The Tulip Touch
Encyclopedia
The Tulip Touch is a children's novel
by Anne Fine
published in 1996.
Natalie lives with her family: her father, who is a hotel manager, and her mother, who lavishes attention on her younger brother Julius. They go to live at a hotel called 'The Palace' and Natalie meets a strange girl called Tulip, cradling a kitten. Later in the book Natalie finds out that Tulip drowns the kitten. They become friends. Tulip easily charms Natalie's family and the hotel guests, partly due to sympathy: Tulip's father abuses her (and drowns the kitten).
They play various games, all invented by Tulip: from watching the sky through a hotel skylight, to making strangers fear they smell (by subtly sniffing etc). At first she finds Tulip exciting and she doesn't care that other people are upset by her pranks. But then Natalie realises that Tulip is going too far she decides to stop being friends with her
Natalie finally breaks away from Tulip, but admits to herself that she misses Tulip. She manages to make other friends eventually, throwing herself into being a good student while Tulip gets wilder, knifing bus seats and burning litter bins. In the end, feeling rejected by Natalie, Tulip burns the hotel down.
Natalie, at the close of the novel, has moved to a new hotel with her family and things are going well. But while her family, old teachers, and old community all criticize and dislike Tulip, Natalie knows she will remember Tulip for the rest of her life - and always feel guilty about her. The suggestion is that Natalie was too young to recognize the signs of abuse and rescue Tulip, and by the time she did, she chose to turn away from the difficulty and wildness of Tulip.
Mrs. Barnes—Natalie's mother, too busy to notice Natalie because of Julius
Mr. Barnes—Natalie's Dad, a helpful and caring man
Julius—Natalie's little brother who is somewhat afraid of Tulip.(left in the woods crying after the two girls ran away in a game 'babe in the wood')
Tulip—Natalie's best friend, a gabbriella and damaged but increasingly vicious girl
Mr. Pierce—Tulip's father, poor and has temper problems
Mrs. Pierce—Tulip's mother, quiet and can't stand up to her ungrateful husband
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Anne Fine
Anne Fine
Anne Fine, OBE FRSL is a British author best known for her children's books, of which she has written more than 50. She also writes for adults...
published in 1996.
Natalie lives with her family: her father, who is a hotel manager, and her mother, who lavishes attention on her younger brother Julius. They go to live at a hotel called 'The Palace' and Natalie meets a strange girl called Tulip, cradling a kitten. Later in the book Natalie finds out that Tulip drowns the kitten. They become friends. Tulip easily charms Natalie's family and the hotel guests, partly due to sympathy: Tulip's father abuses her (and drowns the kitten).
They play various games, all invented by Tulip: from watching the sky through a hotel skylight, to making strangers fear they smell (by subtly sniffing etc). At first she finds Tulip exciting and she doesn't care that other people are upset by her pranks. But then Natalie realises that Tulip is going too far she decides to stop being friends with her
Natalie finally breaks away from Tulip, but admits to herself that she misses Tulip. She manages to make other friends eventually, throwing herself into being a good student while Tulip gets wilder, knifing bus seats and burning litter bins. In the end, feeling rejected by Natalie, Tulip burns the hotel down.
Natalie, at the close of the novel, has moved to a new hotel with her family and things are going well. But while her family, old teachers, and old community all criticize and dislike Tulip, Natalie knows she will remember Tulip for the rest of her life - and always feel guilty about her. The suggestion is that Natalie was too young to recognize the signs of abuse and rescue Tulip, and by the time she did, she chose to turn away from the difficulty and wildness of Tulip.
Characters
Natalie—Tulip's best friend, a kind and imaginative girlMrs. Barnes—Natalie's mother, too busy to notice Natalie because of Julius
Mr. Barnes—Natalie's Dad, a helpful and caring man
Julius—Natalie's little brother who is somewhat afraid of Tulip.(left in the woods crying after the two girls ran away in a game 'babe in the wood')
Tulip—Natalie's best friend, a gabbriella and damaged but increasingly vicious girl
Mr. Pierce—Tulip's father, poor and has temper problems
Mrs. Pierce—Tulip's mother, quiet and can't stand up to her ungrateful husband