A Review of Ink

Ink is a novel by Alice Broadway, and it is short-listed for the Books Are My Bag 2017 Reader's Award in the Young Adult category. In Leora Flint's world, everyone is tattooed when they have a significant event in their lives. When you die, your tattoos are preserved forever in your skin book, if you are deemed to have lead a worthy life. If not, you are forgotten, and your skin goes up in flames. People without tattoos are called blanks, and they were exiled long ago to a different part of the land. Upon the death of her father, Leora starts to learn that her world is not as simple as she always thought.

This is the first of a planned series, but I want to review this book on it's own because I'm a rebel against my own rules. Well, they're more guidelines, really.

Ink had a cover that caught my eye instantly, and a blurb that put me off. It made it sound like a standard YA dystopia. However I gave it a try and learnt an important lesson: judge a book by it's cover, not it's blurb. Okay, that was tongue-in-cheek, but I swear that for me covers are a better way of telling if I'd like a book than the blurb.

My first credit is for Leora having an ambition, and it's one that actually makes sense in her world. She wants to be an inker, someone who designs and applies people's tattoos. However, women inkers are rare, and people express doubt that a man would want to be inked by a woman and question her feminine style. If there is something I would like to see less of, it's sexism even in a fantasy or future world.

Leora has a good relationship with some of the men in her life. I know that we need to show more girls supporting girls, but I think it is also important to show people that boys and girls can be friends. She gets on well with her mentor, Obel, is friendly towards her friend Verity's brother Sebastian and has a burgeoning crush on Oscar. Romance in general is not at all important in this book, a refreshing change. She also has a good if rocky relationship with her mother, and a supportive friendship with Verity.

It's one of only a few dystopias I've seen give a large amount of attention to school. Leora hangs out and revises like any normal teenager might. Obviously, school is an important way that dystopias brainwash people into believing their line of thinking. During one of Leora's school exams, she's asked to describe how life would be different if the blanks still lived among them. Isn't that telling? Leora writes that "society would be divided. It would be hard for such diverse groups to live together without conflict." If human history has shown us anything, it's that there is truth in that, but if some cities in recent times are taken into account, it's that it doesn't have to be. The future that I would like to achieve and work towards is one where diverse groups can live side-by-side.

Bad points - there is about a two long paragraph section where Leora describes herself that wouldn't be out-of-place in a young adult contemporary. You know the sort - "Who would want me? I know for a fact I've never [turned anyone's head]. I've got to be the only sixteen year old on earth who's never been kissed by anyone. I'm not the right kind of pale... I'm more of a dull grey. My breasts are too small to be curvy and I'm sure my bum is too large to be skinny." I won't quote the whole thing, you get the idea. Credit where credit is due, though, she doesn't have the whole world telling her she's beautiful while she thinks this. I understand that insecurities are part of growing up and a teenage protagonist who doesn't think she is pretty is good for girls to read about. But one of the things she complains about it her mousey brown hair, and I just have to wonder how reading that so much makes people with that hair colour feel. Some of the prettiest people I've ever seen had hair of light brown. I remember how I used to feel when protagonists described their brown hair and eyes as boring. I feel like it would be better if we could point out the positives about appearance-based attributes.

There is also a story in their world that functions as a fable or fairy tale, about why they have their marks. In it, there a two sisters, and one is "as beautiful as she is good" and people travel from miles around to see her, and she marries a prince and her marks appear magically on her skin. People often forget that her sister exists, because she's not as pretty as her sister. Of course, she turns out to be a witch and curses a large part of the land. Also: Leora is descended from the sisters in the story. Is that not the most overdone twist in fiction?

In fact, there are stories periodically inserted into the novel, telling some of the myths of the land. Many are creative and interesting, but one is literally Sleeping Beauty. However, it does end with the line "She told him he shouldn't kiss sleeping girls." I'm so happy that was included!

Here is a good article from the Guardian that details some of Broadway's mindset as she came into writing this novel. It's an interesting read. The ideas of faith, religion and questioning your beliefs are done subtly, but they are also important to the story and handled well.

I recommend this one if you like dystopias. Many of the standard tropes are at play here, so if you generally dislike dystopias, nothing here will change your mind. However, if you do enjoy dystopias, you may like this.