We Are Wolves

We Are Wolves, a multi-award-winning novel published in October 2020, is another brilliant story by Australian author Katrina Nannestad. Having already read her novel, All the Beautiful Things, I was expecting this book to affect me, and it certainly did. However, it does fall short of the beauty of All the Beautiful Things, mostly because of the darker content. We Are Wolves is set during World War II—an era I usually avoid reading about because of the heartbreak and loss. And yes, the story is heartbreaking, with moments that leave you reeling, but it is also endearing, and there is a message of hope with a happily ever after that will stay with readers long after the book is finished.

The story follows the Wolf family, who flee East Prussia when the Russian Army invades. The protagonist, the delightful young girl Liesl, fights to keep herself, her brother Otto, and their baby sister Mia alive when alone and lost in a snow-covered landscape in the middle of a war zone.

I love the extension of the Wolf family name in teasing out the idea that the characters must become wild to survive, but the takeaway for me is that true humanity is still found in dark and even wild places. But the name ‘Wolf’ has an even deeper underlying meaning, with the word ‘wolfskinder’ being German for ‘wolf children’— a name given to thousands of orphaned children who experienced the same fate as the children within the book.

Despite the heavy content, it is middle-grade fiction aimed at 9+ readers. Although I recommend it for more mature young readers. It is guaranteed to evoke discussions around the family dinner table and provide an insightful perspective into the loss and hardship experienced by those impacted by World War II. I strongly believe that these stories need to be told to future generations so that the voices of the past are not silenced and the atrocities of the past are not repeated.

We Are Wolves is an impactful, beautifully written story about survival and hope that will be enjoyed by lovers of historical fiction and adventure, by both young and old. I highly recommend!

Ratings:

Cleanliness: Entirely clean, with no romantic elements.
Godliness: Includes subtle expressions of faith (e.g., saying grace) and is underpinned by values such as kindness, hope, and perseverance.
Content Warning: Contains depictions of World War II and the displacement of characters, including experiences of famine and acts of survival that some readers may find confronting. The story includes one graphic and shocking death scene, as well as off-stage references to additional deaths. Explores themes of war, loss, and grief.