WE ARE WOLVES BY KATRINA NANNESTAD

We are Wolves is set during the last months of World War II in what was then East Prussia. The Wolf family must flee the Russian Army as it pushes across Europe against the German forces.

Leisel, Otto and baby Mia escape their village with their mother and grandparents. As winter sets in they struggle with thousands of others across the countryside. As conditions worsen, they must leave Oma and Opa behind. Then, when they try to cross a frozen lake with their mother the Russians bomb the area with deadly consequences. The children are separated from their beloved Mama and must now fend for themselves.

At first Liesel, Otto and Mia try only to survive against the cold and lack of food, knowing their mother will soon find them. But as days roll by they must keep moving to find food and to keep ahead of the terrifying Russian invaders. They learn that if they can get to Lithuania they will be safe.

The children realise that life for them and many others has been reduced to just surviving. As they journey through the seasons and landscapes decimated by war, they encounter many different people. They feel themselves changing and becoming harder, losing their previous selves. Many of them are children like them, lost or orphaned.

Katrina Nannestad’s novel is based on historical sources and shines a light on the other casualties of war. Abandonment, grief, identity, charity and understanding are just some of the themes running through this wonderful novel. Readers will come to love these brave children as they battle to survive. The descriptions of the conditions and the daily dangers they lived through, give a sense of just how tragic the lives of those who survived the war was and how a legacy of troubles is always left behind.

For Ages: 10 +years

Number of Pages: 320 in hardcover.

Published: October 2020

Themes: Grief, abandonment and identity.

Rating: 4.5/5