Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun ARC Review

3/5 Stars
Details of the Book
paperback ARC, 396 pages
Published by HarlequinTeen
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository |

Synopsis as taken from Goodreads.com: 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.

The most unique aspects of this plot is the Kami and their powers involving ink, but it has all the typical YA characters and themes. An interesting, alluring, boy with strange powers, and an outsider (or as this book calls her a gaijin) who becomes obsessed with him and they fall in love. This is a book for any School Life anime fan, and a decent read for anyone who is in between books.

Strengths/Likes: 

1) The setting in Japan was well described, I felt that I was in Katie's shoes, that it was me trying to fit in at school, traveling by bike over the city. All the details it made me want to close my eyes and be Katie. That could also be because I have always have dreamed about going to school in Japan, but read it and decide for yourselves.

2) Anyone who has read a school life mangas will love this book. In fact, I feel as if this book might have benefited if it actually was a manga as opposed to be written in prose.

3) The cover of the book is beautiful, and I thought it was really unique how the author included pictures of the Ink drawings in the novel.

Weaknesses/Dislikes:

1) This could be a manner of opinion but I think if you read this book, and you're not an anime fan that this book wouldn't speak to you so much. I read this with a friend of mine who doesn't like anime, never seen of it, and probably never heard of it until I mentioned it to him, said that he felt like he didn't get the book, like he was missing the little inside jokes because he wasn't familiar with it.

2) Tomohiro and Katie's relationship didn't make any sense to me. While insulting/annoying each other  Amanda Sun writes that these two share "secret alliance" smiles at each other. This was very unclear to me. How can two people, who don't like each other in the beginning have a "secret alliance" relationship?

I wanted more of a development of their relationships, it seemed like they went from disliking each other to loving each other almost instantly.

Favorite Moments/Quotes: 

1) "'I don't need anymore stalkers,' he said. 'One's enough.' I rolled my eyes, until he added, 'At least she's a cute one.'" (99).

2) "'I know it's late. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.'
'Fine,' I said. 'Except I can't sleep.'
'Really?'
'Yeah,' I said. 'This jerk called my keitai* in the middle of the night.'
I heard him snort.
'I'll go beat him up,' he said.
'Good.'" (312).  *Keitai means cell phone.

I had a few other moments I liked but I'd be giving too much away if I put them here. I'm sorry it took so long for me to post this, I could give all of you a bunch of excuses as to why that was but in reality, I was just lazy, so sue me.