Review: Ink
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 12, 2012
Holly Hood has an aptitude in creating original, thrilling worlds with well-developed, unique characters. She puts real life situations into her stories that make them, well, real! Ink is intense, emotional and raw(like many of Hood's books).Ink is a parable about never judging a person by their appearance. Hope meets Slade who is covered in tattoos, has a lip piercing, constantly wears black and lives in a tour bus. Then she meets Tucker who is undeniably gorgeous, confident, a well-standing student and the Mayor's son. They are polar opposites and both take an interest in Hope as she slowly gets acclimated to her new surroundings, but who can she trust? Hope is a strong female protagonist. She's seventeen years old, but she's independent and smart(most of the time). As the story unfolds we are constantly shrouded in mystery regarding the characters, Henry Park(where Slade lives), and the town Cherry. Every character(small and big) have defining personalities that make them their own character instead of just there to fill in space, they add to the story in many different ways.Ink is a long story, but in my opinion, it was the perfect length. It moves along at an even pace, never dragging with enough twists to keep readers interested. The paranormal aspect is unique and mystical, the reader will get an inkling of what that aspect is, but won't know for sure until we are told. The story will conjure up many emotions from heart-warming, gut-wrenching to sometimes even fear. There are sometimes even hilarious moments. The real life situations, sex, alcohol and some violence, make Ink raw, intense and meaty. Hope may only be seventeen, but all teenagers aren't virgin's and these situations arise all around us. Some readers(and reviewers) may try to uncategorize this as young-adult, but I think it can still qualify(obviously not for the younger YA readers), but for the slightly more mature(16 or 17+). Unfortunately, the ending was not good enough for me. I still had a few questions that I wanted answered and things were tied up a little too nicely for such an intense read. But, all in all, this was a fantastic, gripping read that many readers will enjoy!