Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

Release Date: September 2, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 432

Summary:  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.

My Thoughts:  I thought this one sounded amazing!!! A girl who can’t touch people. It had such an interesting premise and something I have never read before. And a boy she likes, but can’t touch? Yes Please!

And I thought it was interesting but I just didn’t feel like I really connected to it the right way.

We are are introduced to Caddie whose parents are separated. She feels like if she can go without any skin on skin contact, maybe they will get back together. She thinks if she does one thing, something else might happen. But, if she doesn't succeed, something worse could even happen.

Caddie gets the lead in Ophelia. This is quite the task for her since it does rely on touching people. She can’t even touch her friends or the new boy Peter she likes.

Caddie suffers from severe anxiety and I felt so bad for her. I wanted it to be ok. I wanted her to be comfortable in her own skin where she could just hug someone.

I really liked Peter! He was such a nice and caring guy. But I also felt that most her friends were caring and would have understood if she had told them from the get go. I felt like they would have gotten it and helped her out.

I liked Don’t Touch but I felt like I just couldn’t connect right. At times, the novel almost seemed too long and not enough happened.

I liked the play aspect and how she wanted to be an actress. I’m happy with how things ended for Caddie. She started understanding things and accepting them.

Overall: I liked this one but I just didn’t fall in love. I’d probably give this more of a 3.5 rating. There was just something missing for me that I really needed.

All in all, I thought it was a good story but just not the absolute right one for me, at least at the time. I will definitely read more from Wilson in the future.

Cover: Like it! It fits perfectly!!!

What I’d Give It: