Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
Print Length: 239 pages
Publication Date: February 23, 2016
Young Adult, Dark Romance / Magical Realism
3.5 Stars
Dark Touch was a really interesting book becasue it was surrounded by this concept of a girl who conveyed her emotions whenever someone touched her. What was interesting in this book was the fact that the reason for this predicament is never alluded to and even ignored. Instead the main focus was on Tully and her budding romance with Chris. I wasn't quite sure if I liked this or if I would have prefered this switched, but it did add some interesting elements to the book that kept my concentration on the characters and their situations.
I really liked how the author first introduced Tully to the reader. Automatically when starting this book you know the situation of the characters is off and distorted from reality. Instead of getting the first true glimpse of what Tully's character is really like, we get the facade that her and her dad show to her grandmother, the one which speaks of a healthy family who often visits their place of worship. Which, from right of the bat, I knew wasn't true because of the internal mumblings of Tully herself and the derision and unhappiness she showcased toward the various people in the town and even her own family.
Also extremely noticable is the tension between Tully and her father and the hint at something very dark and dangerous which is involved in their relationship. This hint is given throughout the book but its not until the last few chapters where the origin of this tension is finally revealed in a very shocking and somewhat dark manner. I think this is a key characteristic of this novel, the "dark romance" is a very descriptive term for this book because there are very limited periods of acutal pure happiness and hope within the character Tully and really her life.
Tully herself was plagued with memories from her past and this affected her outlook on life, her future plans, and her reaction to Chris. She also had a lot of strength that mixed in with a lot of fear. She didn't want to connect with anyone emotionally because she was burned in the past by her own family and this caused her to lash out when she felt like anyone (*cough* Chris) was getting too close. This was one of the major conflicts of the book, getting Tuly to trust herself and others as well as accepting her past and her family situation.
Overall, this book is pretty good but I felt like there was something missing in terms of complexitiy of the characters. Also, I really wanted this book to allude to a reason why Tully does pass on her emotions whenever someone touched her. I felt like this could've added a little extra umph to the ending. But there was also a lot of good parts to this story that definitely make it worth the read.
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But then she meets Chris. He’s everything she’s not: Light. Trusting. Innocent. And he wants Tully.
Tully knows she should spare him the heartache of being with her. But when he touches her, she’s not sure she’ll have the strength to push him away—until he learns about her dark past, and what really goes on in her ever decaying home.
From the author of Every Ugly Word comes a poignant, emotionally raw story about the violence that plays out behind closed doors and the all-consuming passion of first love
