2 out of 4 stars
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The Touch by Robert Flynn III is a story of true mystery. A young boy named Gabriel, who is incorrectly diagnosed as autistic is given powers from a disembodied voice. Along with a handful of other children across the globe, he is given a mission that will change the world forever. He lives in an orphanage with his new friend Josh until the day a nurse named Alabama has a vision that she is meant to adopt the boys and give them a new life. Little does she know that Gabriel has supernatural powers, and a mission from “God” that he is determined to finish.
Originally, when I chose to read and review this book I was expecting a story based on the idea of misdiagnosing autism. Not until I read the first chapter of the story did I realize I was in for a surprise. I always enjoy a good supernatural story, so when I found out that this story was a work of supernatural fiction, I was intrigued. To be honest, my favorite part of the book was the first chapter. I felt that Flynn did a phenomenal job, drawing me in as a reader through both the description of the night and the thriller aspect that was quite unexpected. There were quite a few grammar and formatting mistakes that would make this story easier to read, however, I felt that I continued because the storyline gradually pulled me back into the story. The only major issue I saw with this book was the fact that the author seemed to have trouble expressing certain ideas in his work. For example, in chapter three, I felt like it could have been shortened dramatically by cutting out over half of the lines, for they were repetitive and unnecessary.
Though this book does mention “A voice” that is meant to be god, this is in no way a religious book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Erin Morgenstern's style of writing. Though Flynn is not as detailed or complex with his writing, he has concepts in this book that I feel would fit well in a book by Morgenstern. I also would suggest that if you are a very religious person that you do not read this book. There are several mentions of "a voice" that Gabriel hears, that I assumed to be god, however, I feel that there may be some offensive things to any religions that fall in line with Christianity, even if that was not the author's purpose.
Overall, I would give this book a 2 out of 4-star rating. I did not love this story, nor did I hate it, but it was something I was glad to read. As I mentioned, I loved the thriller aspect in the first few chapters, because the reader has no idea what is going on until a few chapters in. Though I usually prefer to know what is happening at all times in a story, I find that Robert Flynn III created a world in which he can stretch the story over a few more books.
I hesitate to give this book a 3-star review because although I enjoyed the premise and I think this story could continue into a series, I do not think I would pick up the next book in the series. I also did not want to give the book a 1-star rating because I feel that it has more potential than that. I usually only review books with a 1-star rating if I truly despise the book, and since I enjoyed this one, I decided on a 2-star rating.
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The Touch
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