Wolfskinder, German children left to survive in East Prussia after World War II, are the lesser-known subject of this moving historical novel. As the story opens on the aptly named Wolf family, Papa has been called to war. Germany is losing, but 11-year-old Liesl, seven-year-old Otto, and toddler Mia don’t know that. Soon after Papa is reported missing in action, Russian soldiers invade and the Wolfs flee their village. They hope to cross the frozen Vistula Lagoon and reach a ship that can take them to safety, but the children are separated from Mama during a Russian attack. Liesl, Otto, and little Mia take temporary shelter in an abandoned farmhouse before Russian soldiers find them and take the children to their camp. Liesl and Otto work in exchange for food. But when one soldier expresses interest in taking Mia home with him, the children run. Scavenging for food, constantly near starvation, Liesl worries that she and her siblings have become “wild.” Eventually, the siblings make their way to Lithuania. They’re taken in by a couple who nurse them back to health, but this good fortune comes at a cost: They must give up their German identities and learn to speak Lithuanian if they want to survive. This sensitive survival story that shines a spotlight on the humanity of the many children behind the “Wolfskinder” label offers the fictional family at its heart welcome relief by tale’s close. (Ages 9-13)

This “hauntingly atmospheric” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), 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 the 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 had 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 that there are hundreds of other parentless children doing the very 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.