WOLF BY WOLF
Her story begins on a train.
The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, they host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The prize? An audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.
Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five wolves tattooed on her arm always remind her of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler.
Her story begins on a train.
The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, they host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The prize? An audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.
Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five wolves tattooed on her arm always remind her of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. With the power to skinshift, Yael must complete her mission by impersonating last year’s only female racer, Adele Wolfe. But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and stay true to her mission?
Read our interview with the author on the Reading Group Choices blog!
- Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Paperback
- October 2016
- 400 Pages
- 9780316405089
Buy the Book
$9.99
About Ryan Graudin
Ryan Graudin was born in Charleston, South Carolina with a severe case of wanderlust. When she’s not traveling, she’s busy writing and spending time with her husband and wolf dog. She is also the author of the All That Glows series and The Walled City.
Praise
“Wild and gorgeous, vivid and consuming. I loved it! I can’t wait for the sequel.” —Laini Taylor, The New York Times bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Discussion Questions
1. Why is it important for Yael to know who she is “on the inside” (46)?
2. What is the meaning of the title? Why does Yael trace the wolves on her arm? Why is it important the wolves are “the only thing about her that stay the same”?
3. How do the ideas of fear and courage connect throughout the book?
4. Why is the structure of the book (“now” vs. “then”) important to the story? How did it effect how you read the book?
5. Felix tells Yael as Adele, “Maybe the world is wrong, but you don’t have to be the one to save it … Some things are too broken to be fixed.” What do you think of his reflection related to the story and to how you choose to live your life?
Interviews
Read our interview with Ryan Graudin on the Reading Group Choices blog!