Tags: young adult, contemporary, grief, music, piano, mental illnessSummary
When a strange caller informs young pianist Kiri Byrd he has the remains of her dead sister’s stuff—a sister who had been dead for years—Kiri’s life turns upside down. Kiri struggles to piece together what she’s learning about her sister, but doing so sets her on a crash course towards a breakdown, and only by acknowledging it can Kiri hope to live with it, to make it a part of herself.
Review
With the weight of the expectations I placed upon its spine after declaring its synopsis to be one of the best I’d ever encountered, Hilary T. Smith’s debut novel WILD AWAKE had a lot to live up to. Fortunately, it was more than up to the task. WILD AWAKE reminded me of the best type of our favorite and revered Aussie YA: it’s whimsical and more than a little odd, but ultimately grounded in the solid reality of common emotions.
WILD AWAKE has many strengths, one of which is its startling and beautiful prose. It startles you because Smith is, oftentimes, just noting in passing an everyday detail or thought—only she does so in a way that makes you pause and actually notice what you otherwise would not. The prose tinkles like water trickling over crystal. Its brightness combines with the darker undertones of Kiri’s situation for a full symphony of bass emotions and soprano wonder.
From the start, Kiri as protagonist stands out. She is many things, has many identities—a serious pianist, a quipper; a dutiful daughter, a monomaniac—but she owns them all unabashedly, deliberately. Unlike other, forgettable YA protagonists who claim to be artists or rebels or whatever, Kiri doesn’t say: she just is, and that makes her being genuine. She’s unafraid to plunge herself into making mistakes, with the result that she gets more out of life than those who hang back. The times when she descends into a whirlwind of monomania are thrilling yet terrifying to read, because you see why she does it, why she needs to let herself go like that, and yet despite how seemingly carefree she is in those moments, you know it’s barely masking a deep, deep hurt. I desperately wish Kiri was real, because I think that her fearlessness, whether or not it’s enviable or reckless, would make me a better person.
That being said, in the end, it’s difficult to say what this book is about. The synopsis emphasizes the mysterious circumstances of Kiri’s sister’s death, but besides for being the catalyst for what happens in the book, finding out more about Sukey and what happened to her becomes less and less of a priority as the book flows along, replaced by Kiri’s deterioriating mental state. Which is a fine direction for a story to go, but still, a little…disorienting.
Nevertheless, WILD AWAKE was a story that lived up to its promises. It is more than the sum of its parts, more than just delectable prose, sympathetic character, and endearing family mystery. Go in with no anticipation of conventions, and enjoy the wild-awake ride.
Similar Authors
Leanne Hall
Cath Crowley
Beth Kephart
Tara Kelly
Cover discussion: LOVE the colors. Not the biggest fan of the double exposure that is reminiscent of photography projects produced by emo/hipster-wannabe college students.
Katherine Tegen Books / May 28, 2013 / Hardcover / 384pp. / $17.99
e-galley received for review from publisher and Edelweiss. Thank you!
Wow, this sounds amazing! Thanks for the review and for putting this on my radar. Kiri sounds like a great protag and I can't wait to read about her! :)
ReplyDeleteYesss. Glad I could convince another reader to get on the bandwagon. :)
DeleteI haven't heard much about this. Sounds really interesting. Is it set in the US? For whatever reason, the cover says Australia to me. I have no idea why. I'm interested in how Kiri as being "just is." You don't see that much.
ReplyDeleteIt never says where it's set, but part of me thinks Canada?
DeleteI'm certainly excited to read this one! I've heard really good things about it. I love that you compared it to Aussie YA (which I've had VERY good experiences with). Plus, I do love that the writing is beautiful! That's always a big bonus to me.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, and yes! I do hope that my comparison of it to Aussie YA will encourage people to pick this one up. That's a selling factor for me as well. :D
DeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed this one, Steph. I also saw the similarities between this and Leanne Hall's work - which I also LOVE - not to mention Beth Kephart and Cath Crowley. I'll have to check out Tara Kelly since I loved this one and the other authors you mentioned so much. Kiri really is such a different protagonist, but I loved seeing that deviation from the standard narration in YA. I can't wait to see what Smith comes up with next! :)
ReplyDeleteKelly's writing is more... "standard" compared to the other above authors, but she also likes to write about tortured musicians, and I've never regretted the time I read her books. I need to read more of Leanne Hall's books! Especially that sequel; the first one was off. the. wall...
DeleteThis certainly sounds exciting. I saw a review a while back and it looks really good and I noticed you were reading it, so I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed it and it lived up to expectations. Honestly I haven't read much/any Aussie YA so I certainly need to get my hands on it because everybody says it's always brilliant! :)
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S BECAUSE IT IS.
DeleteBut in all seriousness, it is incredibly difficult to describe just why Aussie YA is so great. It's like they're unafraid to break traditional narrative conventions and take a fully respectful/relatable approach to adolescent emotions. Loveee.
Oh, that's a gorgeous review! I am so glad you ended up liking this one. I was first convinced by the synopsis, too, and I am so happy my copy arrived this week!
ReplyDeleteIt reminded you of Aussie YA? Okay, I have to read this! I've seen people rave about it on Twitter.
ReplyDeleteAnd Aus YA fans may rejoice further, for Wild Awake will have its own Australian edition come October. Check out the cover over at Hilary's blog!
ReplyDeleteI've been in love with Hilary's writing since her INTERN days, and I can't believe my luck that her long-awaited book is both YA *and* Steph-approved. I'm looking forward to finally reading it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteNow I am interested in reading this book simply because of your description of its prose. I'm always a sucker for awesome use of language. Although I will admit that this doesn't sound like the type of story I'm normally interested in, it does sound quite...well, interesting. And I kind of love that it's apparently about mental illness/conditions. I'm glad that your sky-high expectations were met, even if the story did go in an unexpected direction. :)
ReplyDeleteI have such high hopes for this book, and reading your review makes me crave reading it!
ReplyDeleteThe book is set in Canada - I spend a lot of time pondering the locale until I Googled some of the places that Kiri visits, specifically English Bay which is in Vancouver.
ReplyDelete