Review | Ink by Amanda Sun

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.




Review |

If you followed my status's while I was reading this book then you've come to the same conclusion as me: conflicted.

I am so conflicted.

Like never before have I been as conflicted as I am here.

The story is about a girl named Katie who has had to move to Japan to live with her aunt after her parents die. She doesn't speak an ounce of Japanese and has pretty much been thrown in the deep end while she waits for her grandparents in Canada to get better so they can take her in.

Katie is what really let this down for me. She has got to be the most suspicious YA narrator I have ever met without any reason to be. She obsessed over Tomo and is a drama queen. Like, who climbs up a tree in a skirt to shout at a stranger in the school yard over nothing? Ah, Katie does.

And on the other hand, the relationship between Tomo and Katie was really nice. The two of them together were great and a joy to read. I found myself smiling and going 'aww' in some moments. Then they separated and Katie made me wish I could draw her and stab her to death.

The mythology in Ink is about the Paper Gods or "Kami" as they are referred to here. Basically, a Kami can draw things to life. I found this so interesting and unique, especially when the drawings take on a mind and not always a good one, however I found a flaw or two. Namely, the dimensions. Tomo draws a horse and when they horse jumps out of the drawing it is a life sized animal... Even though it was drawn on a A4 piece of paper. Which doesn't make much sense, because in that case you could draw an entire building as a sketch and it would come to life as a ten storey building.

Sun has a nice, flowing writing style once the story gets moving which also won me points. However, Katie was a real let down here and she's the main reason why this has 3 stars. If she was a little different, I don't think I'd hesitate to rate this higher.

Rating: 3 stars