Touch (Denazen) - Softcover

VOYA - Dotsy Harland

Seventeen-year-old Deznee Cross has a past shrouded in mystery. She does not remember her mother, who apparently died when Deznee was very young. As a feisty teenager, she spends lots of time trying to figure out ways to infuriate her emotionally distant father, an attorney. When a strange, but very good looking, boy named Kale literally falls into her path on the way home from a party one night, Dez decides to take him home with her. As luck would have it, her dad catches the boy in the house and pulls a gun. The real shock comes when Deznee realizes that the two know each other and that her father has been keeping Kale prisoner at his law firm.” She and Kale manage to escape from Mr. Cross and take off on a whirlwind adventure in which they discover that they are both Sixes,” children with special gifts, and that Deznee’s mother is still alive and being held at Cross’s law firm, which is not a law firm at all.

Though the premise is familiar and the book could benefit from some streamlining, Accardo’s writing style is forceful, descriptive, and filled with humor. This first novel in the Denazen series tastefully introduces sexual activity, in addition to including the always popular love triangle, making it more appropriate for older readers. Dez is a gratifyingly strong female character, and Touch is an excellent read-alike for those who enjoyed I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (HarperCollins, 2010/Voya December 2010) and False Memory by Dan Krokos (Hyperion, 2012/Voya August 2012). Ages 12 to 18.