Review: Touch

Touch by Jus Accardo | Published: November 1, 2011 | Entangled

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

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Touch, by Jus Accardo, is a little bit Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi meets Divergent by Veronica Rossi. It’s both action/adventure and romance/coming-of-age. It’s beautiful and heart wrenching, yet wonderful and laugh inducing. To be utterly cliché and cheesy, I must admit that Touch really did touch me. It quickly made its way into my heart; and quickly claimed the title as one of my favorite books. Like ever! It’s everything I could ask for, plus a little bit more after that.

Both Deznee and Kale are a pair to be reckoned with. I smiled so much throughout their interactions. I love these two separately as much as I love them together. Deznee, the 17 year-old adrenaline junkie, will do anything to make her father angry. Ever since her mom died, Deznee’s relationship with her father has been lacking. She blames herself for her mother, and deep down knows that her father does, too. Their relationship, if you can call it that, is more hostile than loving. Any reaction Dezenee can get from him, mostly anger, she feeds off of. The biggest upset of all is when Deznee brings home a mysterious, yet totally hot, boy named Kale. Daddy wasn’t only angry, he pulled a gun out.

Really! Her dad is wack-o to the extreme. As the story unfolds, the truth behind Deznee’s crazy dad and her odd name are unveiled. Jaw dropping at its best. Accardo brilliantly wrote plot twist after plot twist without losing steam; and, most importantly, without losing my attention. I could write pages on all of the action, but what I really want to talk about is Kale.

Kale, oh Kale. How do I love thee? Just thinking about this guy makes me smile. When he literally stumbles down an embankment and lands at Deznee’s feet, both she and I were hooked. One look in those icy blues eyes and Deznee was a goner… and so was I. Within minutes of meeting Kale, Deznee knows something is off with him. He’s not normal. Kale may be a babe, but let’s get real: hot guys can be creepers! Instead of ditching him by the river, Deznee drags him home to meet her dad. I wish I could say what happens next, but I won’t spoil it. I laughed and I gasped and I laughed some more. So, so good!

Accardo throws curve ball after curve ball in Touch. From one sequence to the next, I kept turning the pages and loving everything new that jumped out at me. This book is superheroes meets teen drama, meets slow loving. Any reader looking for the cutest (and steamiest) moments between a boy learning what a kiss is; and a girl leaning what love is, Touch is a must read.