Touch is a power, emotive and thought provoking read that captures you and stays with you long after you have finished reading it.

After losing her mother, Meg's father decides to move her and her two brothers to a small town to start over. At her new school, a quiet outcast named Shawn grabs her attention. As she struggles to get to know him better, she slowly discovers she's about to open a can of worms and her life will never go back to normal after learning what Shawn is hiding.

This book covers several heavy topics and doesn't make light of the trauma and emotional toll certain traumas take on the individual and those involved. I respect that about this book. However, I'm on the fence about how to rate this book. I realize that Meg is young and in order for the story line to unfold, she needs to get into Shawn's business but at times I found her too pushy if not slightly annoying. How help is presented to Shawn doesn't feel appropriate. It would make more sense to send Shawn away for professional care in a more stable environment . I'm also not one for endings that leave it up to the reader's imagination. Whether a story has a happy ending or not, I need the closure of a definite answer. It didn't really feel like a cliffhanger that suggests a sequel. It had more of a leave it up to your own interpretation ending. The book has a good message overall, but it wasn't my cup of tea of how it was presented.

I do a close reading while reading an ARC, as result, I am less likely to skim through the text, and I read each sentence word for word. I have been given the privilege of reading this novel from NetGalley, the author, and the publisher and in return I have been asked to write a honest review.
I found this novel to be a challenge, so I needed to reread many sections several times in the hope that I would become engaged with the story and understand the plot. Instead, I felt like an invited guest, who was never made to feel welcomed. I personally prefer a book with plenty of description in order to create an image in my mind, but this novel was mostly conversation. The dialogue was in single sentences, and it made the chapters choppy, which affected the the flow of the novel. For the first half of the novel. I could not understand what was going on and became annoyed.
I like to get to know the characters and I try to visualize their appearances, but there was a lot of characters and many names were being thrown around. I worked around this by making notes, and since I read this on an ebook, it was easy to highlight. The characters are flat and showed no growth. Meg, the protagonist, experienced much in her young life due to the death of her mom and moving house. Meg had the most opportunity for growth, but I found to be whiny. One thing I could not wrap my head around was the relationship betwee Shawn and Meg's father. Shouldn't Shawn have been placed in a situation where he recieved appropriate long-term medical care, and how can a cop provide that care needed wiith this type of trauma?
The situation that happens to Shawn was unexpected and I understand that the story circles around rape and child abuse,: however I felt uncomfortable with the amount of detail, eventhough the abuse was only discussed in a short chapter.
Considering the book is a Young Adult novel that spans the very young to the much older reader, I would appreciate a trigger warning in inside flap to warn the reader of child abuse and rape.

This is a beautifully raw novel that dealt with real and emotive issues in a sensitive and down to the grit way that left my heart hurting. The characters are so real that i felt like they were coming off of the page. I cannot praise this book enough I loved it.

The cover of this book is a perfect example of why they matter. I requested this book on the cover alone even though I knew it was aimed at teenagers. I wasn’t disappointed. This is a raw, heart wrenching story of sexual abuse and a young girls love that perhaps saved the victim.
Megan is just 15 when she meets Shawn. He is a very troubled soul, reclusive and aloof. Megan and her family have been through a lot with the death of her mother and they have grown apart, each living in their own world of pain. As Megan tries to get to know Shawn she witnesses something she doesn’t understand and as Shawn’s world seems to be slowly unravelling, Megan confides in her dad, the local sheriff,
Shawn is guarding a secret, one he is terrified to reveal, suicide is on his mind. Megan wants to save him, to convince him life is worth living, but will he overcome his fear of his past.
Definitely a book for older teens, it’s a heartbreaking look at sexual abuse and a girl overcoming her own despair to try and help this teen she is falling in love with

#netgalley #touch

4 ⭐

Thanks to Netgalley for this book in exchange of an honest review

While reading it, I couldn't put down the book and wanted to know more about Shawn and what was his secret. Megan is someone introverted but curious and that is going to try everything to help the persons he loves most. And Shawn is someone introverted, doesn't like to talk and doesn't have friends for being the "weird", until he meets Megan.

I need to admit that there were parts in where I thought that Megan was invading Shawn's space and was stalking him too much, But then realized that if she didn't approach Shawn first, the story would be very different in a bad way.

En general, el libro te logra atrapar desde el principio y no puedes dejar de leerlo, hasta que sabes el secreto de Shawn 🥺

Still dealing with the fallout from her mother's death, Megan is struggling with moving from the Pacific Northwest to a small town in Missouri, a move that her law enforcement father hopes will provide a fresh start away from the memories and the violent crime of the big city. At school, Megan gravitates towards Shawn, a loaner outcast and as their friendship develops into something more she realizes there are some dark secrets he is hiding. Although often discouraged, by her family and Shawn himself, Megan persists in being a true friend and when those dark secrets are revealed, she learns she has more strength than she ever imagined. A dark, gritty read with realistic characters, accurate depictions of family life, and an uplifting story of personal growth and the difference one determined friend can make in someone's life.

Groundbreaking

This one will make waves. Great story, great characters, great development. Kudos to the author for taking on such a difficult subject and doing it with such finesse.