INK by Amanda Sun

INK

by Amanda Sun

published by Harlequin Teen

369 pages

                     

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.

                     

DNF at 150 pages

I gave Ink 150 pages, which I think is more than enough time to give me a reason to continue reading.

But it didn't.

Not from the (inauthentic-feeling) Japanese setting and characters,

to the (contrived and clichéd) beginnings of a love story,

to the paranormal subplot (you know, the one that's supposed to be the best part!).

Nope.

I suppose my main problem with Ink is the fact that it feels like a screenplay, in the way that the characters just talk and talk and talk some more, without us ever really knowing anything about them. Everyone just talks. Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue, making it really hard to pay attention to people I don't care about.

But let me tell you, the cover designers certainly got something right! I drew much more pleasure from staring at the cover and little design perks for long periods of time than I did from reading the words inside the magnificent cover.

Ink was heading toward 1 star before I gave up.

Did Not Finish