't know about the novella, I will have to check that out. Can't wait for the sequel, but it doesn't come out until November. *cries* :P

@Bluemoon - Haha yeah, it's a series. And be prepared for a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the book. >_<

I hope to buy this on audio and start it within the next week. I have been horrible about the hidden gems so far this year! My new goal is to only promise to read the ones I can get on audiobook because I listen to audiobooks far more than reading in print these days. Neither Bone Gap or this book are offered by any of my libraries on audiobook - boo! This one seems interesting enough and gets good enough reviews for me to use on my credits to buy it :)

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "@Ashley - I'm glad you enjoyed it! And ooh I didn't know about the novella, I will have to check that out. Can't wait for the sequel, but it doesn't come out until November. *cries* :P"

OMG I just realized the second one doesn't come out til November *flails* I thought it was already out! *cries*

I want to read it, but I don't want to start anymore books that haven't all been released yet. I'm going to see if I can get to this.

I forgot I bought the book. hahaha...So I just read it. I just started and its ok so far for me. I was expecting...more.

I like the writing enough to keep me interested. I'm enjoying all the Then stories rather than the Now. I'm not really sure how I feel about Yael as a main character yet, but we'll see.

I'm glad that Graudin is not glossing things over, especially about the concentration camps. I mean it's not all gory details, but its not sugar coated either.

Haha. :D Aw, well I hope you like it more as it goes along! I really liked Yael; she does some questionable things, but part of what I liked about her is that she's flawed and morally complicated.

I agree, I appreciated the way Graudin approached the topic. It's definitely dark, but it doesn't go over the top either. And I liked her writing style, too. :)

I bought the audiobook. I am on vacation for the next week so I may wait to start it when I return.

I'm about halfway. I'm still not super attached to Yael, but as she says herself, she's not even sure who she really is so it's a little hard to get a handle on her character.

The German words thrown in there reminds me some of The Book Thief. I'm really enjoying the book overall as the dark circles under my eyes are proof of my late nights.

I just finished the book. It was pretty good. kinda reminds me of Scorpio Races but without the alternate universe idea.

To be honest though, I think not a lot of people would have enjoyed it if it didn't have that alternate universe aspect. If you remove that from the equation it would just have been a mediocre book.

I enjoyed the writing, but there were times when the book bombarded you with too many symbolism, that it became a little bit too much. Her writing kinda reminds me of Tahereh Mafi when she uses the word repetitively and uses fonts to highlight her feelings. Except she didn't use it excessively, which is a good thing!

Sorry, I'm saying a lot of negative things about this book, but don't take that in a wrong way. It just goes to show you that the book captivated me enough that I was actually paying attention to details.

Hopefully the author won't take her sweet time finishing the series/trilogy(?). Does anyone know how many books is she planning for this?

I don't think I revealed anything from the above post, right? I don't need to hide it, do I?

Haha no I don't think you spoiled anything.

It also kind of reminded me of The Scorpio Races!

Huh I don't know, I disagree that it would have necessarily been bad without the alternate history aspect––but I mean, that's such an integral part of the story, so I kind of have a hard time even imagining it. That aside, I found it really compelling and fascinating and thought Yael (and her ... ability) was very interesting.

I liked the writing, but I see what you mean how sometimes it could be a little too much. Haha it's interesting you made that comparison because I really dislike Taherah Mafi's style but somehow the style of this book worked for me (most of the time, anyway).

Well, book 2 is coming out in November so that's not so bad! Not sure how long the series is supposed to be, though. I kind of assume it's a trilogy, but I don't know for sure.

I found the repetitive writing to be choppy and it took some getting used to, but I really enjoyed the book overall :)

According to GR it's a duology, with the second/final book in November and the novella in between. I'm not sure if the novella is already out or not.

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "I found the repetitive writing to be choppy and it took some getting used to, but I really enjoyed the book overall :)

According to GR it's a duology, with the second/final book in November and th..."

Ooh it's a duology? That's cool. Looks like the novella came out a couple weeks ago––I will have to give it a try!

oooo...duology! Nice. I'm glad they're not stretching it, but then I wish the second book will answer everything that it needs to finish.

I liked the way she used the font changes sometimes too. Yea, Mafi's annoyed me. but hers was a bit over the top it was almost in every page.

I actually will change this rating to 3.5 cause even until now I'm still thinking about the book, which is a good thing.

I actually liked Yael as well, like her tattoos and their meaning. (view spoiler)[Wish that she revealed herself to either Felix or Luka, but I understand why she didn't. (hide spoiler)]

Same, I'm glad to hear it's only two books. I feel like there's enough mystery left to last another book, but probably not longer than that.

Yeah I think the main problem with Mafi's style for me is that it's just ... too much. The crossed-out text, the random repetition of words/descriptions, the constant (and really strange) metaphors. I know some people love it, but I found it really grating. Ryan Graudin uses a lot of repetition/metaphors too, but I feel like her writing flows a lot better. And I think it also helps that I liked the plot/characters.

Haha, glad it's growing on you! I also thought about it a lot after I finished it.

(view spoiler)[Me too, but I assume that will happen in the sequel. :D (hide spoiler)]

Just thought I'd let you guys know, there's a Goodreads giveaway of a signed ARC of the sequel, if any of you are interested! You can enter here. :)

I just started reading last night.....So far, I think it is really good. There's a bit of info dumping in the first few chapters, but it's something that is easy to overlook. And come on....a girl planning to ride a motorcycle...how cool is that?

Heck yes motorcycles!

I'm just about done. I'm not usually into dystopians, but this one works well for me. I don't like the fact that it could turn into a love triangle, though.

I am glad that it looks like it's only two books.

I don't feel super attached to Yael, but I find her background quite interesting. I've always found history fascinating, so that is a big plus for me.

Glad to hear that, Becky! Yeah, I'm also hoping it doesn't turn into a dumb love triangle. >.< I really like the history aspect, too––I always find alternate histories very interesting!

I hope to start the audio of this in the next few days :)

Yay! :)

isn't kinda weird if it does turn into a love triangle. (view spoiler)[I mean all along felix has thought that Yael is his sister. So that's a bit awkward. But yea, I see the potential there and I really hope it doesn't go that way. (hide spoiler)] If its a duo tho, I don't think there will be enough time to create a connection and then have more time to choose, right(?)

I do think it would be a little tough to make it a love triangle, but (view spoiler)[ if she travels from Japan back to Germania with one or both the guys, I could see something being developed, even if it's forced. (hide spoiler)]

I finished this last night. Still never got super attached to the characters which probably made it easier for me. I wasn't too worried about who would survive, just enjoyed the story. One of my problems with dystopians is that my favorite characters usually die or become extremely bitter.

I look forward to reading the sequel. Thanks for the great monthly pick!

Started the audiobook this morning. Only got about 30 minutes in before I left for work.

*b*l*u*e*m*o*o*n* wrote: "isn't kinda weird if it does turn into a love triangle. [spoilers removed] If its a duo tho, I don't think there will be enough time to create a connection and then have more time to choose, right(?)"

Oh wait I thought you meant (view spoiler)[a love triangle between Adele/Yael/Luca––not Yael/Luca/Felix, haha. I didn't even really think of that; that'd be really weird. o_o (hide spoiler)]

Becky wrote: "I do think it would be a little tough to make it a love triangle, but [spoilers removed]

I finished this last night. Still never got super attached to the characters which probably made it easier ..."

Glad you enjoyed it, Becky! I also felt like the plot was stronger than the characters––but like you said, maybe that's a good thing in some ways. :D I do kinda wish we'd gotten to know a bit more about the other racers, but I guess there was already a lot going on in the story.

oh gosh yeah, I was thinking (view spoiler)[Yael/Felix/Luca xD my bad. I think I could actually handle a Yael/Luca/Adele triangle, (hide spoiler)] considering the circumstances.

(view spoiler)[I don't really the Adele/Luca/Yael triangle happening. From what I got in the book, I feel that Adele was just using Luca to win. I could be wrong tho. (hide spoiler)]

That's what I was thinking too, Bluemoon. Or at least, it's what I hope. (view spoiler)[I don't like Luca very much, haha. Especially because he drugged her. o_o Not that she also didn't do some bad things, but ... yeah, doesn't seem like a good relationship. :P (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[Yea. I see where you're coming from, but he really did think it was Adele. He's not my most favorite character either. Although I like Felix, I just don't see it happening. (hide spoiler)]