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This was on the Amazon Bestsellers "Top 100 books" list


Wolf by Wolf – Ryan Graudin
2.5**

From the book jacket: The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. [They] host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across [three] continents. The prize? An audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo. The resistance has given Yael, [a former death camp prisoner], one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler.

My reactions
This is interesting speculative fiction dealing with “what might have been” had Germany & Japan won WW2. It was that aspect of the book which initially caught my attention. But Graudin takes this a step further by introducing an unusual twist: As a result of experiments she was subjected to in the death camp, Yael can now “skin shift,” altering her appearance at will, which provides an incredibly valuable disguise in virtually any situation. In this case, she is impersonating Adele Wolfe, last year’s winner of the race.

The plot moves as quickly as the racers bound from Germania to Tokyo. Yael is a strong heroine – resourceful, intelligent, physically and mentally fit for the challenge. There’s a complication to Yael’s plan, when two boys close to Adele make it all the more difficult for Yael to pull off the masquerade.

I thought there were several holes in this plot, and I didn’t much care about the interpersonal drama between Adele/Yael and the two boys. I also think I would have enjoyed this kind of speculative plot without the “skin shifting” aspect. The ending is abrupt and leaves more questions than answers – could Graudin be planning a sequel?

While I recognize the appeal for the target audience, it really wasn’t the book for me, and I’m in no hurry to read anything else by this author.

LINK to my review