Don't Touch

Gr 8 Up—Caddie is starting over: she's earned a spot at the performing arts high school for her junior year, and reconnects with an old friend in doing so. Caddie's parents are also starting over, in new, individual lives. Caddie is pretty sure that her dad will come back, as long as she listens to the part of her brain telling her not to touch anyone. No skin contact would be difficult anywhere, but it's doubly hard when rehearsing as Ophelia to her crush's Hamlet. This novel offers a good look at Obesseive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders, though it stops short of exploring treatment and recovery. The protagonist connects with a former therapist, but her healing seems more about pulling herself up by her own bootstraps than utilizing therapeutic methods. There is an Author's Note describing the Wilson's own struggles with OCD. Pair with Aaron Karo's Lexapros And Cons (Farrar, 2012) for another look at OCD in teens.—Brandy Danner, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA