Ink
By Amanda Sun
June 25, 2013


Katie has never really wanted to live in Japan. But when she is forced to move across the world to live there with her aunt after a devastating family catastrophe. She doesn't know what she’s in for when she meets Tomohiro, he’s the star of the kendo team. Tomo has a link to the old gods of Japan, and being around Katie sends his powers off course.


Ink is the first book in the Paper Gods series. Ink was a fantastically, original work of art. I loved this book. I loved everything about this book, the setting, the magic, the mythology and the characters. While Tomohiro was somewhat of a jerk, once you read father into the book you understand him a little more. I’ve always been captivated by Japanese culture and settings. This book just oozed Asian customs and traditions.

Thank you to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I didn't download this in time back in 2013 when I originally requested it. In 2022, my interests have changed as I no longer primarily read YA, so I have no plans at this to read or review this title. Thank you.

It has been 8 years since I requested this title and I still haven't read it. I am still interested in the book and have since purchased a copy for my shelf but I don't know when I will get to this at this point, if ever. I appreciate the approval for this title and if/when I do decide to read I will leave a review on instagram, goodreads, storygraph, and amazon. thanks again for the approval.

Today was supposed to be the day that I reviewed Ink by Amanda Sun (Goodreads). Today was supposed to be the day where I gushed to you all about how the book inside was as gorgeous as the book outside. Instead, today is the day I have to report that I DNFed Ink 19% of the way through because I couldn’t handle the two main characters.

There is no possible way I could be more disappointed.


I loved the premise of this book. I loved the setting, the believable way it was set in Japan and all the Japanese references. I loved, Inkloved, loved, everything about the setting. Sadly, though, if a book is only setting, it might as well be a painting. Books live and die by their characters, and this was no exception.

I suppose I could have dealt with Katie, the main character. There are numerous heroines I could list right now who make stupid decision after stupid decision and fall for guys while I scream NONONO, but I still finish the books.

I suppose I could have dealt with Tomohiro, the male lead. Stuck up, gruff, self-entitled boys are, again, nothing new to the genre.

But the thing is, this is a trope I’ve seen a million times before, and I’m sick of it.

GGBBLet me be clear, before this goes any further, that I’m fully aware that there are books out there that do okay with relationships. There are also plenty of books who do good-girl-meets-bad-boy well.

I’m going to use Ink as an example for what bothers me, but it’s hardly the only offender. Bear with me while I explain…

Tomohiro is not a guy you are supposed to like. When Katie first sees him, he’s telling his girlfriend that he got another girl pregnant and being really nasty about it. Despite this, though, Katie finds him stunningly attractive. yes, I understand there is the whole thing where she thinks he’s making drawings come alive, but that tiny speculation is no reason for Katie to go chasing after Tomohiro like a crazed stalker.

Then she finds out that Tomohiro put his former best friend in the hospital.

Then she rearranges her entire life just to get even closer to him.

There is a certain point where I find a bad boy to have redeemable qualities, and a certain Stop.-Dont-Do-It.-Stay-Away.3point where bad boy crosses into the territory of BAD NEWS KEEP AWAY. Tomohiro toed it from the second he walked into the story, and crossed it forever only a few chapters later. But Katie just keeps talking about how beautiful he is.

I freely admit that it’s entirely possible that Tomohiro’s character will be redeemed from all these things later on in the story. Like I said, I only read 19% of the book.

But I just couldn’t stand Katie’s reaction.

I don’t care how pretty a guy is. If , as far as I knew, he cheats on his girlfriend and gets the other woman pregnant, dumps his girlfriends like a bastard, puts his “best friends” in the hospital and looks up my skirt, I would stay FAR AWAY. There would be none of this stalking nonsense, especially into dark and abandoned places. If he started creeping me out, I would grab a can of pepper spray and a posse.

Like I said, maybe there’s a good reason for what Tomohiro’s done. Maybe none of it is what it seems. But it matters what Katie knows in the moment, and what she does with that information. Her reaction is not healthy. (Keep in mind, she has no proof of anything Tomohiro is doing with the drawings, only a theory as concrete as alien astronauts, and absolutely no personal connection or knowledge of him beforehand.) If she were real, I’d lock her in her room for a while until she agreed to stay away.

annoyed monkeyThere’s a fine line between keeping your characters real and making them do things in order for the book to progress in a certain way. Katie’s actions screamed “plot device”–and that’s the kindest term I can give them. I’ve already ranted once about negative relationship portrayal in ya books and I’m not doing it again. Again, I don’t think this would bother me as much if I didn’t see this cropping up again and again in the books I’ve been reading.

Who knows? Maybe, one day, in a different, less easily annoyed mindset, I’ll revisit Ink and find it much better than I do right now.

But the next book I read that has the heroine making foolish decisions (especially when related to dangerous guys) in order to further the plot is getting attacked with fire.

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

This novel was exciting, unique and featured very interesting characters. I am moving onto the sequel as soon as I receive it.

To me, Ink by Amanda Sun is a well-intentioned disappointment. As much as I wanted to love this book for the promise of Japanese culture, I felt I did not connect to this story as much as I truly wanted to. Please let me explain why.

Reading the synopsis of Ink had me very excited, and most likely built so much hype. At the time, diversity in YA wasn't as big as it is in 2018. To understand the message delivered in a Japanese-themed culture is one thing, but to overplay the details is another. For me, I felt confused, with the switches in the beginning of the story. Switching from one name set to another was confusing and made me feel disconnected from the characters.

The idea of paper gods is riveting, but once again, I could not connect. Maybe the story was too much into magical realism that made me not truly connect and be vested in the story.

This one didn't resonate with me. I tried a few times and keep putting the book down between the 20th to 43rd percentage mark. I just can't get passed this point!

To be honest, I'm not even sure why it isn't resonating. My mother grew up in Japan, but I forget many of the words she used to use on a daily basis. The language barrier isn't so much the problem though, I think I did not connect much with the characters, no matter how much I wanted to.

I think it's time for me to DNF this one. I'm sure so many will enjoy it. I am sad I did not.

This book was amazing. I loved the world building and the lore that was used for the backdrop of the story. I know the next two books are out and I am looking forward to reading them.

*Book source ~ NetGalley

When Katie Greene becomes an orphan and the guardians appointed in her mother’s will are unsuitable for the moment (her grandfather is undergoing treatment for cancer), she moves to Japan to live with an aunt she barely knows. While her aunt is supportive and caring, Katie’s life has been turned upside down and now she feels alone and isolated in a country where she doesn’t speak the language and the rules of society are so very different than what she’s grown up with. She manages to make a few friends and then she meets Tomohiro, a handsome popular teen and the school’s kendo star. However, there’s something else about Tomo that draws Katie to him and it’s this pull that changes her life even further. But is it for the better or worse?

I know this is YA, but the angst, lordy the angst. Ugh. The writing is a bit jerky and the plot kinda confusing. I don’t feel Katie and Tomo’s attraction. At all. Zip. Zero. The best thing about this book are the descriptions of Japanese society. The rest is just blah, blah, blah.

it wasn't a perfect book, but was respectfull of asian culture

I must admit I could not finish this. The premise of an American girl moving to Japan where she knows no-one was very promising, but the girl and the writing were so insipid I set it down and couldn't bring myself to pick it back up.

*I never got around to reading and reviewing this book. I may do so in the future*

There were too many cliches in this story. I had high hopes.