Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 432
Source: eARC
Source: eARC
ISBN-10: 0062220934
Rating: DNF
Book Description
"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."
DNF Review/Thoughts
When I started reading this, I got about 5% in and wasn't feeling it, but I almost always read more of a book than that before I decide not to finish it. So, I made myself go to 20% (which is a good chunk of the book since it's a longer novel), and I was struggling to make it that far. It's not that the writing itself was bad or anything, I just found nothing I liked that made me want to keep reading. I thought the premise was so interesting, but I wasn't feeling any sympathy for the main character when I was reading it. I couldn't get on board with her actions, and I didn't care for the people she was around. I thought her infatuation with Peter was kind of...silly after just making eye contact with him. The part about her being at some sort of acting/dancing/artistic school was neat (like that one movie Hillary Duff was in?), but the 'world building' of the school wasn't very vast or detailed enough to give me a real picture of it.
I think a lot of people could really enjoy the story, because like I said, the writing as far as dialogue and overall smoothness isn't bad. There just wasn't anything for me to connect to, and I spent so much time getting frustrated with the main character that I knew I needed to stop reading.
Have you read Don't Touch? What did you think? Share in the comments!
Bummer! I have this coming up on my TBR. Hopefully I do better with it than you did! Sorry you didn't like it!
ReplyDeleteI hope so as well! I've heard so other people raving about it, so hopefully it will be enjoyable for you!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard about this one and it sounds kind of interesting! I really like how you mention that other people could like it and it's just not for you. That's a good way to put it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! There have been several times I've DNF'ed a book because I thought it was poorly written, but really, 7/10 times (not that I DNF nearly that often) it's just because the book isn't appealing to me specifically, and I like to make sure I get that across if that's the case. I could easily see someone picking this up and becoming a favorite of their's; it's just not the case for me. :)
ReplyDeleteBummer that you didn't finish this one, but at least it's not necessarily the writing's fault.
ReplyDeleteOh, no. This is the second review I've seen today that was rather lackluster. I've already moved it down the TBR list, but now I'm wondering if I should even bother. :(
ReplyDeleteYes! I would probably still try something else from the author.
ReplyDeleteI've seen several people rave about it, so it might just be kind of a love it or hate it one. I'm always nervous when it comes to those, but you'll probably be able to tell early on if you'll like it or not.
ReplyDelete