Wild Awake

by Hilary T. Smith

Overview

In Wild Awake, Hilary T. Smith's exhilarating and heart-wrenching YA debut novel, seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd has big plans for her summer without her parents. She intends to devote herself to her music and win Battle of the Bands with her bandmate and best friend, Lukas. Perhaps then, in the excitement of victory, he will finally realize she's the girl of his dreams.

But a phone call from a stranger shatters Kiri's plans. He says he has her sister's stuff—her sister, Sukey, who died five years ago. This call throws Kiri into a spiral of chaos that opens old wounds and new mysteries.

Like If I Stay and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wild Awake explores loss, love, and what it means to be alive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062184696
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/19/2015
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	880L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Hilary T. Smith lives in Portland, Oregon, where she studies North Indian classical music and works on native plant restoration. She is the author of Wild Awake.

What People are Saying About This

Gayle Forman

“Hilary T. Smith’s absorbing debut whispers with mystery, drawing us into a world of dead sisters, family secrets, midnight bicycle rides, music, madness and art—ultimately exploring that most profound mystery of all: love.”

Editorial Reviews

Hilary T. Smith’s absorbing debut whispers with mystery, drawing us into a world of dead sisters, family secrets, midnight bicycle rides, music, madness and art—ultimately exploring that most profound mystery of all: love.” — Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay and Just One Day

“Beautiful and energetic…Smith’s a writer to watch.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Most fascinating in this stirring coming-of-age novel are the blurred lines between perception and reality, genius and madness, peace and turmoil. Debut author Smith embraces the complexities of grief, family dynamics, creativity, mental illness, and love and pens them with a thoughtful, subtle hand.” — Horn Book Magazine

“Debut author Smith can craft a simile like no one’s business, and her ebullient language drives this story, which captures moments of life at its highest and blurriest points: love, loss, music, freedom.” — ALA Booklist

“A compelling novel with moments of lyrical beauty.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“Exquisite…Smith adeptly captures the darkness and betrayal of a family secret. Kiri’s narrative is heart-wrenching….The story is beautifully written and engaging, and Kiri’s voice is a powerful reminder that life can be full of pain and joy and that to embrace both is good for the soul.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Debut author Smith can craft a simile like no one’s business, and her ebullient language drives this story, which captures moments of life at its highest and blurriest points: love, loss, music, freedom.

ALA Booklist

Hilary T. Smith’s absorbing debut whispers with mystery, drawing us into a world of dead sisters, family secrets, midnight bicycle rides, music, madness and art—ultimately exploring that most profound mystery of all: love.

Gayle Forman

A compelling novel with moments of lyrical beauty.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

Most fascinating in this stirring coming-of-age novel are the blurred lines between perception and reality, genius and madness, peace and turmoil. Debut author Smith embraces the complexities of grief, family dynamics, creativity, mental illness, and love and pens them with a thoughtful, subtle hand.

Horn Book Magazine

A young woman spirals into mania after hearing the truth about her sister's death in this flawed but heady debut. While her parents are on a six-week anniversary cruise, 17-year-old piano prodigy Kiri is responsible for watering the azaleas and practicing daily for the upcoming International Young Pianists' Showcase. But when a stranger calls claiming to have information about her deceased sister, Kiri abandons her disciplined routines and sets out to discover the truth about Sukey, since "[w]hen she died, it was like my house burned down." After learning Sukey was murdered, not killed in an accident as she had been led to believe, Kiri eschews sleep, takes drugs, goes on midnight bike rides, wins a battle of the bands and falls in love with a formerly paranoid-schizophrenic musician. Each questionable action brings her closer to closure over Sukey's death, but will she survive the summer? Though the secondary characterizations are sometimes sketchy, and the plot has some holes (would Kiri's strict parents really leave her alone for six weeks? Is Kiri suffering from delayed grief or true mania?), Smith's exuberant use of language helps gloss over them. Similes such as "[t]he piano is like a sleek black submarine that carries me deep, deep down, until the surface world is nothing but a muffled shimmer" sing off every page. Beautiful and energetic, if jumbled; Smith's a writer to watch. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews