3/5 Stars: ‘The Tulip Touch’ is an Ageless, Horror by Anne Fine; ‘The Tulip Touch’ grapples with the topical question of what turns children into criminals. The peerless vigour of Fine's writing, and the provocative question of whether our society is even trying to catch its 'evil' ones as they fall, make this an extraordinary, and powerful novel. Tulip is the violent child about to crack; the child who echoes famous cases in recent news. What elevates this subtle telling is that Fine manages to convey, sympathetically, the probably reasons behind why Tulip is the way she is. Singing simple prose to create great effect; the language is dramatic and economical, rather than descriptive. Every sentence is precisely constructed, to ensure clear meaning.