Ink by Amanda Sun
The Skinny: 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. – From Goodreads
BFF?: I’m…. not sure about Katie. On the one hand I had mad respect for her. Her she is, orphaned, living with her aunt in Japan, not really sure about the language, having to adjust to a totally foreign culture… and she pretty much nails it. Sure, she struggles, but she works at it so she can assimilate. That being said… omg this girl. I like when characters are snarky or sassy or even smart. But Katie was kind of annoyingly so. And she cried all. the. freaking. time. HOWEVER… she eventually began to grow on me as she began learning more about stuff, adjusting to all the freaky things that were going on. Is she my favorite? No. But I can see potential.
Readability: I had a super hard time with this one because it was just difficult to get into. While the random Japanese terms SHOULD have made this one a little harder, I actually found myself enjoying it and felt like the writing put me in the middle of the setting.
Crush Level: 3
Maybe in some places (Forks) being a moody, slightly erratic, brooding jerk to a girl is considered hot. Maybe this is what some girls (Bella) like. I, personally, prefer my boys nice and positive (Peeta). Sure, Tomo had some moments where he was really sweet and brave, and you could see that he genuinely cared for Katie, but seriously… Tomo, I’m gonna let you finish but Edward did your role better.
Bonus Points:
Japan
Japan holds a very special place in my heart. When I was 2 my dad, who was in the Marines, was stationed in Okinawa so we lived there for a little while. While I don’t remember a ton from there, it’s always interesting to see things set in Japan. I feel a little bit of a bond to it! This book was totally immersed in all things Japanese though; it genuinely felt like being a part of it, not just a visitor!
Japanese Mythology
This isn’t really something I know about, so I loved learning more about it through Ink. The myths behind the kami, Japanese gods, was especially interesting, especially seeing how Sun weaved it into her story.
Kendo Fighting
I love LOVE fencing in books. So Japanese fencing? Epic! (Also, they look like the little guys from Super Mario Bros. 2)
![Throne of Glass[3]](https://thegrownupya.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/throne-of-glass3.jpg?w=103&h=150)
Check out the other parts of The Selective Collective to discover more about Ink!
The Grown-Up YA 
Excellent review and summary of the book. I have hope that in the subsequent books, the friends will have a bigger role, as they didn’t get too much to do in this book. I am also curious about the potential love triangle with Jun. And hello, you were the cutest child ever!
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I really like Tomo compared to Katie in the book. I also loved the kendo portion as well. Umm Sandie, I AM NOT curious about a love triangle!!! Totes jelly Candice that you are all exotic now bc you’ve lived in another country. 🙂 ~Kristina
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Very nice review, Candice!! I really liked the Japanese mythology in the book! I love mythology so it was interesting to see another country and culture besides Green & Roman!
I love that you used to live in Japan! Too bad you don’t remember more from it because that would be so cool, but I love the personal connection 🙂
Very well said with your review!
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First of all…how cute are you with your parasol? I love your review. I also struggled with Katie. Tomo was hot and cold, but he intrigued me. I struggled with the beginning of this book, but like you, I really loved all the Japanese references. It made me feel so immersed in the culture rather than just an observer reading about it. Great review!
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I guess we all had the same experience where it was hard to get into at first, but I liked it in the end. Ditto on my feelings about Katie, at times I wanted to shake some sense into her. I also enjoyed the Kendo scenes, it was fun learning about that. Really my fave thing about this book was learning about Japanese culture. Finally, I agree with everyone else, that is such an adorable picture of you!!
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I really liked Ink! I’m not Katie’s biggest fan, or Tomohiro’s either. But I loved the story and the cultural references that were included in it 🙂
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I was really disappointed in this book. I thought there wasn’t nearly enough character development for one. I didn’t connect to Katie or Tomo, and couldn’t understand the reasoning behind their actions. I also didn’t think the writing was good, and stumbled over the many Japanese words Sun used. I would have liked a few Japanese words, but so many made it difficult for me. Oh, and I totally agree about the low crush level about Tomo. I couldn’t understand what Katie thought was so wonderful about him. I really wanted to liked Ink, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
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