Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date: May 28th 2013
My rating: 3 stars
Wild Awake was a strange read. I remember when I first read
the blurb last year I was so excited to get my hands on a copy, it had the
signs of a mystery and a romance all rolled into one. And when I started my
copy it was great; Kiri receives a call out of the blue saying that she has to
collect her sister’s stuff. Kiri’s freaked, her sister died in a car accident
five house years ago, what stuff could she have left?
I was all aboard on discovering the mystery behind Kiri’s
sister Sukey’s death. Before this call out of the blue, Kiri’s life was all
planned out, whilst her parents were away she would practice piano for her big
and upcoming showcase and in the rest of the time, she would practice for the
battle of the bands with her friend Lucas.
But then she had to deal with getting to the bottom of the
truth, what had really happened to Sukey? Kiri had always looked up to Sukey,
no matter that her family had abandoned her, the time she spent with her meant
so much. Kiri had a lonely road ahead of her, it was a murky and dangerous
path, and so I felt for her that she had no one to help her through it.
I really wanted to enjoy Wild Awake more, but the connection
I had with Kiri’s character at the beginning sort of whittled out after her
character took a nose dive into an abyss. She started behaving erratically,
making impulsive decisions that her brother stayed home longer to keep an eye
out on her, it was a depressing time for Kiri, and I totally understand why she
went down that route with all the pressure and lies she had been told. But the
Kiri which evolved was just too wild for me.
I don’t have a list of flaws for Wild Awake that could
explain why it didn’t work for me. I think one of the reasons could be that I
had this idea that Wild Awake would be a fun mystery read, but it ended up
being a much darker read. It did deal with some realistic issues really well.
But I think I just read this book at the wrong time and thus wasn’t able to
connect with it as much as I’d hoped.
21 comments:
I'm still really curious about this book. It sounds mysterious and has music in it. Only I have pretty high expectations and so I'm afraid of disappointing. Great review Jasprit :)
I'm glad you were still able to enjoy this for the most part, Jasprit. I do think this is a difficult book to completely connect with, so I understand your qualms. I wound up loving it, though, and am really looking forward to Smith's next book since she's such an incredible author. Lovely review, dear!(:
sorry your connection with the mc didn't stand through the whole book.
I received this from the publisher, and like you, was really excited. I've started seeing some reviews that have me worried. I'll still read WA, but w/different expectations. Great review, Jasprit!
That's really too bad! I've heard such mixed reviews and I don't think this is the book for me anymore. I couldn't deal with the character nose dive and the non-existent connection to the MC. Oh, I hate that! When you think you MIGHT have liked a book better if it was at a different time. *sigh* Great review, Jasprit! :)
Aww, sorry to hear that this didn't work out for you. I'm the same way, if I can't connect with the mc it hinders my enjoyment of the book. I hope your next read is much better! <3
This was a really weird read for me too! There were so many things that I didn't like and so many that I did. I thought the writing was beautiful, but that some of the content was just odd. But I also think that was on purpose. I'm still conflicted about this one.
It kills me when a book I've been wanting to read forever is just okay.Statistical Probability of Live at First Sight did that to me :/ totally get how sometimes it's just the mood you're in or what you're expecting as well. Thanks for the review :D
I see crazy mixed reviews for this one, I have no idea what to think of it. 'nose drive into an abyss' LOL. I really can not stand it when I can't relate to main characters, it really makes the story blah. Thanks for an honest review!
Alise @ Readers In Wonderland
Sorry this didn't work for you; it does sound like an interesting premise. I don't mind realistic novels, so I guess if I go in knowing it's a bit darker that maybe it first seems, I might enjoy it.
Everyone seems to be slightly weirded out by the randomness of this book.. how the main protagonist started doing crazy stuff. loved how you referred to it as a nose dive into an abyss.
great review,
- Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf
I actually really appreciate your iffy take on this one, Jasprit. I've seen so many glowing reviews that it's refreshing to see someone for whom it didn't automatically succeed. To be honest, it sounds a bit like the type of YA contemp that just wouldn't work for me. Great thoughts!
My copy just came and I'm so excited to read this! I'm sorry you didn't fully connect with this book. It seems this book has been getting mixed reviews. :( What a shame. The premise sounded amazing. Great review!
I knew right from the start that this wouldn't be a good read for me. I don't doubt that the writing is gorgeous, but I don't deal well with delf-destructive behavior so I'd probably be very angry at Kiri and end up abandoning the book.
I'm sorry it didn't work for you either.
Great review, Jasprit. :)
Great review :D Thank you for being honest. Sigh. I didn't really like this book either. I just failed to enjoy it, lol :p Can't explain it either. But yeah. It just wasn't that good. Glad you kind of liked it a little, though :)
It's such a disappointment that this one wasn't what you'd hoped it to be, hope your next read is more to your tastes!
It's really difficult to enjoy a book when you have no connection with the main character whatsoever... it's like it just deflates because you have no investment in the protagonist. And I'm not a particualr fan of wild childs either! It is interesting to hear though that it deals with realistic issues - you wouldn't expect that from looking at the cover.
Lovely review, Jas! I sure have missed you and Rachel and your pretty blog but I'm back so expect to see a lot more of me over summer! Hope you guys have been doing well since I've been gone <3
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this one more Jasprit! Thanks for pointing out that you might have enjoyed it more if you were in the mood for a darker read. I'll definitely keep that in mind before starting this one!
Ooh, I'm sorry this one wasn't quite what you were expecting, Jasprit. I hate when that happens. However, despite your lack of connection with the characters (which is ALWAYS a problem for me), I'm glad you found some things to like about this book. Thanks for the candid review! :)
I've seen mostly really positive or really negative reviews for this book, so it's good to get one that's more middle of the road. I'm sorry you couldn't connect with this, though, Jasprit—that's really important for me in books as well.
I know exactly how you feel, Jasprit! I've had quite a few books where I couldn't connect and enjoy them as much as I expected simply because they told a story unlike what I was expecting to/wanted to hear. It's a frustrating experience for sure. But by not connecting with every book we read, perhaps it makes the connections we form with certain other books that much better? And I suppose there's always the possibility of re-reading a book in a better state of mind. After reading the blurb and some reviews, I do think that Wild Awake is a book I'll be passing by myself.
I have the same problems that you did sometimes with contemporary books, it sucks!! Glad you managed to finish though (I would have gave up!) lol.
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