Review: The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine
I read this as a child and then again more recently, now as an adult (when did THAT happen ?!!) when I found it knocked down the back of the book case, gathering dust. And it still freaks me out a little ....
Natalie, your typical boring and bored 10 year old one day meets Tulip in the fields behind the hotel where she lives and her father is the manager. From then on it's all downhill for Natalie to be honest - Tulip is creepy, controlling, frightening and a little bit insane. She comes from a very poor background and seems to have created her own world to escape the reality of home life. She makes up increasingly frightening games, manipulating Natalie to take part and creates lies and fantasies in an effort to impress her and gain the upper hand in their relationship. Tulip sucks Natalie right in, until shes behaving a way she previously would never have dreamed of. It's all very unhealthy ...
The characters are wonderfully portrayed and depicted, with fabulous description painting a very believable backdrop. The whole thing is tinged with an unease about it and there's a fantastic creepiness about It all, particularly Tulip with her bad attitude, worse behaviour and sick imagination.
The story is not very plot heavy, there is not a great deal of action but there are some very interesting and somewhat shocking moments, probably more so during my first read as my child self than to my now adult self. The end has quite an impact however, and I won't give it away!
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