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Wild Awake Hilary T Smith Books

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Wild Awake Hilary T Smith Books

Grade: C-

WIDE AWAKE follows Kiri Byrd's descent into psychosis. Seventeen year old Kiri is the ultimate unreliable narrator, an undiagnosed, hypomanic girl left on her own for six weeks while her parents take a dream anniversary cruise. Her drug addicted, mentally ill homeless older sister had been murdered five years ago, so in their infinite wisdom, Kiri's parents figured leaving her alone for the summer to be a great idea.

She proceeds to alienate her friends and family, while befriending scary people in a bad part of town. Kiri isn't likable, and she's hard to empathize with as she make bad decision after bad decision. Even though her mental illness is at the root of her behavior, I had a hard time caring about Kiri. Skunk, her boyfriend, was a much easier character to embrace. He, at least, had some insight into himself and he behaved much less narcissistically.

Hilary T Smith alludes to her own mental illnesses in her bio, so WIDE AWAKE must be very personal to her. She authentically captures a teen having a manic episode, but felt like Smith told, more than showed the frenetic energy of a manic episode with too many passive verbs. I wished she had immersed me a into the nonstop whirlwind of thoughts, feelings and sensory sensations I've heard from bipolar and manic clients.

WIDE AWAKE lacked a message and a point other then describing a teen's mental decline. There seemed to be s lack of ending, except, perhaps, a set up for treatment, maybe. Nothing about Kiri's personality suggested she'd embrace, respond to or stick with treatment. I don't think I'd recommend the book to teen clients for those reasons, though I might to parents as a caveat for going off medication.


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Wild Awake Hilary T Smith Books Reviews

To put it simply, I just loved Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith.

Smith’s writing is lively and beautiful. I almost never take notes when I’m reading a book because it distracts me, but I had to write down multiple sentences and paragraphs while reading Wild Awake. If I didn’t want to stop, I took a picture of what I was reading so I would remember it when writing this review. Here are a few of the sections I wanted to remember (quotes taken from the ARC)

“His smile is a jar full of fireflies.”
“…I feel more exposed than I ever have before, like I’m climbing a rock face with only a strand of dental floss for a harness. The music we’re playing is a dripline straight from our hearts, a confession of all that we are.”
“…I’ve traded in a jar full of pennies for a bar of gold. It’s amazing how quickly the things you thought would make you happy seem small once you stumble on something true.”

Hilary T. Smith has lines like those woven throughout her entire novel. I absolutely love her similes and metaphors.

Along with loving the writing, I adore Kiri Byrd. She is alive on the page. I simultaneously worried about Kiri while wanting to be her friend and spend time with her. I worried for her because she is grieving over her sister and what she discovers about her sister. I also worried for her because she’s manic and dealing with it all by herself. (Note–I knew something was mentally wrong with Kiri, but didn’t think of mania–I have no idea why not–until Kelly @ Stacked pointed it out in her review, which is great by the way.) What’s awesome about Wild Awake is that I never felt like I was reading a novel about grief. I understood Kiri’s grief and empathized with her, but I never felt down while reading this. I think the main reason I didn’t feel down is because Kiri is so exuberant. Even at times that she shouldn’t be, she is full of life and wonder and wanting the best for herself and for Skunk.

Speaking of Skunk, his character is wonderful. He and Kiri are both suffering, but they’re life rafts for each other. He’s her “bicycle boy,” her “love-bison,” and so much more. Kiri sees his potential and wants to help him heal. I don’t want to say too much more because I’m afraid I’ll spoil something, but I sure do love Skunk. Especially Skunk and Kiri together.

A couple people have asked me if Wild Awake would be okay for middle grade readers, and I’m honestly not sure. There isn’t anything graphically sexual in this novel, but the themes and issues are deep. I’m not sure if a middle grade reader would grasp what exactly is going on with Kiri and Skunk. My best advice is to read this–because you’ll hopefully enjoy it anyway–then make your decision based on what you know about your readers. I feel completely comfortable offering this to new freshmen in the fall, if that helps at all.

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith is a must-read. Based on this debut, I know that Hilary T. Smith is going to be an exciting voice in YA literature. I can’t wait to read what she writes next!
It's a dark kind of novel, gut wrenching, it made me feel too much.
Excellent book.
Hilary Smith is a writer with an interested eye. She notices clocks, carpet, earrings, t-shirts - small poetic details. There are plenty such details in this novel. Beautiful prose writer.
Great Book, great depiction of someone with bipolar disorder
This is a fun read all the way through. I was fully absorbed, and found myself thinking about the story all day. The story and the characters, while really out there, are totally realistic and believable. There were no boring or fake parts to slow down the reading. Wild Awake is on the young adult shelf, but I'm old, and I liked it. We did stuff like this in the 60s too, and the book reminded me of those wild times.
This book is a poignant coming of age story that avoids most of the cliches of the genre. It offers a compelling account of a young woman's first battle with mental illness and first real experience with love. It is set in the context of a whodunit and i was riveted. I think i read it in its entirety in less than 48 hours. I've been a fan of Hilary T. Smith's work since i found her blog, "The Intern," four years ago and am ever so glad that she is now writing novels.
Grade C-

WIDE AWAKE follows Kiri Byrd's descent into psychosis. Seventeen year old Kiri is the ultimate unreliable narrator, an undiagnosed, hypomanic girl left on her own for six weeks while her parents take a dream anniversary cruise. Her drug addicted, mentally ill homeless older sister had been murdered five years ago, so in their infinite wisdom, Kiri's parents figured leaving her alone for the summer to be a great idea.

She proceeds to alienate her friends and family, while befriending scary people in a bad part of town. Kiri isn't likable, and she's hard to empathize with as she make bad decision after bad decision. Even though her mental illness is at the root of her behavior, I had a hard time caring about Kiri. Skunk, her boyfriend, was a much easier character to embrace. He, at least, had some insight into himself and he behaved much less narcissistically.

Hilary T Smith alludes to her own mental illnesses in her bio, so WIDE AWAKE must be very personal to her. She authentically captures a teen having a manic episode, but felt like Smith told, more than showed the frenetic energy of a manic episode with too many passive verbs. I wished she had immersed me a into the nonstop whirlwind of thoughts, feelings and sensory sensations I've heard from bipolar and manic clients.

WIDE AWAKE lacked a message and a point other then describing a teen's mental decline. There seemed to be s lack of ending, except, perhaps, a set up for treatment, maybe. Nothing about Kiri's personality suggested she'd embrace, respond to or stick with treatment. I don't think I'd recommend the book to teen clients for those reasons, though I might to parents as a caveat for going off medication.