Review: Dont Touch

I received this book for free from FTC: Exchange for honest opinion, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson
Series: Stand Alone
Published by HarperCollins on September 2nd 2014
Genres: Young Adult-Contemporary
Source: FTC: Exchange for honest opinion, Publisher
Goodreads

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.

When I saw this book I knew I had to read it. You see, I too suffer from anxiety. Mine doesn’t  have anything to do with my body or are really extreme, but it does affect me. For example, if I use my straightener in the morning, I will go back at least 5 times to make sure I unplugged it. Same goes with my front door. When I locked the door, I will double check it lots of times. I’ll be sitting in my car, ready to go when I think,”Did I lock the door?” Then I get out of the car once again, to make sure I locked it. This anxiety has cause me much stress. It has cause me to be late to work, my husband late, even my son late to school because I had to check the door, make sure windows were closed or run inside to make sure I turned off my straightener. Since this book caught my attention, I was interested in how her anxiety got so extreme and how she is able to overcome it.

Plot: Well just from the info above, you should get the gist of the story. The main character is Caddie and her anxiety/OCD is bad. So bad that she can not make any contact with anyone. No skin to skin at all. If she does, she breaks down. At times, I could relate to her. The plot does a good job at building up why Caddie’s anxiety/OCD is bad and where/when it derived from.

Anxiety/OCD: Not that many people talk about this. I think it should be talked about because in my life it has caused problems. Hubby and I even got into arguments over it. I made him turn the car around once just to run inside to make sure I turn off the toaster. Yeah…he was not happy. So I get Caddie. I get how troubling it can be for not only her but for her loved ones around her. I  hope that there are more books like this in the future.

Ending: I love that Caddie is able to get help and move forward. I really like how the story did not rush her progress but let it develop. It felt so much more realistic to see Caddie slowly progressing to a normal life.

Don’t Touch is an compassionate tale of young girl wanting a normal life. Endearing and moving, Don’t Touch is great.

Happy Reading!