Ink

by Amanda Sun

Reviewed by

Elizabeth Mosolovich

After the death of her mother and due to an outdated will, Katie Green is forced to move in with her aunt- in Shizouka, Japan. The book opens when she is two weeks in, homesick, and wanting nothing more than to return to Canada and live with her grandparents. As she fumbles through a totally different language and culture, she meets Yuuto Tomohiro, a mysterious and talented drawer. So talented, in fact, that his pictures actually come off the page!

Tomo is a jerk at some times, and cruel at others, but Katie is intrigued by his secrets, and is determined to know if she's going crazy or if his drawings are really coming to life.

Soon she learns that Tomohiro is actually a descendent of Kami- an ancient Japanese god, and that Katie is somehow connected to the Kami, too. But the powers that they have are dangerous and uncontrollable: the drawings begin to attack them. Throw in a power-hungry street gang hell-bent on getting their hands on the power of a god, and a radical group of Kami clamoring for a take-over of Japan, and Tomo and Katie have a lot more trouble than just cultural barriers.

This was a really fun read. It brings the reader into Japan, along with its language and culture, so I recommend this for anyone interested in that. There is a translation/glossary at the back of the book, though, I promise! The pace got a little slower as the book went on, and occasionally some scenes seemed to take away from the main plot, but otherwise this was a very good book; you should definitely give it a try!