12/18/2017
An urgent fear of otherness permeates Broadway’s eerie debut, set in a society where tattoos tell a person’s life story and to be without them is to be unknowable. In Saintstone, lawbreakers are marked and publicly shamed, babies who die before getting their first tattoo are forgotten, and so-called “blanks” (whose bodies are free of tattoos) are loathed. Sixteen-year-old Leora’s father is dead, his skin dried and bound into a book; she must unravel her family’s secrets before the community’s elders make a determination that he is to be forgotten, and the pages of his book burned. Through it’s not fully clear why tattoos and skin books are the only ways a person can be remembered in this world, Broadway uses her unsettling premise to contemplate grief and loss, attempts to neatly categorize people and decisions as right or wrong, and the courage to push against norms in ways big and small. As Leora enters the adult world as an apprentice inker, Broadway elegantly depicts her discoveries and the way power can become manipulative, controlling, and deceptive. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)
Praise for Ink:"Broadway drops readers immediately into the drama, politics, and general whirlwind of a new and enticing world." — BCCB, starred review"Fantasy, mystery, and a utopian setting blend together to form a storyline that captivates to the end." — School Library Connection"An interesting concept combined with action and intrigue will hook teen readers." — School Library Journal"With echoes of fairy tales and Greek and Egyptian mythologies, this debut reads likea natural successor to Lois Lowry’s The Giver (1993)." — Booklist
11/01/2017
Gr 6 Up—What if your life's story was tattooed on your body for your whole community to see? In Leora's world, it is. Citizens are "inked" with tattoos to represent everything from their careers and family trees to the great joys and sorrows of their lives. When someone dies, his or her life is determined worthy—or not—by the government assessment of one's ink. If you're worthy, your skin becomes a book, a treasured and honored keepsake held by your family to remember you. If not, your skin is burned, your stories lost forever. The death of Leora's father still hangs heavily over what should be a joyful time—graduation, being assigned a prestigious career. As her father's trial comes nearer, Leora learns a terrible secret that might ruin her father's legacy and change her life forever. The promising opening chapters do not quite deliver. Leora believably grieves her father's death while questioning herself and deeply held societal beliefs, but other characters and story lines feel inconsistent. Few characters can accurately "read" ink—that is, see the story behind the tattoo—making the premise of a society without secrets somewhat perplexing. Still, an interesting concept combined with action and intrigue will hook teen readers. VERDICT Purchase where lighter dystopia and realistic science fiction are popular.—Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, St. Paul Public Library
2017-10-10
"Watch out for the blanks."Sixteen-year-old Leora takes her father's dying words as a warning against those who refuse the sacred obligation to record every deed as observable tattoos, eventually to be bound and reverently preserved by their descendants. So the discrepancies between her father's own "skin book" and her memories shake all of Leora's comfortable assumptions. Broadway presents an intriguing dystopian conceit: an apparently benevolent society, completely transparent, valuing persons of every color equally (although it's considered "lucky" and "refined" to be "pale" like Leora)—yet also riddled with bigotry, paranoia, and hypocrisy. Still, some of the ambiguities are just confusing: are the "blanks" individuals who are exercising free choice or an entirely separate race? Is Leora responsible for her own decisions, or is she a special, predestined savior? Leora's present-tense narration slowly dribbles out trickles of plot amid torrents of mind-numbing exposition, studded with portentous dreams and twists on traditional folk tales. While her voice—naïve, vacillating, and constantly self-deprecating—can be irritating, it's far less frustrating than the overused device in which characters inexcusably conceal vital information in order to drive events. As these deceptions finally crumble, Leora is provoked into a series of rash choices, culminating in a flamboyant gesture rejecting her entire social order…and neatly setting up a sequel. The gorgeous cover, highly original premise, and dramatic climax can't make up for tedious pacing and a muddled message. (Fantasy. 11-17)
In Saintstone, everyone's story is told on their skin. Inking is a noble profession. Lives are told through marks and preserved after death in skin books. These practices are linked to a tale of two sisters—one marked and good, one not marked (blank) and evil. Amy Shiels's soft, round tones and persistent pacing heighten the otherworldly feel of this audiobook, and her characterizations gradually unveil a spellbinding mystery. The first-person story of Leora, a young inker who is beginning to question the society in which she's been raised, also includes folktales of her community. Shiels navigates seamlessly through a sizable cast, bringing warmth and weight to each character and drawing listeners further into Leora's investigation of the town's true history. K.S.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
In Saintstone, everyone's story is told on their skin. Inking is a noble profession. Lives are told through marks and preserved after death in skin books. These practices are linked to a tale of two sisters—one marked and good, one not marked (blank) and evil. Amy Shiels's soft, round tones and persistent pacing heighten the otherworldly feel of this audiobook, and her characterizations gradually unveil a spellbinding mystery. The first-person story of Leora, a young inker who is beginning to question the society in which she's been raised, also includes folktales of her community. Shiels navigates seamlessly through a sizable cast, bringing warmth and weight to each character and drawing listeners further into Leora's investigation of the town's true history. K.S.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
