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paigemushaw 's review for:
Wild Awake
by Hilary T. Smith
Two stars because honestly, this is just not my type of book. I'm not giving it a low rating because it is poorly-written (it is beautifully written); I'm not giving it a low rating because I think it's marketed to the wrong demographic (young adults, believe it or not, are capable of handling a story like this in a detached, don't-try-this-at-home manner. They're not going to look at Kiri's so-called "adventures" and think OH THAT LOOKS LIKE FUN. Nothing about Wild Awake is fun. Nothing.); I'm not giving it a low rating because the parents are so unbelievably absent (yeah, bad parents happen in real life, too, so forgive me if I don't take away stars because they happened in this book).
I am giving it a low rating because I never got attached to the characters. Because I was unsettled by Kiri's personality, as well as the inconsistency between her narrative tone and the tone of the book itself. Because I'm not sure it handled the topic of mental illness all that well. Because I wasn't convinced by the romance, and Kiri's grand statements about how hopelessly in love she and Skunk are-- all while still comparing him to large, wild animals in her head ("love-bison"? "Brontosaurus of love"? Really? I get it. He's not a small dude. The elephant tranquilizers kind of drove that point home)-- made me uncomfortable.
Several times while reading this book, I wanted to be reading something else. Anything else. Now, tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen. I skipped a giant chunk toward the end and didn't feel like I had missed anything important, because the entire book is a lot of the same over and over: Kiri gets drunk, Kiri gets high, Kiri cries and thinks about the injustice her family has wrought upon her, Kiri suddenly feels good and inspired and like everything is fine, someone tells Kiri she is crazy, Kiri is sad and thinks about her sister, Kiri does something reckless, etc. Repeat. Character development? Look elsewhere. You might say that she learned her lesson toward the end and actually started growing up, but if you look closely you'll notice that the same thing happened several times already. Why should I believe that this mature perspective will last any longer than it did the last time she decided to change her ways?
I wish I could have enjoyed this book more. The writing is impeccable-- almost rivals Lauren Oliver's style, even-- but the characters and story just didn't do it for me.
I am giving it a low rating because I never got attached to the characters. Because I was unsettled by Kiri's personality, as well as the inconsistency between her narrative tone and the tone of the book itself. Because I'm not sure it handled the topic of mental illness all that well. Because I wasn't convinced by the romance, and Kiri's grand statements about how hopelessly in love she and Skunk are-- all while still comparing him to large, wild animals in her head ("love-bison"? "Brontosaurus of love"? Really? I get it. He's not a small dude. The elephant tranquilizers kind of drove that point home)-- made me uncomfortable.
Several times while reading this book, I wanted to be reading something else. Anything else. Now, tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen. I skipped a giant chunk toward the end and didn't feel like I had missed anything important, because the entire book is a lot of the same over and over: Kiri gets drunk, Kiri gets high, Kiri cries and thinks about the injustice her family has wrought upon her, Kiri suddenly feels good and inspired and like everything is fine, someone tells Kiri she is crazy, Kiri is sad and thinks about her sister, Kiri does something reckless, etc. Repeat. Character development? Look elsewhere. You might say that she learned her lesson toward the end and actually started growing up, but if you look closely you'll notice that the same thing happened several times already. Why should I believe that this mature perspective will last any longer than it did the last time she decided to change her ways?
I wish I could have enjoyed this book more. The writing is impeccable-- almost rivals Lauren Oliver's style, even-- but the characters and story just didn't do it for me.