Reviewed by Dianna Geers for TeensReadToo.com

"The Daddy" is known for his violent temper in New York, just like he was before the family moved from Haiti. Karina is glad that he has to work so many hours as a taxi cab driver. Otherwise the beatings would happen more often. And the beatings were horrendous.

"The Daddy" went ballistic over things such as the children not eating all of their dinner. Karina and her siblings often hid under the table or locked themselves in the bathroom when "The Daddy" began the beatings. Karina felt like a coward, but knew that "The Daddy" would beat his kid of choice just as hard if she didn't hide. Plus, then she'd get a beating, too.

When Karina sees her sister, Enid, hurt so badly that she may be dead, Karina vomits so forcefully that she thinks she herself might die. But then she hears her younger twin cousins calling for her. Karina couldn't die and leave everyone else to deal with "The Daddy" alone.

When "The Daddy" finally gets found out and put in jail, Karina thinks that maybe they will be safe at home. That is until she has to be interviewed individually by the authorities. Does she tell the truth about the atrocities "The Daddy" has created in their home? Would she be safe if she told the truth?

You'll need to read TOUCHING SNOW to see what Karina decides.

As if Karina's life isn't complicated enough, just as in real life, many things happen in our lives at the same time. In addition to dealing with this heartbreaking home life, Karina is the victim of bullying at school, struggles with her grades and learning the English language, and her evolving development as a young woman. How many things can one person juggle at a time?

Read this book to see how yet another resilient adolescent deals with adversity and finds her voice. ( )

This books shows how families who are abusive live. ( )

I didn’t necessarily like it, but the descriptions were horrific but so real. I wasn’t disappointed, but I was a little upset by it. This story is just so to the point, no excuses, take it or leave it. It didn’t make me sad, exactly, but it definitely got me thinking. And for the record – I think the mother is a complete idiot for bringing the daddy back. AHS/EK

This is a brave book that I imagine will be banned form many reading lists. It puts a magnifying glass onto domestic violence with a brutal portrayal. Not only are the descriptions of the beatings themselves graphic, but the psychological implementations are unearthed as well, with Karina’s fainting spells and Delta’s bedwetting problems. If that weren’t enough to raise the conservative parent’s eyebrow, the text also deals with a developing lesbian relationship, which has been generally taboo in the realm of kid’s books.However, the text clearly deserves its nomination for the National Book Award, and as grim as the story becomes, the text is powerful. It’s important for children to know that even other children have to endure terrible situations and make difficult choices in over to protect themselves and overcome. Felin walks a very fine line between the content and the take-away messages, and had she not done such a masterful job of creating the story, there would be a lot more red flags for this book. I recommend this text to readers 13 .-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

by M. Sindy Felin

"The best way to avoid being picked on by high school bullies is to kill someone." This is Karina's story of her summer after 7th grade, when she learns the truth of that statement. Her mother immigrated from Haiti hoping for a better life in upstate New York, but Karina doesn't see what could be worse than her and her brothers and sisters enduring "beat ups" from her stepfather (The Daddy) for every minor and imagined infraction of the ever changing rules. Karina wants to protect her siblings, but she also finds refuge volunteering at the community center with her new friend Rachael. How far will she go to protect the people she loves? ( )