'She's mad. There has to be something wrong with her. She's insane.'

Nobody wants Tulip in their gang. She skives off school, cheeks the teachers, and makes herself unpopular with her classmates by telling the most awful lies.

None of this matters to Natalie. Natalie finds Tulip exciting, and at first she doesn't care that other people are so upset and unnerved by Tulip's bizarre games like Stinking Mackerel and Road of Bones. It's funny to watch their reactions, and there's always the delicious fear that the two girls might be caught. But as the games become increasingly sinister and dangerous, Natalie realizes that Tulip is going too far. Much too far.

Natalie could try to change things. But deep inside she knows that, once crossed, Tulip won't rest until she's won the most dangerous game of all.

In this compelling story Anne Fine explores the dark side of a friendship bordering on obsession, and sensitively depicts one girl's gradual decline into hostility and violence.

Reviewer: Elizabeth Paige

The Tulip Touch is a powerful novel, gripping and mesmerizing. It is truly a story that touches the heart - I couldn't put it down, I had to know what happened next to Tulip and Natalie! A real read, recommended for all young readers from the age of about nine. Jade