Touch
Francine ProseBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Did they, or didn't they?
Did she, or didn't she?
Something happened to fourteen-year-old Maisie Willard—something involving her three friends, all boys. But their stories don't match, and the rumors spin out of control. Then other people get involved . . . the school, the parents, the lawyers. The incident at the back of the bus becomes the center of Maisie's life, the talk of the school and, horribly, it becomes news. With just a few words and a touch, the kids and their community are changed forever.
From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes an unforgettable story about the difficulties of telling the truth, the consequences of lying, and the most dangerous twist of all—the possibility that you yourself will come to believe something that you know isn't true.
Synopsis
Did they, or didn't they?
Did she, or didn't she?
Something happened to fourteen-year-old Maisie Willard—something involving her three friends, all boys. But their stories don't match, and the rumors spin out of control. Then other people get involved . . . the school, the parents, the lawyers. The incident at the back of the bus becomes the center of Maisie's life, the talk of the school and, horribly, it becomes news. With just a few words and a touch, the kids and their community are changed forever.
From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes an unforgettable story about the difficulties of telling the truth, the consequences of lying, and the most dangerous twist of all—the possibility that you yourself will come to believe something that you know isn't true.
Publishers Weekly
Prose offers a nuanced meditation on how stories of abuse can confuse and obscure the truth. When Maisie returns to her father and stepmother's home after a year living with her mother, she reunites with three childhood friends, Shakes, Chris and Kevin. But things are different. It is the summer before high school, one of them has a girlfriend and they all notice Maisie's newly developed breasts. It is Shakes, who has a mild palsy, whose devotion not only remains but grows into a relationship that is tenderly described ("It sometimes felt we were-like two halves of the same creature," Maisie thinks). But this friendship is shattered when the boys take physical advantage of Maisie. The incident spirals out of control through rumors, bullying and a complaint filed by Maisie's overzealous stepmother. A therapist helps Maisie unravel the many versions of the story and come to terms with the truth, that the "period of grace" with her best friend is over, that his courage has limits. Prose's (Bullyville) adept narration and shunning of easy answers will hold readers' interest. Ages 14-up. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
Booklist
"Caught by Maisie’s immediate first-person narrative, readers will race through the story...Riveting."The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
“Prose keeps capable control of Maisie’s voice...Middle schoolers attempting to negotiate the same territory will appreciate this chance to narratively explore some of its troubling regions.”Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Prose keeps capable control of Maisie’s voice...Middle schoolers attempting to negotiate the same territory will appreciate this chance to narratively explore some of its troubling regions.”Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Prose keeps capable control of Maisie’s voice...Middle schoolers attempting to negotiate the same territory will appreciate this chance to narratively explore some of its troubling regions."Publishers Weekly
Prose offers a nuanced meditation on how stories of abuse can confuse and obscure the truth. When Maisie returns to her father and stepmother's home after a year living with her mother, she reunites with three childhood friends, Shakes, Chris and Kevin. But things are different. It is the summer before high school, one of them has a girlfriend and they all notice Maisie's newly developed breasts. It is Shakes, who has a mild palsy, whose devotion not only remains but grows into a relationship that is tenderly described ("It sometimes felt we were-like two halves of the same creature," Maisie thinks). But this friendship is shattered when the boys take physical advantage of Maisie. The incident spirals out of control through rumors, bullying and a complaint filed by Maisie's overzealous stepmother. A therapist helps Maisie unravel the many versions of the story and come to terms with the truth, that the "period of grace" with her best friend is over, that his courage has limits. Prose's (Bullyville) adept narration and shunning of easy answers will hold readers' interest. Ages 14-up. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Children's Literature -
Maisie has been friends with Chris, Kevin, and Shakes her whole life. The four of them were inseparable until she moved home after a year of living with her mom and her self-obsessed husband in Wisconsin. The boys immediately treat her differently because of the new breasts Maisie developed while she was gone. When Maisie and Shakes start getting closer, sneaking kisses in the back of the bus, it is obvious that their foursome really is falling apart. So one day, when something awkward, inappropriate, and damaging happens on the back of the bus, Maisie is shattered. Does she keep quiet and let them get away with it? What does she do when she finds out they are spreading horrifying rumors? When Maisie's high-strung stepmom gets involved, the offensive incident leads into a legal battle, but now that Maisie needs to tell everyone what happened, she cannot remember what actually happened versus what she felt like when it happened. Maisie is a relevant, down-to-earth protagonist who may relate to teen girls who have been touched inappropriately and never knew how to feel about it. Touch pushes boundaries while remaining realistic and convincing. This novel may join the ranks of Speak and Cut with its controversial but honest storyline. Reviewer: Jillian HurstVOYA -
Maisie, Shakes, Chris, and Kevin have been friends since preschool. No one ever seemed to think it strange that three boys and girl could be best friends, through play dates to birthday parties, hanging out, and saving seats on the school bus. Maisie is convinced that the relationship among the four will stay the same forever. She does not realize that as people change, the bonds between them are stretched and tested. Sometimes these links endure, but often they do not. One terrible day, something happens in the backseat of the school bus that tears their friendship apart. A potent combination of peer pressure, teen hormones, and unreal expectations changes four children into young adults. No one seems to be able to tell the truth about what really happened. Maisie tells one story, whereas the boys tell another. In fact, Maisie repeats the account so many times to the school administration, to her family, and to her counselor, that soon she can no longer remember what really occurred. Prose offers young adults an incisive and compelling novel that explores the unreliability of memory and the very nature of truth, within the framework of a story about boy/girl friendship. Is Maisie a victim or a manipulator? Does she hide the painful truth behind a tangle of partial untruths? Readers will be fascinated by this convincing tale and the questions that it raises, from its gripping first chapter to its poignant and surprising conclusion. Reviewer: Jamie S. HansenSchool Library Journal
Gr 7-9
Maisie, Kevin, Chris, and Shakes have been best buds since preschool. But something changes after Maisie spends eighth grade in Wisconsin, living with her mother. When she moves back with her dad and stepfamily to start high school, she finds that her friends are awkward around her, and well...she has boobs now and the boys don't quite know where to look. It's the start of a landslide of changes that confuse, attract, and ultimately blow apart the once impenetrable foursome. Over the course of the novel, Maisie looks back, struggling to understand the events that led up to one particular morning on the school bus and to define or perhaps to deny what really happened when the boys touched her breasts. Was it assault? Did she say "No"? Did Shakes really hold down her hands so she couldn't stop the others? What is hardest for Maisie to admit is that she might have played a role in what happened. It is easier by far to cry victim and she has the support of some angry adults to do that. But while readers will be as outraged as she by the events, something greater lies ahead as Maisie puzzles out the shards of her experience and builds a whole and more honest understanding of what really happened. Continued friendship might not be possible, but discovering her own integrity is worth the effort. This novel portrays early adolescence with all the confusion, denial, delight, and potential that it entails.-Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA