Ink by Amanda Sun (book 1) review
Where to start with this book… I think this is the first fully 5-star book I’ve read this year. I have just a few things with it but mostly I really enjoyed the book and was able to overlook the few things I had issues with.
Goodreads 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.
Cons:
~Romaji makes it very difficult to read. Especially since this book is written in majority English. Romaji (from my knowledge at least) you technically aren’t supposed to use it because it’s not correct.
~Katie is just very dumb and annoying at times. I was literally screaming at my book “MA’AM STOP! YOUR BEING HIGH KEY WEIRD & OVERSTEPPING BOUNDARIES”
~Then the most controversial one… The fact this author is profiting off Asian (specifically Japanese) culture and has no ties other than traveling around the country for 3 months. It’s kinda off to me. But I am happy she did make sure the artist for the art in the book was Japanese. Again this may be controversial. I’m also in no way trying to cancel anyone either just pointing out issues I see.
Before we start the official review I think it’s important we establish what exactly Kami are in Japan: “Kami are close to human beings and respond to human prayers. They can influence the course of natural forces, and human events. Shinto tradition says that there are eight million million kami in Japan. Kami are the divine spirits or gods recognized in Shinto, the native religion of Japan. There are eight million kami — a number that, in traditional Japanese culture, can be considered synonymous with infinity.”
The story starts out with Katie Greene moving from the USA to Japan after her mother dies. This is where she meets her friends and eventually Tomohiro who will become her boyfriend. Again my critism falls here with use of Romaji. It just becomes very hard to read. Oneday she forgets to exchange her slippers for her shoes at the end of the day so she has to go back despite Tomohiro and his current (well ex) girlfriend having an argument. This is where she sees Tomohiro’s drawings of a pregnant girl. Alluding to the fact he cheated on his current girlfriend and got this girl pregnant. What isn’t expected though is that the drawing moves and looks directly at Katie while she’s hiding. After this Katie starts asking her friend Yuki about Tomohiro. Yuki says he’s the head of the Kendo club & just really keeps to himself but used to be in Caligraphy club when they were kids with their other friend Tanaka. So Katie attempts to confront Tomohiro and he’s basically like “-_- you’re crazy” but later Katie catches him watching her during a test when her drawings come to life and her pin explodes. Again he denys. And then she follows him to his secret hiding spot & finds out he infact is drawing and making things come to life (he draws a sparrow). He finally “accepts” Katie and takes her out to dinner & after that they start a friendship. She eventually gets caught staring at the Kendo club and a teacher invites her to join. So she agrees. The person who has issue with her is Tomohiro’s friend. He doesn’t like her due to him thinking Katie is holding Tomohiro back & eventually is has a really nasty match with her in the Kendo Club. Tomohiro eventually tells Katie, his friend is onto him being a Kami and wants him to join the Yakuza but he wants nothing to do with it. Then one afternoon Tomohiro wants to show Katie what he’s capible of. So he draws a horse and they are able to take a ride. Then Tomohiro is overcome and draws a dragon that lifts into the sky, it attacks Tomohiro & almost attacks Katie but Katie is able to stop Tomohiro and he destroys the drawing. Thinking nobody saw it, they go back to Tomohiro’s house to clean up and they get a call from the friend saying he saw it & theres no denying it now. They end up dodging him for a while but have to go to the Kendo tournament where Tomohiro & his friend match with Katie’s friend Jun who happens to be a Kami also. Tomohiro, his friend & Jun go to a Kendo retreat while Katie goes with Yuki to her hometown. There Katie learns she’s also connected to the Kami which is why Tomohiro’s drawings become powerful. Once they all come home Tomohiro breaks up with Katie. Katie realizes something is wrong, goes to look for Tomohiro and finds he’s been caught by the Yakuza. The yakuza catch both her and Tomohiro and want to use them. Then someone comes in with drawings and fires at the Yakuza & hurts the friend. This is when it’s revealed Jun is a Kami and cuts caligraphy into his arms to use as a more powerful weapon. Jun reveals he wants Tomohiro to kill the Yakuza boss who threated them & that he’s starting a uprising to show people the Kami powers. Tomohiro says no & he and Katie leave. They go back to Katie’s house, only for Katie’s aunt to call and say a important message is coming. It’s her grandparents. They are ready for her to go to Canda. Tomohiro says it’s probably best she goes, just for safety. Katie isn’t sure she wants to go yet and tries to tell people but nobody listens. So just as the plan is about to leave she decides to stay.
My positive thoughts:
It storywise was great. Was there some plot holes? Yes but they can be overlooked. Same as characters. Were there some holes in the characters? Yep but it can be overlooked. And tbh I believe all books aren’t perfect so it truly just matters if people enjoy the book. I enjoy the books. PERIOD. I enjoyed the art. And I’m very happy the author chose to bring in a Japanese Artist to do these paintings. The book also addresses grief in a awesome way. A way I haven’t seen done & done from 2 different perspectives (technically 3 as it’s Katie, Tomohiro & Katie’s Aunt)
I finally went back and read the reviews on goodreads. And tbh I don’t think it was as bad as some said. But most people agreed the use of Romaji just didn’t fit and made it hard to read. Which I already discussed.
Rating: 🖊️🖊️🖊️🖊️🖊️/🖊️🖊️🖊️🖊️🖊️
