Review : Ink is Thicker Than Water by Amy Spalding

Summary (from Goodreads)
 
Title : Ink is Thicker Than Water
Author : Amy Spalding
Publication Date : December 3rd 2013
Publisher : Entangled Teen
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.

But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.

It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.

Personal Thoughts

Ink is Thicker Than Water is a book that embodies everything that I want in a solid YA contemporary novel. Going into the book, I honestly can't say I had much expectations, especially since I had read mixed reviews, but Ink is Thicker Than Water ended up surprising me so much by how good it was and I'm glad I took my chance with it.

The main character in the book, Kellie, was wonderful in every sense of the word. She basically represents every other normal girl out there with her being average at almost everything. That was a quality that made her easy to connect with on many levels. In addition, she was sweet, respected others and cared so much for her friends and family. Kellie was endearing because of those very qualities. What I loved even more about Ink is Thicker Than Water was the diverse and gorgeous secondary characters. I can't say that I loved each and everyone of them, but they were undoubtedly well-fleshed out and realistically portrayed.

Ink is Thicker Than Water narrates the journey of Kellie through issues that I assume many teenagers might go through. The two main themes tackled were threads of friendship breaking due to changes in personalities and a close relative slowly edging away from one's life. I personally thought Amy Spalding tackled both these two topics well. I loved that she gave equal attention to both. We watch how Kellie and her best friend, Kaitlyn slowly start to drift apart because Kaitlyn begins to grow as a person and how this affects Kellie. Although Kellie does feel disappointed and upset, she did not wallow in self-pity and tried to make friends elsewhere. She was the kind of girl who was ready to move on and I loved that about her. Sara, Kellie's adoptive sister, also starts to drift away from her and her family because she reconnects with her birth mother and watching the grief and insecurities that Kellie went through made me really feel for her. I admit that at times, I felt like Sara was being a bit of a bitch just abandoning her adoptive family like that, but I did understand where she was coming from.

As you probably guessed, Ink is Thicker Than Water was heavy on the family aspect and I can't express how much I loved it. Kellie's family was not at all perfect, but which family ever is? I just adored how into the lives of her daughter Kellie's mom was and that we got to know her well throughout the book as well. We also get a bit of a romance, which never caused the plot to stray away from its path and remained on the sidelines. Oliver was a cute guy and he had his really sweet moments, but I'll admit that at times I felt like he was a bit too much. I can't really pinpoint what it was about him, but I'm guessing it's what the author wanted. Kellie was smart when it came to their relationship though and knew when she had to make the right decisions.

Ink is Thicker Than Water was a fabulous YA contemporary novel and watching Kellie grow throughout the novel was a thrill. I highly recommend this title.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5


Thank you to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for the e-ARC of Ink is Thicker Than Water.
 

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