TOUCH

A grieving daughter befriends a high school outsider and uncovers a dark secret in this debut novel.

Still reeling from the death of their mother, Megan Brennar and her brothers, Bobby and Josh, are uprooted from the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, to live in the sleepy town of Jessup, Missouri, where their father will become the chief of police. On the journey to their new home, the Brennars get involved in a traffic accident. The tow truck driver is assisted by a shy, long-haired boy named Shawn, with whom Megan feels an immediate connection. She later discovers that he is an 11th grader at her high school and tries to strike up a conversation with him. Fiercely reclusive, Shawn is reluctant at first but later begins to trust Megan. He reveals that he was physically and sexually abused by a woman he thought was his mother. Megan and Shawn grow closer, drawing strength from each other in their suffering. But further disturbing secrets are revealed regarding Shawn’s family and dangerous criminal activity in the area. In Miller’s heart-rending tale, both Megan and Shawn are vivid, psychologically developed characters. In particular, Shawn’s confessionals about the abusive woman are genuinely upsetting: “She realized she could play my illness for a few days—maybe even a week or two. She beat the living friggin’ daylights out of me that afternoon. I spent the next three days locked in the closet.” The author writes strong dialogue, but her descriptive skills are less well honed. Miller has a tendency toward wordiness, as here when a character observes Shawn: “Falling into a V in the cradle of his shoulder bones, the golden strands of his hair glimmered under the sun, and with his hands wedged into his back pockets, his veined arms dominated my attention.” On other occasions, the descriptive approach is perfunctory and naïve: “The birds frolicked after the night’s storm and a bullfrog croaked.” Miller’s plotline twists and turns unexpectedly, making for compelling reading—although the story has a frustrating ending that lacks conviction. While this uneven novel is indicative of a new author wrestling to settle on a suitable style, there are significant sparks of promise here.

An affecting but flawed portrait of teenage trauma.