It is the year 1956 and Yael is on a mission to kill Hitler. But there’s a catch: she has to take part in the world famous Axis tour. She has to train and to become a racer called Adele by using her supernatural ability. She may know the basic facts of what to do but she doesn’t know Adele’s actual life.
I was quite apprehensive when I chose to pick up this book because I knew that is was historical fiction and I normally don’t like this genre. I was determined to read this book to try and change my point of view.
Getting through the first few pages was a struggle but I overcame it when I read a few chapters because I discovered that this book had another element: the protagonist had a special ability that meant that she was able to become Adele. I love how this bit was added because it gave an extra something to the main genre. It definitely made the book more interesting and made me more intrigued.
In addition it made the plot completely unique with a sense of excitement. When I read this book I was surprised at how the writing was written just like a normal YA book. I was scared that the writing might be a bit dense or boring and it would make me go to sleep. This wasn’t the case. I liked how the main character was a teenage girl because it meant that I was able to relate to her and her reactions would be similar to mine. Because the book was narrated in the first person it meant that I was reading and seeing what Yael was seeing; when she was in the dark so were we. As a result of this I was able to understand what was essentially going on in the book.
However I felt as though her reactions were at times a bit quite robotic and heavily influenced by adults and soldiers. This made me lose interest in the book because teenage girls are meant to be reckless and out of control!
Overall I didn’t enjoy the book mainly because it was historical fiction. Although if you do like historical fiction books I feel you would enjoy this book because the history is accurate, as far as I’m concerned, and it takes on a different idea in a particular time.
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
