Ink by Amanda Sun

Ink (Paper Gods, #1)

Title: Ink
Author: Amanda Sun
Review Rating: 5 stars
Source: Review Copy, Netgalley

Goodreads:

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.


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


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My Thoughts
A whole new world of adventure!

Ok there are so many things about this book that I loved, but the first thing that caught my attention was the location, Japan! I love Japan and everything about it, but there aren’t that many YA books set in this place and the books that are tend to be based mainly in the past. The author gives us a glimpse into the contemporary Japan and using imagery and humor shows us many of the places and things that I would love to see for myself one day. I also loved how she was able to interweave a lot of the culture and mythology of Japan without making it seem like a history lesson.

Then there was the paranormal aspect to the story. I really liked the unusual powers the characters had with Ink and trying to figure out exactly what it was and how it worked. There was a lot we learned about it, but just as many questions arose from it as well and I can’t wait to find out more in the next book.

Katie is a really strong willed character and I really admired her spirit. I liked that although she made mistakes she still kept trying. Just like when she was trying to learn the language. At first she wasn’t that great at it and even though her friends didn’t mind speaking to her in English she chose to keep on trying and perfect her Japanese instead of just giving up. She is a fun character to get to know and a bit quirky at times too.

Tomohiro was an interesting character and although I was a bit leery of him at first I really came to like him right along with Katie. He keeps to himself and for good reason, but once you get past that hard outer shell he really is a sweety and really funny. I love how he interacts with Katie and the way he sometimes teases her. It is so much fun to see them together. It was also great that he could also be so lighthearted and have a sense of humor about things given the situation he is in. I think he and Katie make a great team and I can’t wait to see more of them.

I also loved Katie’s two friends Yuki and Tanaka. Yuki is one of her first friends and she is one of my favorites. She is always cheerful and a lot of fun to be around kind of likes Tanaka who is a bit of a goofball. I liked how supportive they were of Katie even when things got really weird. They are definitely the kind of people I would love to be friends with.

Overall this is an exciting read with an imaginative new world that I am dying to read more of!

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