Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson Series: Standalone
Published by Harper Collins on September 2nd 2014
Genres: Depression & Mental Illness, Family, Girls & Women, Social Issues, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Source: Purchased
My rating:
Check it out in Goodreads
Synopsis
Step on a crack, break your mother's back, touch another person's skin, and Dad's gone for good . . .
Caddie has a history of magical thinking—of playing games in her head to cope with her surroundings—but it's never been this bad before.When her parents split up, Don't touch becomes Caddie's mantra. Maybe if she keeps from touching another person's skin, Dad will come home. She knows it doesn't make sense, but her games have never been logical. Soon, despite Alabama's humidity, she's covering every inch of her skin and wearing evening gloves to school.And that's where things get tricky. Even though Caddie's the new girl, it's hard to pass off her compulsions as artistic quirks. Friends notice things. Her drama class is all about interacting with her scene partners, especially Peter, who's auditioning for the role of Hamlet. Caddie desperately wants to play Ophelia, but if she does, she'll have to touch Peter . . . and kiss him. Part of Caddie would love nothing more than to kiss Peter—but the other part isn't sure she's brave enough to let herself fall.
From rising star Rachel M. Wilson comes a powerful, moving debut novel of the friendship and love that are there for us, if only we'll let them in.
What you need in order to survive Don’t Touch:
- Don’t read if you have no patience for complicated main characters.
- An open mind to really feel Caddie’s struggles.
- Two free hours because that’s what it takes to read this book without interruptions.
Even someone who doesn’t struggle with anxiety will probably find this story refreshing and relatable. Caddie has issues. That much is pretty clear. And believe it or not, I wasn’t at any moment, screaming in my head for her to get over it and kiss the boy. No, because I understood her fear. And not only because I’ve experienced the anxiety myself, but because the author made me understand it.
It’s all there and raw enough to spark interest. In more than one occasion the writing speaks about Caddie’s Don’t Touch and how she knows it’s stupid but ‘what if?’ What if it’s true that if she touches someone her dad won’t come home ever. She feels she’s insane, and self-conscious when she’s with her friends and everybody’s so normal, and she may look like it but that’s just because she works very hard for it to stay that way.
A recommended read for anyone who likes contemporary YA where the romance isn’t idealized to death, but instead it’s sweet, and plausible.
Wow! This sounds touching and unique:) I like how the author can make us understand her anxiety because I feel like Caddie sounds like a strong and sweet character who hopefully finds her happy ending! Definitely want to read this!
Maya recently posted this awesome thing…Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Recently Added To My To-Be-Read List
Yes! She’s quite strong for what she’s going through. Hope you enjoy it!