The 5 W's

The 5 W's

Wild Awake written by Hilary T. Smith

Who: Teenage piano prodigy Kiri Byrd who has recently suffered the loss of her estranged older sister, also simultaneously trying to discover her self and plan her future.

What: The book begins with Kiri desperately searching for the truth behind her sister's mysterious death which gradually veers off to other avenues of her life, such as love and life, with a gripping depiction of grief and being young.

When: This story is set in the modern day with emphasis on youthful problems and trials, like drug use, sexuality, parents, and futures.

Where: Kiri lives with her parents, who are on vacation for most of the story, in the suburbs of a bustling city. She makes frequent trips to the sketchy side of town where her sister's apartment was, a place she looks for solace and closure in.

Why: This story is driven by grief and is searching for the meaning of love and the different kinds of love. Smith does a fantastic job depicting the teenage struggle, especially the struggle circulating around death. She gives us the good, bad, and ugly in a way that young adults can process easily without losing the brevity, which is one reason I loved this novel so much.

I give this book 4 STARS for 5 W's. Being totally honest, the first time I tried to read this book, I got to chapter seven and then never picked it back up. After being urged by my librarian to finish it, I picked it back up and I am so glad I did. The first half is hard to get through, like biking up hill, but after that, your flying down hill through the book as pieces fall together and fall apart. Smith is able to paint pictures with words, throw words on pages like paint against a wall, splattering emotions in an abstract and fresh way. Another thing I found uplifting about this book was that it is a very intense story but it is not graphic. Sometimes mixing the two, especially in a young adult book can be overwhelming, but Smith is allusive while getting her point across. Like when she talks about sex, she doesn't just outright say it, she instead says that the two characters "Danced under a sky full of stars." I enjoyed this book thoroughly and insist that if you come across it, that you pick it up and give it a go, like I've said of Handy Nelson in a previous post, I am so excited for Hilary T. Smith's future works and am sure to love what she will do next.