Touch (Reaper, #1)

by Jennifer Snyder

[Kim Deister]

This was an interesting book, a short novella. It is definitely a dark read, with more than a little of that haunting eeriness that is a part of gothic tales. There was a lot of emotion in this novella, a lot of sadness, heartbreak, and confusion. There was an overwhelming feeling of loss. But there was also romance between Rowan and Jet that allowed for some hope and some happiness.
Rowan is 17 and has gone through some pretty awful times. The author created a character in her that I could empathize with in every way. She was tragic in her unhappiness, seemingly a shell of what she had been. As a reader, you can feel her emptiness. Jet, for a dead guy, was also an interesting character. It took a little extra effort to empathize with him as he came off, at least at first, as a little flat. But this is not a negative comment on the author's ability to create him, but a compliment. Making him that way just underscored the fact that he was dead and that he was further removed from humanity and all of the emotions that go along with it. It also allowed us to grow to love him as he became more in touch with his human feelings again.

There were a lot of questions raised in this novella, many of which I really want answers to, but there is more to come with this series so I have no fear that they will be answered!

Things to love about Touch...

--Rowan. I like that her character takes things in stride. I liked that we felt with her, felt her loss, her fear, her confusion.
--The concept. Reapers are not a typical character type in YA literature. The mythology of reapers, how they are created, how they function... all of that is refreshing and unique and I appreciated that creativity.

Things I wanted more of...

--Jet's humanity. It took awhile to warm up to him and I would have liked to see more of that.
--Rowan's flaws. She had an easy acceptance of everything that happened to her. While I appreciated the lack of "emo girl" attitude, there were some things happening to her (i.e. the loss of her father) that I felt were TOO easily accepted.

My recommendation: A short read, but a powerful one. My copy includes the next novella, Choice, and you can also buy all three bound together in a single volume, paperback or ebook.