Review: Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

Title: Don't Touch
Author: Rachel M. Wilson
Series: n/a
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 2nd, 2014
Source: From Publisher via Edelwiess
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A powerful story of a girl who is afraid to touch another person’s skin, until the boy auditioning for Hamlet opposite her Ophelia gives her a reason to overcome her fears.

Step on a crack, break your mother’s back. Touch another person’s skin, and Dad’s gone for good.

Caddie can’t stop thinking that if she keeps from touching another person’s skin, her parents might get back together... which is why she wears full-length gloves to school and covers every inch of her skin.

It seems harmless at first, but Caddie’s obsession soon threatens her ambitions as an actress. She desperately wants to play Ophelia in her school’s production of Hamlet. But that would mean touching Peter, who’s auditioning for the title role—and kissing 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.

Perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson, this debut novel from Rachel M. Wilson is a moving story of a talented girl who's fighting an increasingly severe anxiety disorder, and the friends and family who stand by her

I so badly wanted to love this book but I didn't. Story of my life these days. It's funny, the books I think I will love have been disappointing and the ones I'm on the fence about, have been rather enjoyable. I didn't hate Don't Touch. I just bored me after a while and I ended up dnf'ing it at 35 percent.

Here is the thing... it follows Caddie. She has anxiety disorder, which I found interesting. It kind of reminded me of that one True Life (from MTV) episode with the huffer. It's just amazing to me that people really need to do these things to get through a day. I don't understand it, and I probably never really will. It has to be a horrible way to live and for Caddie, things are not much different than some of the people featured on that show. She cannot be touched. She actually believes her parents might get back together if she doesn't let anyone touch her. Just.. wow.

So , that stuff kept me intrigued, although I found it hard to believe her family didn't notice or think there was anything wrong with these strange habits.

The stuff that bored me was all the drama club talk. She wants to be an actress, She is in a special school for this sort of thing and there is so much talk of it. The classes, the practicing, improvs, the auditions, it's all thespian mumbo jumbo. I think that readers who are into acting and plays will enjoy all that. It wasn't for me though, and I quickly lost interest.

And after so much of all that.. I looked down and saw I was only only 35 percent. Nothing of note had really happened yet, and I just couldn't bring myself to keep pushing on with my pile as high as it it.

I think that Don't Touch is pretty well written, but geared towards a more artsy crowd. Maybe it delves into her disorder further along in the story . I'm going to rate this one a 3 because it's not bad, just not for me.

About the author:


Rachel M. Wilson is the author of the contemporary YA, DON'T TOUCH, forthcoming from HarperTeen, Sep. 2, 2014.

She graduated from Northwestern University and holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Rachel grew up in Birmingham, AL, and she currently writes, acts, and teaches in Chicago, IL.

Find Rachel:

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