Review: INK (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

Ink

Author: Amanda Sun

Series: Paper Gods

Pages: 377

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Amazon – The Book Depository
Australian Release Date: 25th June 2013

Synopsis:

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: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

The beautiful cover of Ink is what initially attracted me to this fantasy novel; the mythology and Japanese setting were also quite appealing so I was more than eager to delve into Amanda Sun’s intriguing world.

Sixteen year-old Katie Greene has had to move to Shizuoka, Japan to live with her aunt Diane after the death of her mother; things are tough and the transition hasn’t been too easy on her with many cultural and language barriers in the way.

Katie’s actions at time were predictable and quite unbelievable; she rushed in to things without thinking, her curiosity seemed to get the better of her at times and to me in the initial stages she came across as an obsessed stalker. In saying this, I also felt quite sorry for her, she was more or less alone in a strange place and having to adapt and fend for herself, she was trying to find the light in what seems to be a difficult situation and for this I liked her.

The plot was mysterious and evenly paced, from the onset of Ink, you could tell there was something unusual going on; Katie could see printed images move and whenever bad boy, mysterious and broody Yuu Tomohiro was around things became even more strange. Once Katie became a part of his world, she discovered things that were unbelievable and put her life and her heart at risk.

The romance: I feel Katie came on a little too strong in the initial stages, despite not knowing Tomohiro, except of his dangerous reputation, she continually pursued him which I felt was too much, she was drawn to him despite his nastiness and evasiveness but I couldn’t see the reasoning behind wanting to follow someone who had supposedly beaten someone within an inch of their life, supposedly cheated on his girlfriend and made the other girl pregnant and had mafia links – I would have run the opposite way therefor didn’t see the early attraction. As the story progressed, so too did my opinion of Katie and Tomohiro being together; I came to love the dialogue between them and the way in which they supported one another.

For the secondary characters, I quite liked Katie’s new friends, Yuki and Tanaka who were fun and supportive and Aunt Diane was the sort of aunty you would want - hip and cool; I liked the relationship they came to share.

I was immersed in Amanda Sun’s detailed and intricate world, the setting was vibrant and really drew you into her storytelling, the smallest descriptions of the food, places, drawings, characters and even cherry blossoms were vivid and beautifully written; you were drawn into the story. The Japanese mythology was all new for me and I found myself really enjoying it all; it is very different to other YA Fantasy novels I have read which I really appreciated.

What I didn’t like: Unfortunately, we have a number of YA clichés which I was able to overlook because of my overall enjoyment of the book but they were there none the less - bad boy/good girl who can’t be together due to one or the other being in danger, insta-love/attraction, a mysterious unknown power,  perfect best friends and deceased parents. They seem to be typical in YA these days so I think I am becoming immune to them now.

Overall, I enjoyed Amada Sun’s descriptive writing and the details she gave about the Japanese culture; it was a gripping story and despite my few issues one I quite liked.

About the Author: (from Amanda Sun’s website) - I’m a YA author and proud Nerdfighter. I was born in Deep River, Canada, a very small town without traffic lights or buses, and where stranger safety is comprised of what to do if you see a bear—or skunk. I started reading fantasy novels at 4 and writing as soon as I could hold a pencil. Hopefully my work’s improved since then.

​In university I took English, Linguistics, and Asian History, before settling into Archaeology, because I loved learning about the cultures and stories of ancient people. Of course, I didn’t actually become an archaeologist—I have an intense fear of spiders. I prefer unearthing fascinating stories in the safety of my living room.

​The Paper Gods is inspired by my time living in Osaka and travelling throughout Japan. That and watching far too many J-Dramas. I currently live in Toronto with my husband and daughter. When I’m not writing, I’m devouring YA books, knitting nerdy things like Companion Cubes and Triforce mitts, and making elaborate cosplays for anime cons.

Twitter - Website - Facebook

Australian VS US Covers