3 Book Reviews !!!

In honor of last week’s full moon here are 3 books from my past, present, and future that have WOLF/WOLVES in the title.

 

Let’s start with the present.

The Wolf in the Attic by Paul Kearney

4 stars out of 5 (I was given an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Anna is a twelve year old girl who lives in England with her dad after escaping from Greece during WWI.  Her mom and brother are presumed dead.  Anna is one of those characters you can’t help but love and root for.  She is adventurous, smart, brave, and kind.  The author creates a vivid 1920s setting that sucks you in for the first 2/3 of this book.  The suspense kept me turning pages and I couldn’t put it down.  Then the story got a bit strange.  Not bad strange but definitely different; hence the Sci-fi/Fantasy category for this book.  Anna meets some traveling gypsies, and finds a strange boy in her attic. That is when things start to get interesting especially after her dad is mysteriously murdered. Kearney’s characters are fleshed out but I was disappointed that one did not make an appearance in the second half of the book.  It seemed the author had set it up early in the story that he would reappear.  Maybe in a sequel? I believe this book is the first in a series and I look forward to more.  This book releases May 10, 2016

The past. I read this book in 2015.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

5 stars out of 5 ( I wish I could have given it more stars!)

This book interested me because I was the same age (14) as the main character was during the time period of this book so the 80’s references were fun to read. The main character, June, loses her uncle to a mysterious and “taboo” disease, AIDS.  She doesn’t understand her family’s reluctance to talk about her uncle’s life and death so she goes in search of answers herself.  June gets some help from a mysterious man at her uncle’s funeral which starts an exciting and heartbreaking secret adventure.  I remember hearing about AIDS and HIV as a teenager in the 80’s but didn’t quite get what it was all about.  Also, I didn’t know there was any type of discrimination and shaming of the disease and those in the LGBT community going on.  The writing is superb!  The character development is amazing and the mysterious man arc is intriguing. This book was in my top ten last year and was a debut novel by the author. I look forward to more.

The Future

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

I have not read this book yet but it is definitely on my TBR list. The reviews for this book look so good.  Please comment below if you have read this book or any of the other books.  I would love to know your thoughts.  Goodreads summary of Wolf by Wolf below.

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, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded 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 are a constant reminder of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year’s only female racer, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin’s brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael’s every move.

But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?