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wellreadandhalfdead's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, and Racism
Minor: Rape
slapointe1016's review
3.0
3.5
well! that was certainly a book! i found it to be very slow at the beginning but halfway through it began to pick up speed quickly and actually was interesting!
i am left with a lot of questions but overall it was a decent read
well! that was certainly a book! i found it to be very slow at the beginning but halfway through it began to pick up speed quickly and actually was interesting!
i am left with a lot of questions but overall it was a decent read
erinisedge's review against another edition
I couldn't get into the story and the characters weren't intresting
juliescalzo's review
2.0
This is a book I definitely would’ve DNFed if it hadn’t been a book club book. I read about 40%, and I just could not get into it, so I put it down and came back two weeks later. The problem is, it’s a very complicated book that takes a lot of concentration. It’s told from four different perspectives, and the plot is very complex. There’s also a magical element that I just did not get. We are discussing it this Tuesday, so maybe that will help me to understand it better. I did come to like it more by the end, but it’s definitely not one I’d recommend.
emily_1215's review
3.0
3 stars
This novel had a lot of cool ideas, and it's the kind of dystopia I enjoy reading (although, we have to ask, dystopic for whom? definitely not people currently at the border). The execution was lacking for me, though.
The premise is that all immigrants in the US are given barcode tattoos that indicate their status (blue is a citizen, green is someone with a work permit, and black is "illegal") so the government can track them. Also, there are facilities where the "inks" go that are basically detention centers. Very real, very scary.
Most of the characters annoyed me or made me angry (Finn and Del were the main offenders), and I hated every romantic plotline in the novel. They were not necessary, and I felt no chemistry between any of the characters whatsoever. I felt like that the Latinx love interests were exoticized by the white love interests. I did like that all of the characters grew by the end of the novel, even the ones I couldn't stand improved, and I also appreciated that the women had technology or science-based skills.
This novel covers a huge span of time, and with all the POV jumps, it gets really disorganized. When the timeline moves for one character, it moves for everyone, so we might lose years of a character's story, and it feels kind of messy. I think Vourvoulias would have benefitted from a smaller cast of characters and a more concentrated timeline. There was also a weird absence of the government, who are the people making the tattoos and detention centers happen at all. I can't remember any mentions of a president or laws or why the ink system begins. I understand not wanting to get too deep into immigration politics, but an absolute lack of any governmental figures in this context doesn't make sense. Finn is a journalist, however, and I like the way media was used throughout the story.
I would have rated this lower, but I really liked the final section, which comes from our only immigrant narrator (which is a kind of weird choice IMO...if it's a story about immigrants, why aren't we hearing from at least as many immigrants as non-immigrants?). Her storyline wrapped up beautifully, and there's a parallel drawn from the novel's contemporary US to Latin America during the age of conquistadors that blew my mind.
This honestly gives me some Neal Shusterman vibes (a horrifying near-future, multiple young narrators and storylines happening, unnecessary romance), so if you like his more sci-fi work, you would probably like this. If I had not been reading this for a class, I might not have finished it because it was frustrating to read, but the ending had great payoff, so I'm not mad that I did.
This novel had a lot of cool ideas, and it's the kind of dystopia I enjoy reading (although, we have to ask, dystopic for whom? definitely not people currently at the border). The execution was lacking for me, though.
The premise is that all immigrants in the US are given barcode tattoos that indicate their status (blue is a citizen, green is someone with a work permit, and black is "illegal") so the government can track them. Also, there are facilities where the "inks" go that are basically detention centers. Very real, very scary.
Most of the characters annoyed me or made me angry (Finn and Del were the main offenders), and I hated every romantic plotline in the novel. They were not necessary, and I felt no chemistry between any of the characters whatsoever. I felt like that the Latinx love interests were exoticized by the white love interests. I did like that all of the characters grew by the end of the novel, even the ones I couldn't stand improved, and I also appreciated that the women had technology or science-based skills.
This novel covers a huge span of time, and with all the POV jumps, it gets really disorganized. When the timeline moves for one character, it moves for everyone, so we might lose years of a character's story, and it feels kind of messy. I think Vourvoulias would have benefitted from a smaller cast of characters and a more concentrated timeline. There was also a weird absence of the government, who are the people making the tattoos and detention centers happen at all. I can't remember any mentions of a president or laws or why the ink system begins. I understand not wanting to get too deep into immigration politics, but an absolute lack of any governmental figures in this context doesn't make sense. Finn is a journalist, however, and I like the way media was used throughout the story.
I would have rated this lower, but I really liked the final section, which comes from our only immigrant narrator (which is a kind of weird choice IMO...if it's a story about immigrants, why aren't we hearing from at least as many immigrants as non-immigrants?). Her storyline wrapped up beautifully, and there's a parallel drawn from the novel's contemporary US to Latin America during the age of conquistadors that blew my mind.
This honestly gives me some Neal Shusterman vibes (a horrifying near-future, multiple young narrators and storylines happening, unnecessary romance), so if you like his more sci-fi work, you would probably like this. If I had not been reading this for a class, I might not have finished it because it was frustrating to read, but the ending had great payoff, so I'm not mad that I did.
nataliab's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
chose to read as example of latine speculative fiction / critical dystopia for thesis, writing wasn’t the most elegant + some of the descriptions of women were 👎🏼👎🏼 but i enjoyed the magical realism elements
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Xenophobia
Moderate: Deportation and Sexual assault
Minor: Body horror
cordelia_egnor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
quitenerdyblog's review
4.0
One of the greatest novels I have ever had assigned to me while studying English Lit. It rides that fine line of the dystopia, where every twsited corner of the world makes you think "I'm glad that's not happening today", before you realise that it is exactly happening today. Most important though, it hits the heart like a tonne of bricks, forcing you to fight through the pain of some chapters with the promise of a better tomorrow held just out of reach. I proper loved it.
rixx's review
3.0
**Ink** by *Sabrina Vourvoulias* is okay urban dystopic fantasy with a critical stance towards important issues within the US, mostly concerning latinx population and immigration. It touches on these issues beautifully, but came off a bit heavy-handed in many regards – people felt magical, yet one-dimensional. It may just be that I'm at least one major ocean and culture shift removed from the intended audience, though.