Review : Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Don't Touch
Author : Rachel M. Wilson
Publication Date : September 2nd 2014
Publisher : Harper Teen
Goodreads - 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.

Personal Thoughts

I found myself gravitating towards Don't Touch because it deals with a mental disorder, that is often misrepresented and used very casually by people ; OCD. I thought for certain that this would be a book I would absolutely love, but it was hard for me to connect emotionally to the story.

For me, the issue with this book was that I couldn't feel any of Caddie's emotions and feelings. She hid herself in this barricade and none of her feelings came through to her readers. I thought being inside her head would give a glimpse at her mental and emotional state, but she was so closed off, I found myself struggling to understand her. I don't suffer from OCD, so maybe that's why I couldn't get through to Caddie's emotions. When I go into a book like Don't Touch, I want to be smacked in the face with all kinds of feelings, but I was left feeling rather passive and very far away from Caddie's character. Because of this lack of connection, I was bored throughout most of the story. I also had issues with the way the people around Caddie reacted to her "quirks". I couldn't begin to comprehend how her own mother, who was otherwise very supportive of Caddie, failed to question her daughter's habits of wearing gloves in the heat of the summer and how she failed to see that something was clearly wrong with her daughter. I thought that was unbelievable. The same with her friends and her theater mentor. Most of her friends never asked her or thought it was odd that she had lame excuses for why she was wearing gloves, especially because Caddie clearly needed help.

Similarly, I failed to become involved in the romance. The love interest, Peter, was genuine, down-to-earth and easy to root for, but I wasn't sure where his feelings for Caddie suddenly sprouted from because she was never really open with him about herself.  For me, there was just something missing from their relationship to make it feel realistic. I did, however, like all the scenes involving the cast who were part of the production of Hamlet. I've never been a good actress, but I love reading about theater in books because I have an odd fascination for it. I loved the dynamics between the characters and I liked seeing how the play slowly came about to be. It did get a bit frustrating when Caddie's condition became a hindrance to the production, but yet, no one said anything about it to her. Realistically, she should have been booted from the play when she kept avoiding certain scenes, but that never happened.

I seem to be a black-sheep when it comes to Don't Touch. Most readers seem to have loved the book. Unfortunately, while the concept of Don't Touch should have entirely appealed to me, the lack of realism and my inability to connect in any way with Caddie prevented me from enjoying this title. It's worth a try though! Maybe, you might have better luck with it than I did.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 2/5
Characters : 2/5
Writing : 3/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for the e-ARC of Don't Touch.