
Three siblings must survive alone in the wild as war rages around them.
In the chaos of World War II's end, Liesl, Otto, and baby Mia are separated from their parents. Alone in the East Prussian wilderness, Liesl vows to protect her siblings. As they navigate a world where survival demands harsh choices, they encounter other orphaned children facing the same grim reality. Can they hold onto their humanity, or will they become as wild as the wolves they emulate? The stakes are life and death, and the line between right and wrong blurs in their desperate struggle.
This haunting, heart-stopping middle grade novel follows three of the Wolfskinder, German children left to fend for themselves in the final days of World War II, as they struggle to hold onto themselves and each other while surviving in the wild. Sometimes it’s good to be wild. Sometimes, you have to be. When the Russian Army marches into East Prussia at the end of World War II, the Wolf family must flee. Being caught by the Russians or Americans would be the end for them. Liesl, Otto, and baby Mia’s father has already been captured, and they get separated from their mother in a blizzard after only a few days on the run. Liesl promised Mama that she’d keep her brother and sister safe, no matter what. They’ll forage in the forests if they have to. Little do they know at the start that there are hundreds of other parentless children doing the same thing. And they far too quickly learn that, sometimes, to survive, you have to do bad things. Dangerous things. Wild things. Sometimes you must become a wolf.
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