Ink by Amanda Sun
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First off, the cover is awesome. I love ink drawings, and this cover made me want to know what the book was about. Thankfully, the story inside stood up to the beautiful cover. Katie is a gaijin fish out of water at her new school in Japan, where she has gone to live after the death of her mother. There are the expected social failures and trip-ups with boys typical of high-school YA, but this story also has magic: flowing, dangerous, inky magic. What is Katie’s heritage in regards to the ink? Who is the boy with the magical brush? I loved the descriptions of the ink magic, and the illustrations included in the novel give you the idea of the beauty Katie sees. I liked the tidbits of Japanese we’re treated to, and the author is good at showing us the differences in culture between eastern and western culture. There is some satisfactory YA romance, but it seems that part of the story may wait for the next installment. I was somewhat surprised at the choice Katie made at the end, but I suppose it furthers the story, however expensive it was. I hope future novels in this series explore the history of the ink magic and delve into Katie’s relationship with her friends and family. I’ll be looking for the next book and its inked cover.

Received as a digital ARC via Netgalley and the publisher.

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