The Tulip Touch
The Tulip Touch is a children's novel by Anne Fine published in 1996. The book, written for elementary-school aged children, raises questions of morality and accountability as well as exploring the question of nature versus nurture. It was highly commended for the Carnegie Medal and won the 1996 children's book Whitbread Award.
Plot
Natalie lives in a house with her father, Mr. Martin Barnes, a hotel manager, and her mother, Mrs. Emma Barnes, who is loving but pays more attention to Natalie's younger brother Julius. When they go to live in a hotel called 'The Palace' where Natalie meets Tulip Pierce, a dramatic girl of Natalie's age. Tulip charms Natalie with her strong personality and wild imagination. The two girls become very close friends and begin to do everything together.
Over the many years, their relationship slowly evolves from a childhood friendship into a more sinister mix of obsession and manipulation. They play various games, all invented by Tulip, who is often away from school without explanation, most probably because of her alcoholic father abusing her. The games range from the unkind "Stinking Mackerel" where they use facial expressions to make strangers suspect they have an unpleasant smell, to the far more dangerous "Babe in the Woods" which involves endangering Julius and tormenting him until he cries. Another game which also involved Natalie's younger brother is a game where he had to put a plastic bag over his head and try and catch Natalie and Tulip, called "Putting on the Bag". These sadistic games brings satisfaction and pleasure to Tulip.
Natalie first begins to notice the differences between her and Tulip when she goes in search of her one-day and visits her home with her father. Natalie's father is made uncomfortable when they see the run down farm that Tulip, her mother and her father live on. Tulip's father, Mr Pierce, is portrayed as violent and sadistic through events relayed to Natalie by Tulip. There are many clear signs that Mr Pierce is abusive to both his wife and daughter although this is not picked up on by Natalie at first – Mr. Pierce likes to drown kittens in a crock and watch as they die slowly and agonizingly for hours on end. After learning she has visited the farm, Natalie's father makes her promise she will never go back.
Tulip plays on the sympathies of Natalie's entire family who are aware of the way she is being treated. Natalie's father often treats Tulip like his own daughter, encouraging Natalie to include her in everything. However, as Natalie's parents begin to see the malicious tone that Tulip is adopting, they encourage Natalie to end the friendship. Although Natalie suspects that Tulip will do harm to her if they end the friendship.
Natalie finally breaks away from Tulip, but never feels entirely free from her influence. She now realizes the clues that she had never noticed before that were evidence of Tulip's home life; the shabby, old uniform that her school complains about and her absences. She still watches her, although they are no longer friends, and at times misses the wildness and imagination that she herself lacks. Other people seem mundane at first but Natalie manages to make other friends eventually, throwing herself into her school work while Tulip gets wilder, knifing bus seats and burning litter bins. Natalie hears that Tulip has visited a local family asking to see a baby that the whole community knows has recently died which greatly upsets the family. In the end, feeling rejected by Natalie when she is not invited to the famous Christmas party at The Palace, Tulip burns down the hotel where Natalie's family lives, endangering their lives.
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. It is clear that at the time of her friendship with Tulip, Natalie was too young to recognize the signs of abuse but wonders why adults who seem to have known the same thing never helped Tulip.
Characters from The Tulip Touch
- Natalie - The protagonist of the book. A shy and rather withdrawn girl who is overwhelmed by Tulip's stronger personality.
- Emma Barnes—Natalie's mother, who is frequently absorbed in the care of Natalie's younger brother, Julius.
- Martin Barnes—Natalie's father, a helpful and caring man who works for the hotel.
- Julius—Natalie's younger brother.
- Tulip—The titular character who is deeply affected by ongoing abuse because of her father's violent behaviors. She also lies a lot.
- Mr. Pierce - Tulip's father, an abusive and violent man.
- Mrs. Pierce - Tulip's mother who is also abused by her husband Tulip's father.
- Susan, Marcie, Heather, Kirstin, Jeremy, Jamie Whitton—Natalie's classmates.
- The Brackenbury Family - who have lost their daughter Muriel since she drowned.
- The Palace Hotel Guests.
- The drowned kitten.